This is us
From our logbook – then and now.
em² sailing technology
The em² sailing technology has its origins back in the 80s. We were thrilled by the flexibility of the folding boats. Off on holiday with the yacht in the boot. The old sails from grandpa’s attic were soon no longer enough. The boat got a second mast, the masts became higher and the sails bigger, outriggers became necessary. The Falter was appropriately christened (K)Enterprise. It sailed better and better, we became more courageous and sailed in regattas. Initially laughed at, we gained the respect of the “sailing professionals”; on the water we were often first amazed and then given the thumbs up.
At the folding boat meetings, the (K)Enterprise was marvelled at, because many folding boat drivers have sails to go with the boat. Tips and tricks were exchanged and detailed solutions were copied. This is how the idea for folding boat sail making workshops came about. We wanted to help people to optimise their existing sailing technique. Over time, it became clear how carelessly paddlers approach sailing and we also offered sailing courses.
The idea of making our own sails came about during a workshop in 2012 at the Müritz: One of the participants said: “I want something like the (K)Enterprise, only a bit smaller. Can you build it for me by next year?” The Faltbootsegel UG was founded in February 2013 and we developed our own sailing technology. The first thing we created was our furling reef.
In the meantime, we are em² and the product range includes sailing technology for kayaks and canoes in many variations, depending on your needs. We place very high demands on our products, both technically and aesthetically. We develop and produce in Germany.
Our passion
Unadulterated sailing pleasure for our customers
The benchmark:
Duration of the sailors’ grin: in after the trip
em² Sailing Campus
Over the years, a community of enthusiastic canoeists has grown steadily. We were looking for a place to meet and found it on the Strelasund. In the next few years, the em² sailing campus will be built here. The location is perfect, the Strelasund is a great sailing area. Here we want to bring the spirit of seamanship to life, respectfully, together, sustainably and close to nature. From paddling and sailing beginners to yacht sailors, we accompany everyone who wants to learn to sail or improve their skills.
em² Team
Bert
I was born with a love of water and nature. At the age of one, I was already taking part in my parents’ water excursions, in the front of a folding boat.
I got my first sailing licence at the age of seven. As a teenager, I sailed enthusiastically on youth hiking cutters, did my training as a youth leader on them and, at 17, sailed as a skipper with young people on hiking tours across the Baltic Sea. I acquired further sailing certificates and at the age of 18 I passed the Seacoast Shipping Licence (SKS). Since then I have sailed thousands of nautical miles on many seas. But it’s the small boats that have done it for me. Sailing with paddle boats is a very wobbly affair, you have direct contact with the water and sail really fast.
Ingo
Paddling was already important to me in my youth. When I was 18, I bought my first folding boat, which was a real adventure: organised according to plan, folding boats were in stock in the Erzgebige, so I had to drive to Annaberg Buchholz in my Trabbi and pick them up at the local SpoWa (GDR-speak: sports goods shop). Since then, I’ve been on the road with the folding boat every summer. During my training, studies and later, I organised paddling tours for friends to pass on my enthusiasm for paddling and being outdoors. Even during that time, we used every opportunity to make the wind work for us. No matter whether it was an umbrella or a tarpaulin, if it was favourable, we sailed.
Since then, the fascination of moving with wind power has never left me, and about 20 years ago I was bitten by the sailing bug. I learned to sail and became intensively involved with boat building and sailing physics – my mechanical engineering studies formed a good basis. My dream was to sail the fastest folding boat in the world and so the (K)Enterprise was born.
Eckhard
How my children’s eyes shone when my father arrived with a folding boat in the 70s. I was already eager to help with the first assembly. What you could do with this boat! Paddle, sail and pack small! So it didn’t take long until I also owned one of those boats.
During my training as an artist, the boat was the brilliant part of active relaxation. After three days in the boat, I had the feeling of having been on holiday for three weeks – what a gift! During such a tour, I improvised a sail with existing material because the wind was favourable. Over the next few years, I tried everything that existed in terms of sails for kayaks. My trained sense of balance came in very handy. But at some point it was exhausted. During this time I met Ingo. He had made pretty much the same experiences and was building his (K)Enterprise. I was totally enthusiastic. The chemistry was right and together with Bert we got started.