On the coast of the Bothnian Bay, a strong tradition of building Jähti ships, wooden peasant sailing ships, started in the 19^th century when city merchants were forced to give up their right to handle all trading of the farm-owners’ products. Over the course of the years, sailing and shipbuilding tradition have diminished as the ships have aged and become obsolete. In addition, the development of railroads and the road network in the early 20^th century furthered the ending of the Jähti traffic. In Simo alone, there were 43 Jähti ships in the last decades of the 19^th century.

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