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Alot fritid - the company

The inventors of Canalot are: Mikael Nordström, Mikael Englund and Henrik Hansson.

Our relation came through the sport of windsurfing many years ago. Our differences in profession but great interests in boats and watersports has made Canalot a very versatile and well balanced product. Many boat professionals are also involved in the process. Alot fritid has many more complementing ideas yet to become reality both on water and land!

The history behind Canalot

Canalot since the beginning 2000-11-01

The idea of an all purpose boat suitable for mounting on a car roof was born during a trip between the surfers paradise Varberg and Årjäng located in western of Sweden, home of the two windsurfing veterans Mikael Nordström and Mikael Englund.

They wanted a boat that was easy to take down from the car roof and was easy to assemble so you could quickly get out on the water and go to places where a small trailerboat would have trouble reaching. They were looking for the same easy solution as existed for the windsurfers but one that was more suited for people who didn´t want to risk falling in the water as with windsurfing.

The next year Henrik Hansson joined the project. He had a background as a Dr in economics, competition sailor and multisportsman and could help with many great ideas both in terms of product refinement as well as how the project should be financed.

Christmas 2003, had the Canalot been developed so far that a Swedish patent was warraned and an option for EU-patent was given.
The concept was from the beginning to provide a boat that can be transformed between sailing, paddling and motoring. These categories seldom meat in the same form, and then it usually is an afterthougt. Here, every part has been given equal amount of thought and smart functions is evident in the all different capabilities of the Canalot.
Three-in-one has been the original thought and is a key concept in how the boat is presented and advertised. The reception in the press has been very positive as well among presumed buyers.

The development has been going on constantly and in 2005 reached a point where production could start. As with all new innovative and groundbreaking products there is allways some scepsis about cross-function, especially in the conservative sports as sailing and paddling, where some think there should not be any mixing between the two.
But real life test by the press and others, especially a full blown test by the norwegian magazine "Paddling" where they gave the Canalot thumbs up and a honoring fourth place in canoe marathon K2 2004 proves that it is a good product that can stand to bee scrutinized.

After some succesful trialdays during 2004 with many enthusiastic participants, the Canalot was put to the test and was refined so that details better corresponded to the users needs. A longwinded CE-regulation postponed the final launch to 2005. A different production process where adopted to be able to cut down on manufactoring cost thus lowering the retail price substantial. This proved to be a vital strategy making the Canalot lie in an attractive price range.

The Canalot has slowly matured during a long trial and error period making it a mature product from the sales start, with absence from the usual child deceases normaly present in a new product. It is packed with innovative and clever solutions ready to explore seas and shorelines and rivers

The Canalot 2009

Since the Canalot is a concept which can be adjusted to different needs, there will most likely be different models in the future. Whether it is a different color models or a racingconcept with beafier sails.

Prospective clients we have been in touch with include everything from ordinary familys to multi athletes, adventurers, seniors, summercamps and disabled persons. We strive to make the production with the lowest amount of pollution possible and we have already replaced styro with new more environmental friendly material and located the production in modern facilities adapted to this type of production.

The Canalot team has been traveling alot on the roads and the warm orange color of the Canalot and its nice lines have been gathering a lot of attention and interest among the bypassers. We sure hope we have made you interested and we are looking forward to hearing from you or see you at a trial sail.