Finland has the highest per-capita boat ownership in the world. The Finns build tough, seaworthy boats that can handle the turbulent conditions of the Baltic, Norwegian and North Seas, which can be very similar to the Gulf of Maine, especially in winter. So, when East Coast Yacht Sales (ECYC) President and Owner Ben Knowles asked if someone from Soundings wanted to come out in December to test a Finnish-built Targa 32 in Maine, I jumped at the chance.
The Targa 32 is not a new design—it’s been around since 2011 and over 320 of them have been built thus far—but Knowles recently added Targa to his company’s lineup and a new 32 had just arrived at his dealership from Finland. ECYC is the exclusive dealer for the Targa brand on the East Coast. Cardinal Yacht Sales in Bellingham, Washington, sells Targa on the West Coast.
Knowles took on the Targa brand when some of his customers started asking for adventure boats with more space and features. “A lot of our customers have things on their adventure boat that they don’t want to give up,” Knowles says, “like a little bit of a galley, space to cook, some accommodation and a hot water shower. When they came looking for their next boat, they wanted walkaround side decks and a 30-knot cruise speed, plus more volume in the boat.” Knowles began his search for a new brand that could suit these needs. but didn’t find anything in the U.S. He looked at boats made in Australia, New Zealand, Europe and Scandinavia. “The Scandinavians have been doing this whole adventure/explorer concept for years,” he says. “We were looking for something that not only fit the mission but was of the highest standard and build quality. Targa matched that.”
The first boat from Targa, the 25, was launched in 1979. Five years later, Botnia Marine purchased the rights to build the boat; it’s been producing Tar- gas of various sizes ever since. Unlike many Scandinavian brands, which are moving production to Poland and other countries, Botnia builds Targas in the same facility where it started making sailboats in 1976. Almost everything for the Targas has been built in-house since 1984, and more than 3,200 of the walkaround boats, which include 10 models from 23 to 46 feet, have been completed at one of its two western Finland facilities.
I was stoked to test the 32 in nasty winter weather. But sometimes things don’t turn out as you’d planned. Instead of big seas and howling winds, the day of our test was about as beautiful as a December day in Maine can be, with a blue sky, warmer than usual temperatures and very little wind.
Targas are not off-the-shelf products. Customers get to heavily personalize their boats with options. Knowles had the test boat set up for a New England boater who might want to use it year- round. Among the many goodies he’d added were the Eberspächer D2 diesel cabin heater, a mask package that covered all the exterior stainless steel in a black powder coat finish, a damped Grammer Avento Premium driver’s chair, a roof rack for kayaks or SUPs, an all-black radar dome, solar panels to power an additional battery, and a light package bright enough to illuminate the night sky. The Targa 32 is available with a flybridge, but for this stock model Knowles opted for a coupe version with a sunroof.
The 32 is available with 12 power packages. There are 10 inboard choices ranging from a single Volvo Penta D6 400-hp sterndrive to twin Volvo D6 440-hp I/Os. Outboard options include twin 350s or twin 400s. The test boat had a pair of 380-hp Volvo sterndrives, which Knowles says gives the 32 a good combination of fuel economy for cruising (1.6 nautical miles per gallon at 30 knots) and top speed (43 knots).
Numerous spaces on the 32 were optimized for dual use. In the pilothouse near the helm, the large expanse of teak in front of the double seat to port had ample room for large paper charts. But under the teak lid, I found a small galley with a sink and two propane burners; a fridge was hidden beneath the driver’s seat. The center section of the dash opened on two gas struts to create the headroom needed to enter a good-sized forward cabin with V-berth for two people, plus numerous lockers and storage compartments.
I was expecting to find the head in the bow, but Knowles pointed me aft, where steps abaft the U-shaped portside dining area led to a head/shower combo with enough headroom for my 5-foot, 10-inch frame. There were two more berths in the aft cabin. A twin bunk looked too coffin-like for me and my mild claustrophobia but should be fine for most adults or a child. The double bunk on the other hand, was much more to my liking and if I owned a 32, I would pick that over the forward Vee, although I reserve the right to change my mind once I see one of the four other optional bed layouts Targa offers for the 32.
Throughout the cabin, the vertically grained teak interior looked spectacular and the hard corners were rounded in all the right places to prevent unpleasant encounters with sharp edges. A more traditional, horizontally grained teak interior is also available, but the pattern on the test boat made the 32 look like it belonged in the year 2024. And Targa got the wood-to-white ratio just right. Too much teak inside a boat and it feels oppressive and dark; too little and it might feel cold and sterile. Also impressive were the doors and drawer fronts trimmed out with strips of solid teak rather than glue-on veneers, which tend to chip over time. Everything on the 32 felt first class, with one surprising exception: the drawers were screwed together, not dovetailed.
Abovedeck, the Flexiteak flooring nearly faked me out. The bow area featured a double forward-facing seat, with additional seating and stowage all-around. An optional 15-pound stainless steel DTX anchor had a remote wireless control for the windlass. The tall gunwales with hand-holds all around made forward and aft transits feel safe and secure.
The cockpit featured fixed seating and stowage to port and starboard, including a fridge box with thermostat inside one of the lockers to keep drinks cool or to preserve the catch. Aft-facing seats against the pilothouse could be raised when needed so with a table mounted in the cockpit, the outdoor dining area would be large enough for six or more people. An anchor winch on the transom was another nice touch.
A peek at the engines below the cockpit deck was another revelation. The wiring was impeccable. Everything was clearly marked and matched up with laminated diagrams that were mounted inside the panel covers. Abaft the cockpit, the swim platform had a hatch right above the outdrives to provide easy access to the running gear in case the props need to be inspected or cleared.
Knowing how much Knowles loves outboards on the Axopar boats he sells—he owns an Axopar 37 with twin outboards which he uses in Maine year-round with his wife and two small kids—and knowing how American boaters are embracing outboards more than ever, I was a bit surprised Knowles ordered the 32 with inboards. But he had his reasons. Knowles views the Axopars as day or weekend adventure boats, but he sees the Targas as explorer boats for longer trips where the fuel efficiency and range of diesels and the ability to run a diesel heater allows you to easily extend the boating season in colder climates.
“Customers want to extend their season and boats like this make that easy,” he said. “You’ve got the electric heater in the engine room, so you don’t need to winterize your engines at night, as long as you’re plugged in to shore power. You don’t need to worry about sub-zero, freezing temperatures. You get in the boat, the engines are warm, nothing’s frozen up and you can go boating. There’s a demographic of people that want to be doing stuff like that.”
Casting off from the dock was easy with the optional Volvo Penta Dynamic Positioning System holding the boat at the dock, and Knowles used the joystick at the optional aft docking station to take us onto the water. An aft docking station might seem excessive on a boat this size, but it’s a great feature if you’re alone.
Knowles pointed out the unrestricted sightlines through the entire cabin as we maneuvered toward the mooring field. I gave the joystick a whirl myself and was surprised to see how easy it was to steer the boat toward Casco Bay from the cockpit.
As we headed out the Harraseeket River, we switched to the inside helm station, which had everything one could ask for without overwhelming the senses. A single large Garmin MFD was nicely positioned above the wheel, digital gauges were mounted in places where they were easy to read, and all the controls were exactly where you wanted them. Once on the bay, the varnished wooden wheel gave me a nice grip as I pushed the throttles forward and the Targa took off for the Atlantic.
At WOT, the Targa hit 43 knots. With only 1- to 2-foot seas on the bay, I circled back to cross our own wake, but found that the Targa didn’t make much of a wake. Knowing I wouldn’t find much of a sea state on the ocean, I jumped the wake of an inbound lobster boat at 30-plus knots, but the Targa cut through the wake without even rattling the standard dinnerware that comes with the boat.
With the sun’s reflection off the ocean nearly blinding us, Knowles lowered the sun curtains to deal with the glare as we quickly closed in on Halfway Rock Lighthouse. Out on the ocean, I stopped the boat with her stern to the waves so Knowles could launch his drone off the bow for a photo shoot. With the drone airborne, I launched the Targa into planing mode and made multiple runs by the lighthouse. By the time we were done, we laughed at the track we’d made on the MFD. The multiple wiggles looked as if a drunken sailor had been at the wheel.
Looking to extend my time aboard, I asked Knowles if we could return to Freeport via Peaks Island. Until then I’d been driving while standing, but Knowles encouraged me to use the optional Grammer Avento Premium driver’s chair, which he’d outfitted with a headrest and armrests that included a remote built into the armrest to control the screens without having to lean forward. He also showed me how the seat could be adjusted, and the entire steering console could be pivoted at whatever angle I desired. With everything set for maximum comfort, we took off for Portland at 30 knots under a sunny, clear blue sky.
Maybe I didn’t get the weather to give this stout and sturdy Finnish boat a run for its money, but I figured I might as well run it like a king, firmly planted on his throne.
LOA: 35’4”
Beam: 11’1”
Draft: 3’6” Weight: 13,890 lbs. Fuel: 211 gals. Water: 40 gals. Power (as tested)
(2) 380-hp Volvo Penta D6
This story was originally published in the March 2024 Issue.
