Building boats since childhood
Christoph Rassy was born in Germany and grew up in the south of the country, in Bavaria, on the shores of Lake Starnberger See. As a youngster, he enjoyed building model boats, but also life-size models. Eager to learn more, he became an apprentice in a small wooden boatyard in southern Germany.
Wishing to build and sail larger boats, he thought that Sweden, bordered by the sea, could be the ideal destination to realize his dream. He looked for a job at many Swedish shipyards and received a positive answer from one of them.
Arrived in Sweden to work in a craft yard
He arrived in Nötesund, Sweden in 1960 with only a bicycle. He built boats for a shipyard, which has since ceased all activity. To increase his income, he also built his own boats, with which he raced and won races, before selling them.
Purchase of the Hallberg yard
Christoph Rassy decided to go it alone and bought the former Hallberg shipyard in Kungsviken, which had opened in 1943 and had become too small for the current owner, Harry Hallberg. From 1965 to 1972, the two men were competitors. While Hallberg built in series and in polyester, Christoph Rassy built one-offs.
His first production boat is the " Rasmus 35 "The first two models were built entirely of mahogany, each lasting one year. The first two examples were built entirely in mahogany, with a construction time of one year each. This boat was one of the pioneers of long distance cruising with a powerful engine and a central cockpit protected by a windshield. However, when it was launched, many people thought it was much too big, 35 feet being considered huge at that time.
Creation of the Hallberg-Rassy yard
At the same time, Harry Hallberg was building his boats in Ellös, well thought-out and rather attractive boats at attractive prices, thanks to mass production and polyester. In 1971, the yard manager retired. This was a godsend for Christoph Rassy, who was looking for larger premises. He bought the shipyard in 1972, one of the best known of the time with its 4 models in the range, all designed by Olle Enderlein, except for the P-28, designed by Harry Hallberg:
- Mistral 33 with a mahogany superstructure
- Mistress 32
- P-28 the best-selling
- Misil II the smallest of which is 24 feet
The new company is named Hallberg-Rassy although the two men never collaborated.
A serial construction and a family site
The first boat of the new shipyard was the Monsun 31, launched in 1974, of which 904 were produced until 1982. The largest number of any model to date.
To meet the demand, the yard doubled in size in 1975. Then followed the Hallberg-Rassy 41 the first boat with direct access to the aft cabin below deck. A principle still used today. Dozens and dozens of boats followed.
Today, the Hallberg-Rassy shipyard is family owned. For almost 19 years, the group has been managed and owned by Magnus Rassy, one of Christoph's two sons.
