- Founded
- 1973
- Headquarters
- Leangbukta 34A, 1392 Vettre, Norway
- Shipyard location
- Kaunas, Lithuania
- Official website
- https://marex.no/
Brand Overview
Norwegian family-boat builder founded in 1973 and now built in its own factory in Kaunas, Lithuania — seven cabin cruisers from the 9.5-metre 310 Sun Cruiser to the 13.7-metre 440 Scandinavia, with the Smart Canopy that closes the cockpit in under a minute.
YachtCodex Analysis
AI-generatedAn independent reading of this builder written by AI. Unlike the specifications and descriptions elsewhere on this page, it is interpretation rather than a sourced fact — treat it as a starting point, not a citation.
What this builder is
Marex — from the Latin mare and rex, 'king of the sea' — was founded in Norway in 1973, when Eyvin Aalrud started building boats at Rykene; the first model, the 24 Sun Cab, was laid up in fibreglass on a Joda hull, and the yard says 432 were sold. After a fire in 1979 production moved to Fevik, where the Sun Cruiser concept began; the Scandinavia concept, with a wide glass sliding door between salon and aft deck and an opening sunroof, followed in 2000. After the founder's death in 1998 his son Espen Aalrud took over, and production was moved step by step to Lithuanian partners in Kaunas, now the main facility: 28,000 m², more than 450 employees and, by the yard's figures, 150-170 hulls a year, 80% of them vacuum-infused. The models are designed with Nikl Design, and the 440 with VOM Creations and the Alpha group. The range is seven boats from 9.46 to 13.70 metres — 310 Sun Cruiser, 330 Scandinavia, 360 Cabriolet Cruiser, Marex 375, Marex 390, 440 Gourmet Cruiser and 440 Scandinavia — on Volvo Penta diesel sterndrives, shafts or IPS, several also with Mercury diesel sterndrives. Each page prints a full specification: length, beam, draught, empty or dry weight, tanks, design, CE category, cabins, berths, heads, engine options and approximate speeds. Marex AS has a showroom at Vettre near Oslo, and Marex Boats USA is in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Who sails them
Marex owners are families who cruise for days or weeks in northern waters and want a boat that stays comfortable when the weather turns — buyers who value a cockpit that closes with the Smart Canopy and heats up, separate shower cabins and large galleys, wide side decks and high rails for children, and a Norwegian-designed boat with a dealer network across Europe, North America and Australasia.
Signature models
The 440 Gourmet Cruiser, European Powerboat of the Year 2024 and Motor Boat of the Year winner with what the yard calls the largest galley in its class, is the flagship; the 330 Scandinavia, European Powerboat of the Year 2022, carries the Scandinavia concept that the yard traces back to 2000, and the 310 Sun Cruiser continues the line begun in 1979.
Strengths
Marex is known for the Smart Canopy that encloses the cockpit in under a minute, sliding salon doors and pilot doors, family-first layouts with separate shower cabins and large galleys, its own vacuum-infusion factory with a four-hour shower test for every boat, many awards including European Powerboat of the Year, and more than fifty years of building Scandinavian family boats.
Considerations
Figures are given as approximate; weight is the empty or dry figure, with full-load displacement printed on some pages; draught depends on single or twin engines; the Marex 390 prints no speeds or designer; the 440 Scandinavia and 440 Gourmet Cruiser print the same main characteristics; the 330 is offered with a short or long swim platform, so its length varies; hull material is not given on the model pages; and the boats are built in Lithuania for a Norwegian brand.
Analysis generated 10/17/2026
Part of
Fleet at a Glance
Calculated from the models in the YachtCodex catalog, not from the builder's claims.
- Models in catalog
- 7
- Length range
- 9.46–13.7 m
- Hull forms
- Motor Monohull 7
- Cabins
- 2–3
Models by this brand
7 models
History
Marex was founded in Norway in 1973 by Eyvin Aalrud, a former export manager for local boat builders, who started production at Rykene together with Joda. The first model, the 24 Sun Cab, was built in fibreglass on a Joda hull; the yard says 42 were sold at a single boat show and 432 in all between 1974 and 1987, and the 32 Friendship that followed became the largest Norwegian fibreglass boat of 1975. When the factory burned down in March 1979, production moved to Fjord's factory at Fevik in southern Norway, where the first Sun Cruiser 27 began a concept the yard has kept through more than five generations; the 77 Holiday of 1983 started the aft-cabin line. After the 1987 crash stopped sales in Scandinavia, the founder's sons Espen and Thomas built up dealers further south in Europe. Eyvin Aalrud died in 1998 and Espen took over, looking for manufacturing partners in Lithuania; the Scandinavia concept, with its wide glass sliding door and opening sunroof, arrived with the 330 Millenium in 2000, and production moved model by model to Kaunas, beginning with the 270 Estremo. From 2009 Espen Aalrud led development with Nikl Design, producing the 310 Sun Cruiser, 320 Aft Cabin Cruiser and 360 Cabriolet Cruiser, and in 2020 he began work with VOM Creation and the Alpha Group in Slovenia on the flagship Marex 440. Today the main facility in Kaunas has 28,000 m² of production area and, the yard says, 420 boatbuilders.
History written frommarex.no/history/· Who are we? 50 years of expertiseread 10/17/2026