Storebro Royal Cruiser

The origin of the name of Storebro Boats has always been discussed. Originally the boats were named after islands (Vindö, Solö, Svänö, Storö etc.).
Later they used the name part "Örn" (Eagle) with reference to the Ivar Gustafsons original company "Örnmaskiner" (Eaglemachines).

These names obviously not suit for export. Therefore, the management with Ivar Gustafsson and his nephew and sales manager Dick Gustafsson as well as his sons, Roy and Lennart was looking for a solution.
Dick Gustafsson then tested for export English names like "Baltic Sea Roamer" for the Svanö or "Baltic Sea Chaser" for the Solö. Later the name part "Eagle" was used analogous to Swedish "Örn".
In Germany, the importers chose "Adler" like the "Örn" in "Örnmaskiner". This name should be a synonym for quality. The importer Harry A. Sührcke then made a brand from the name. The boats for Germany got the typical "Adler" signs.

From the 50s the yard had built the "King's Cruiser" (1957-1965) for Andersson and AB Telfa in Gothenburg. The boat sold very well in the US under its English name. However, the name belonged to Gunnar Andersson and therefore could not be used. Inspired by the "Kings Cruiser" Dick Gustafsson came up with the idea to call the ships "Royal Cruiser" in the late 50s.

This name was then used from 1959 to 1973. Storebro presented two boats labeled "Royal Cruiser" in March 1973 at the boat show in Amsterdam. Lennart Ivarsson then received a letter from a Dutch trademark hunter, who had secured the brand "Royal Cruiser" three months earlier and offered the use of the trademark rights for 600,000 guilder. This sum was pretty much money at that time. Lennart Ivarsson therefore asked the Patent Office in Stockholm, whether the operation was legal. The Patent Office confirmed after three hours of checking the legality of the operation, but then made the proposal to change the name to "Storebro Royal Cruiser" and register it. This would make any payment obligation to the Dutch needless. The registration was immediately made and successful. Since they had learned from that mistake, also the other Storebro names like "Solö", "Storö", "Svanö", "Bergö", "Havsörnen", "Sea Eagle" were registered.

There are also rumors that the name was given to the shipyard by the Swedish royal family or that it was allowed to be used since the Swedish king had decided on a "Storebro Royal Cruiser". This version is definitely not correct. At the time in 1979 when the Swedish royal couple decided on a SRC 40 Biscay, the brand name had already been protected for 6 years.