The Knarr is a Norwegian

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

that was designed in 1943 by Erling Kristoffersen as a racer, with the first production boat delivered in 1946. It is named for the Norse class of trading ships, the Knarr.Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition'', pages 132-133.

Houghton Mifflin Company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (; HMH) is an American publisher of textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults. The company is based in the Boston Financ ...

, 1994.

Production

The design was initially built at Grimsøykilen Boat Yard and Kilen Boat Yard in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and later by

Børresen Bådebyggeri Børresen is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Arne Børresen (1907–1947), Norwegian footballer *Børge Børresen (1919–2007), Danish sailor *Erik Børresen (1785–1860), Norwegian ship owner, merchant and philanthropist *Ge ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. In 2004 production passed to Bootswerft Schneidereit of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, but that company ceased building boats on 31 May 2018 and it is now out of production. A total of 450 boats were produced.

Development

The design's concept dates to before 1940, when Willy H. Johannesen and Lars Walløe contacted Kristofersen about designing a replacement for the

Nordic Folkboat The Nordic Folkboat (Swedish: Nordisk Folkbåt) is a Swedish sailboat that was designed by and Tord Sundén as a racer- cruiser and first built in 1942. Even though Sundén drafted the plans with design ideas provided by Iversen, Sundén was ...

, which was considered an ugly boat design in Norway. Kristofersen was approached due to having already designed other successful racing sailboats. With Norway under German occupation in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, work was slow and the design was not completed until 1943. The choice of iron for the keel was dictated by wartime restrictions making lead unobtainable. Work on the prototype started in 1944 at Einar Iversen's property in Grimsøy, near

Sarpsborg Sarpsborg ( or ), historically Borg, is a city and municipality in Viken county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Sarpsborg. Sarpsborg is part of the fifth largest urban area in Norway when paired with neigh ...

, which later grew into Grimsøykilen Boat Yard. The Germans imposed strict regulations on boatbuilding and sailing during the war, but Iversen was allowed to continue work, by promising the first boat to the Germans. He claimed that the prototype as completed was too flawed and promised the Germans the second one, which was constructed in the winter of 1944-45. The occupation of Norway ended before the German boat was delivered and the first production boats were delivered in 1946.

Design

The Knarr is a recreational keelboat that was initially built of

mahogany Mahogany is a straight-grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Unive ...

fir Firs (''Abies'') are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family (biology), family Pinaceae. They are found on mountains throughout much of North America, North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The ...

wood on a hull-shaped

last A last is a mechanical form shaped like a human foot. It is used by shoemakers and cordwainers in the manufacture and repair of shoes. Lasts typically come in pairs and have been made from various materials, including hardwoods, cast iron, and ...

. Wooden construction avoided the use of

strategic material Strategic material is any sort of raw material that is important to an individual's or organization's strategic plan and supply chain management. Lack of supply of strategic materials may leave an organization or government vulnerable to disru ...

s during the

. In 1974 the design was converted by Børresen Bådebyggeri to

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...

construction, with wooden trim, starting with hull number 129. The fiberglass version preserves the weight and balance of the wooden version. The boat has a fractional

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

rig, initially with

spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...

wood spars and later with

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...

. The forestay set well aft of the bow. The hull has a spooned,

raked stem The stem is the most forward part of a boat or ship's bow and is an extension of the keel itself. It is often found on wooden boats or ships, but not exclusively. Description The stem is the curved edge stretching from the keel below, up to ...

; a raised counter, angled

transom Transom may refer to: * Transom (architecture), a bar of wood or stone across the top of a door or window, or the window above such a bar * Transom (nautical), that part of the stern of a vessel where the two sides of its hull meet * Operation Tran ...

; a

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

-mounted

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...

controlled by a

tiller A tiller or till is a lever used to steer a vehicle. The mechanism is primarily used in watercraft, where it is attached to an outboard motor, rudder post or stock to provide leverage in the form of torque for the helmsman to turn the rudder. ...

and a fixed fin keel. It displaces and carries of iron ballast. The boat has a draft of with the standard keel. For sailing the design is equipped with only a mainsail and

jib A jib is a triangular sail that sets ahead of the foremast of a sailing vessel. Its tack is fixed to the bowsprit, to the bows, or to the deck between the bowsprit and the foremost mast. Jibs and spinnakers are the two main types of headsails ...

, no

spinnaker A spinnaker is a sail designed specifically for sailing off the wind on courses between a reach (wind at 90° to the course) to downwind (course in the same direction as the wind). Spinnakers are constructed of lightweight fabric, usually n ...

. The design has a Portsmouth Yardstick racing average handicap of 91.0 and is normally raced by a crew of three to four

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

Operational history

The boat is supported by three active class clubs that organize racing events, the ''Norsk Knarrklubb'' founded in 1951 in

, the ''Dansk Knarr Klub'' formed in 1955 in

and the ''Knarr Class of San Francisco Bay'' in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. there were racing fleets in Norway, Denmark and San Francisco Bay, with some boats also located in Germany and France. In 1968, the national clubs created an International Knarr Championship, which is held sequentially in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

and

Bergen, Norway Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, secon ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and Denmark. Knarr-Regatta

The design was introduced to

in 1953 by Einar Iversen's son, Bjørn Iversen, who was attending

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

. The design proved well-suited to the windy conditions and the chop of

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...

and gained a following there. In 1966, the Knarr ''Irina'' was sailed by Georg V. Erpecom Jr. from Bergen to the Centenary Regatta in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

and then to

, the longest voyage that had been sailed by a Knarr up until that time. Erpecom was awarded the

Royal Norwegian Yacht Club The Royal Norwegian Yacht Club ( no, Kongelig Norsk Seilforening, KNS) is a yacht club in Oslo, Norway. The club was founded in 1883 as country-wide organisation with affiliated local yacht clubs. In 1884, it was granted the right for members ...

's ''Cruise Racing Trophy'' for the trip. In 1967 the

Royal Danish Yacht Club Royal Danish Yacht Club ( da, Kongelig Dansk Yachtklub; shortened KDY) is a Danish yacht club in Copenhagen that was established 1866 under the name ''Dansk Forening for Lystsejlads''. It is the oldest yacht club in Denmark, and has been under roy ...

presented Margrethe II of Denmark and

Prince Henrik Prince Henrik of Denmark (; born Henri Marie Jean André de Laborde de Monpezat; 11 June 1934 – 13 February 2018) was the husband of Margrethe II of Denmark. He served as her royal consort from Margrethe's accession on 14 January 1972 unt ...

a Knarr as a wedding gift.

References

External links