The Lake Effect

In landlocked Switzerland, two boatyards on the shores of Lake Zurich have carved reputations for craftsmanship for more than a century.

- Adam H Graham

A hull in progress at Boesch's production yard in Sihlbrugg, Switzerland.

ON SWITZERLAND'S BANANASHAPED Lake Zurich, two coasts gaze across the placid water at each another. The international, sunset-dappled eastern shore is famed for its terraced vineyards laced with walking trails, splashy swimming badis and celebrity residents, including Tina Turner and Roger Federer. Aptly called Goldküste, or Gold Coast, it's a prime spot to dip your Vilebrequins into the lake while charging your Tesla, dozens of which line the residential streets. (It's Switzerland's number-one selling car, after all, beloved locally for its engineering, not its status.) The opposite, western coast is decidedly more Swiss, with modernist 1950s Reform churches, a chocolate factory and old mills converted into art spaces. It's enveloped by the shade of its own mountain a few hours earlier than its neighbour each evening, earning it the nickname Pfnüselküste - Sniffle Coast.

If you think the east coast is better than the west, you've failed the ultimate Swiss litmus test: the ability to identify discreet luxury. Sure, the show-pony Gold Coast has beautiful sunsets and split-level homes surrounded by sunken fire pits and infinity thermal pools. But in this tiny nation, luxury and quality are whispered, not shouted, and the flashiest is seldom the best. It takes a trained eye to understand the austere appeal of Sniffle Coast. For starters, much of it is outside Canton Zurich, in an area notorious for its tax breaks. Because of that lucrative perk, many heritage Swiss businesses planted themselves here long ago and haven't budged since.