Author Archives: karlis

Sauna Samurai

Parksville BC,  Canada

Jeff is a half-Finnish guy on Vancouver Island. He built this awesome little sauna trailer just big enough that he could tow it behind his 1.3l Samurai.  He previously built a sauna in his backyard in Edmonton. His stoves are custom-built, fabricated from old propane gas cylinders with many nice details.

More photos

Interior with custom stove

“Thanks for the complements. I live in Coombs right now but my wife and I have bought a house in Parksville so We will be moving there soon. I grew up in Port Alberni. There are Lots of good free camp sites around there which is why I wanted to keep the Sauna small. I wanted to be able to tow it with my 1.3l Samurai. I plan to make another one some day that is a little bigger. Here is a link to some pics of the first sauna I built with my friend in Edmonton . Edmonton sauna

I had actually made the Kiuas for him a couple of years before and intended to make a sauna tent. When I went to visit we came up with the plan to make a 4×8 plywood box. that could be unscrewed and transported. I used the same shape for my sauna trailer but made it more stiff to bounce down a logging road. I also made the kiuas out of a 30lb propane tank instead of a 20lb one. It is not all done yet, I want to add an outside shower, different ash catcher/air valve, and some other aesthetic improvements.”

Suhtesepp Saunabus

Ilmandu old technology and Sauna Club
Ilmandu, Estonia

The name Suhtesepp is used by the Ilmandu Old Technology and Sauna Club. The club’s goal is to enjoy life through the restoration of old technology. Of course, as typical Estonians, they like saunas. Currently they have a classic Volga car, a minibus RAF named “Puppy”, and a rebuilt Soviet-era KAVZ Kurgan bus for the club’s sauna . They even put wheels under their bath tub, because you never know in advance when you want to enjoy the mood.

They love to rent out their equipment to others because a shared joy is a double joy!

Snow time in Ilmandu, Estonia

Sauna bus costs 800 kroons/51 EUR per hour with a driver and an added fee per kilometer 8 EEK / 0.51 EUR / km from the base and back to Tabasalu. Price includes two bags of firewood, enough for at least three hours of bathing and about 200 liters of water. The sauna has a traditional wood-burning stove, and can accommodate 8 people.

This brightly coloured sauna is featured on the cover of the Mobile Sauna book.

Silla at 15 knots

S/S Silla is the name of the world’s fastest floating sauna. The sauna-boat is a miniature copy of our floating hotel. The 11.9 x 6.5 metre large building is made of lightweight fibre-glass, and secured to a catamaran platform. It is powered by two 160 hp diesel engines from Volvo Penta, and is expected to reach speeds of 15 knots. It can be used as a relax area, conference room, and wedding suite.

The S/S Silla is officially the world’s fastest floating sauna, setting the world record last Saturday, July 4th in Marstrand, West Sweden, during Match Cup Sweden. The sauna reached 15.5 knots (nautical miles per hour), the equivalent of 28.71 kph/17.84 mph. To give you an idea of of how fast that is, the fastest speed acheived by a boat was 275.9 knots, the fastest human swam 4.6 knots, and the fastest aquatic animal, the sailfish, can reach 59.1 knots. The SS Silla’s 15.5 knots will most certainly allow for relaxing in a jacuzzi in style.

Vulkara Onsen Boat

Onsen Bath Boat
vulkana.no,Rintala-Eggertsson Architects
Oslo, Norway

Rintala Eggertsson Architects have rehabbed this old, lovely wood-hulled
workhorse ship into a traditional Japanese-style spa and bath. The Onsen
Bath Boat provides an excursion of relaxation for its passengers, equipped
with a hot stone sauna, a steamy spa and a resting place for sleep and
meditation. The ship itself has plenty of character, carrying its
passengers through cool waters and the backdrop of snow-capped mountains
that climb right out of the sea. Where most destination spas are lined with
palm trees, sand and creature comforts, this sea-worthy bath is an unique,
welcomed departure from the norm.

Vulkara Sauna boat interior

Rintala-Eggertsson have worked on a few other floating sauna design projects, but this one exceedingly impressive.

Bosca Beatha, Ireland

I don’t think sweats are too common in Ireland these days so it’s great to see this mobile sauna trailer on the coast.

If you’re looking for heat in Cork this summer, look no further than Shirley
Fitzpatrick’s mobile sauna, An Bosca Beatha. The Kilkenny native, now living
in Kinsale is delighted with the response it has received so far and she has
already travelled as far as Sligo with her self-built mobile sauna.

The Cork Independent caught up with her down in Garretstown strand on Monday
evening on what looked like a misty winter’s evening but even still there
was plenty of surf and a lot of people about. Before we could ask her about
the inspiration for this unique mobile sauna, we were given a towel and told
to experience it before she would answer any questions. Seating up to eight
people, it was intense heat and the conversation was flowing with the mix of
people there. A dip into the sea afterwards was the perfect solution and it
was exhilarating to say the least.

“The idea behind is that is that I thought it would be really nice if there
was a community sauna that you could access in villages or towns, that you
didn’t have to go to leisure centres. Then I thought about making it and it
seemed like an obvious idea to make it mobile. I did some research on the
internet and found that they aren’t that uncommon and even in Finland they
have an annual mobile sauna festival,” said Shirley.

Adirondack Sauna Boat

The Sauna Boat is proudly made in the Adirondack Park of New York State. The Sauna Boat extends the summer on both ends. It weatherproofs the weekends. It is a pied-a-mer on which to sip early morning coffee, king of the raft venue in the afternoon, and a meandering base for an evening of multi-generational dipping under the stars.

The upper deck invites sunning, lounging and diving (if you know the depth of your lake). It easily navigates with as many crew as 15, and the wood fired sauna, which comfortably seats six, heats up to over 200 degrees in 15 minutes.

Saunaboat Interior

To truly understand the hot and cool plunge sensation and the social atmosphere fostered through the integration of fire and water, you have to experience the Sauna Boat for yourself.

SAUNAPAKU aka Saunavan
Lahti, Finland

SaunaPaku

Saunapaku is a mind-blowing piece of art! Finnish company “iam design”
designed and we builded a 5 star sauna and a dressing room with party
lighting to Mercedes Benz Sprinter 313 CDI -van. Sauna oven is a wood
burning Sydän-kiuas (the best a Man can get!) with Kerkes sauna stones
and every panel in the Saunapaku is made from heat treated aspen.

– Saunapaku’s homepage: www.saunapaku.com
– Saunapaku in the Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/saunapaku
– Saunapaku’s promotional video: http://youtu.be/_zSA3s_ZNlQ
– Sauna oven: http://www.sydankiuas.fi/
– Sauna stones: http://www.kerkes.fi/kivet