Hank,
It depends on how you define small, but the boat rental companies around here usually start at 40', and are quite expensive to rent. You'd probably have better luck studying the classifieds at this site:
FINN båt - Norges ledende båtmarked. Søk etter båter, båtmotorer og båtutstyr. Caveat: It's in Norwegian only
Regarding sailing in the great fjords in western Norway, which is something a lot of visitors seem to want to do: Norwegians sailors don't do it, and for a couple of good reasons. First of all, they're terribly boring to navigate unless you're in a in a quite fast boat. In a sailboat, you would continue on the same course for hours on end. Secondly, there's not necessarily a lot of
wind there, and if there is then it tends to be way too much. And last but not least, they can be quite dangerous to a sailboat, and even to a
motor cruiser. The reason for this is a natural phenomena known as fallwinds. These are pockets of cold air that start from the mountains, some 3000-4000 feet up, and rush down towards the fjord, generating very high localized winds. These winds can strike without warning on the even the brightest and warmest days, but are even more common in windy conditions. although they are a particular
danger to sailboats, even larger vessels such as harbor tugs have been capsized and sunk by these winds. If you are sailing on the great fjords, it is absolutely imperative that you are on the constant lookout for any disturbances on the
water, and are ready to instantly release the
sheets at any time. Gennakers and spinnakers are obviously a BIG no-no on the fjords.
By all means, the great fjords are marvellous in every other aspect, just not for sailing. Also note that this only applies to fjords that are surrounded by high mountains, i.e. western Norway. The Oslo Fjord and the lesser fjords in eastern and southern Norway are surrounded by lower hills, are perfectly safe and wonderful, albeit more crowded, cruising grounds.
Now, the main reason why we don't sail the fjords is that we don't have to, we have the world's most wonderful cruising grounds all along the coast, the "skjærgård" - "skjær" meaning skerry and "gård" meaning yard, farm or garden. There are literally tens of thousands of small and large islands, sounds, coves, inlets, beaches and inland waterways to discover. You can
cruise for days along the coast without ever having to venture into the open sea, and all the while you pass old farms, fishermen's cabins, villages and summer houses along your way, so there's always something to see. There are countless deep, well protected natural harbors that you can have all by yourself - at least if you're travelling outside the
vacation month of July. The downside? It can be
cold and
wet, but that makes it all the much better when the sun breaks out