Why I Bought My Esse 750 - An Owner’s Story

You’ve been sailing since you were a child.  What kind of boats have you owned so far?

Gunnar Möller: I started sailing in a Trissjolle, a Swedish dinghy. I then moved on to the Laser (now ILCA) wich I sailed for many years. Then followed my family’s H-boat wich was the first keel boat I raced. Together with my family I later bought a Danish BB10m. In the Early 80, that was boat to have –– long, sleek, lots of sails and and keel weight. I raced her for 16 years and she became the role model for how I wanted a sailboat to perform. I then sailed the J/80, 2-Krona, Campus 6.3, RS Elite (a lot like a Esse 750), and my first 18 SE. I also owned seven motorboats and a host of radio-controlled sailboats.

Where do you mainly sail, and what makes the area around Saltsjöbaden special for you?

G.M.: I sail in the Stockholm archipelago. To me, it´s beautiful. The weather is gorgeous for being so far north.

Do you remember your first contact with the Esse brand – and how your interest in these boats began?

G.M.: Yes! It must have been around 2016, at the Dusseldorf boat show that I saw Esse boats for the first time. I kept the brochures for many years. When I started to look for a boat that sailed like my old BB10, I began searching locally. But most modern high-performance boats today are broad, light and have too little keel weight. I don´t mind two-digit planing downwind and waterspray. It´s like driving a race car on a Finnish dirt road. But sailing a long, sleek boat with lots of sails and keel weight, like the Esse 750, is more like driving a Jaguar E-Type, top down, on a long, meandering open country road. They just move in a more refined way. That´s what I was looking for, and the Esse fits the bill perfectly.

What made you decide to buy the Esse 750?

G.M.: The specs of the boat were perfect. I liked the size and the fact that it is designed for solo and shorthanded sailing, because that’s how I sail. My wife took and me a trip to Stäfa, we looked at the boat and it was just right. It was slightly bigger, and the construction quality was way better than I expected. It was an easy choise.

Did you consider other boats as well? If so, what made the Esse ultimately stand out?

G.M.: Yes. I looked at the J/70, Yachtverf HEEGs, G2, A27 and the all new Saffier 24 SE Lite. At one point I thought I’d build my own boat. But after carefully considering the specs, I basically ended up with an Esse 750. Also, the Esse is a much more aggressive sailing boat than the other boats I locked at.

Which features of the Esse 750 were most important to you –– design, performance, handling, or something else?

G.M.: Performance, specification and construction quality. The Esse 750 is unrivaled in all there areas, I think. But also, the Esse 750 is made to sail solo or shorthanded. The gennacker chute, selftacking jib and all the control lines are in easy reach from the helmsman’s position. I found that impressive. I sail alone 85 percent of the time and race 5% of the time, mostly club racing. So, the 750 is a good fit for me.

How did the decision process go – from when the Esse 750 first piqued your interest to the final delivery?

G.M.: I narrowed it down to two alternatives — build my own boat or go with the Esse. Those options were still open when me and my wife traveled to Stäfa to meet with Florian Schuchter. It was a beautiful day, and we saw a beautiful boat. Florian’s brother took us for a tour of the Esse 750 and the production sites in Stäfa. When we saw the boat it was clear to me that the built and size of the boat were perfect. Åsa and me liked what we saw, and we signed the sales contract for a boat that day.

Delivery was smooth. Florian sent pictures and updates on the progress of the boat’s construction. Small changes to the equipment weren’t a problem. In mid-April, Florian came up to Saltsjöbaden for delivery and met my grandkids and my sailmaker Noel from Elvstrom. In the afternoon of April 15, we took our new Esse 750 sailing in the cold and bright spring sun. It was magic. And it´s a Swiss boat, so delivery was flawless and on time.

How did it feel when you first saw and sailed your Esse 750?

G.M.: Like driving Jaguar E-Type on a meandering open country road with the top down. She is a very high spec modern racing boat with a traditionally high keel weight percentage. She has classic look. Other sailors actually comment on her beauty when she’s out on the water.

What do you appreciate most about the boat, whether you sail solo or with a crew?

G.M.: I can sail her alone without restrictions. Well, the gennacker comes up and down a little slower than with a full crew. But other than than I can sail her full speed by myself. If I take her on a cruise with Åsa and friends we all fit in the large cockpit. If it’s only Åsa and me, Åsa can cuddle up behind the tiller with a book while I go high-performace sailing. We can cast the anchor, take our been bags out and have coffee and sandwiches in the sun. If I just have hours, I can still take my Esse 750 sailing, because everything is easy to handle. Sometimes, my long-time crewmember Henrik and I take her club racing on Wednesday evenings after work — and win. So for me, the Esse 750 is like a Swiss army knife for sailing. And I think her versataltity is what I like the most. But I also love her speed an her upwind perfomance.

How does the Esse 750 perform in your sailing area – more sporty or more relaxed?

G.M.: She is overall really fast. She is very fast in light air. She sails very high into the wind, going upwind. I’ve sailed her with no reef in 18-20 knots of wind, gusting up to 26 knots upwind, and she still handles the conditions well and sails fast. Compared to most boats in the Stockholm archipelago, she’s blistering fast. But in Saltsjöbaden, many of the high spec racing boats are moored. So I have a lot of good comparison and I have no doubt that the Esse 750 is a sporty, high performance boat. Yet at the same time, she sails with some kind of unexpected ease. That makes her unique.

How do other sailors in Sweden react to the Esse 750 – does the boat attract attention?

How do other sailors in Sweden react to the Esse 750 – does the boat attract attention?

G.M.: They find her beautiful. And they think she’s fast. The sailors I have taken aboard have noticed the quality of construction and all the elegant solutions.

Is there anything else you’d like to share about an Esse?

G.M.: Yes. I’d like to give a shoutout to the Schuchter sportboats and the Schuchter family. They build excellent boats, but they take care of the owners as well. If you have a question about your Esse, the Schichters are never far away. And they really want their customers to have the best possible experience. That’s what all companies say, but the Schuchters really do it. In July, they called and asked if we wanted to come down to the Esse Cup in Thalwil because one Esse 750 had a crew spot open. And of course, we came. It was a great experience.