Skipperi: A Boat Sharing Service

I had the chance to experience Skipperi, a boat sharing service, through work. Owning a boat isn’t always easy, but this service lets you use your smartphone to fulfill that “I want to try it out” need with a largely unattended, car-sharing-like setup.

Select your boat (location) and time, then make a reservation.
Follow the in-app guide to the harbor where your reserved boat is located.
Check-in using the app (take a few photos of the boat’s condition according to the guide), and unlock the digital locker containing the key.
Go boating!
Check-out using the app (take a few photos of the boat’s condition according to the guide), place the key back in the digital locker, and lock it.
Fuel and other charges are calculated and settled via the app.

I was actually a bit surprised that you can just rent and ride a boat with such simple, unattended procedures, just like car sharing. The fact that a boat license isn’t required in Finland might also be a reason for its ease of use.

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Unique views only possible by boat, like seeing Helsinki Cathedral

It’s just a few minutes’ walk from their office near Helsinki to the harbor. From there, after being guided through the entire process of renting a boat using the Skipperi app, we ended up boating to Suomenlinna Fortress, a World Heritage site, for lunch.

It’s amazing how easily you can get to a World Heritage site by boat!

The user experience design for easily renting a boat is really well done. It reminded me of how impressed I was with the thoughtful app experience design back when I was on an overseas assignment in Sweden. I feel like the UX design for digital products is exceptionally good throughout the Nordics, and perhaps Europe in general. I wonder if this is partly because it’s common for products to be used across multiple countries, always accounting for differences in language and culture.

You can see the ramparts of Suomenlinna Fortress, and there are even what look like private villas on small islands.

Just like Stockholm, this area also has many small islands, some with what appear to be private summer houses. It makes me a little envious, imagining people spending their summers relaxing there.

A gas/diesel station for boats might be a common sight for boaters, but for someone like me who doesn’t own one, it feels quite unique. I also took the opportunity here to ask more about the app experience.

The experience of boating isn’t something one often thinks about, and even if you do, there’s a high barrier to entry. So, I really feel it’s wonderful that digital products like this can broaden access to such experiences. The people creating this product are genuinely passionate about it, and I’m really looking forward to working with them in the future.