Nordic Folkboat
Encyclopedia
The Nordic Folkboat is a small sailboat, rigged as a sloop
. The design of this boat was the result of a competition held by the Scandinavian Yacht Racing Union in 1942, who were hoping to create an easily sailed and low cost boat. The competition produced no outright "winner " but, taking the best features of a number of the entries received, the organisers commissioned professional designer Tord Sundén to create a craft that met the goals of the design competition. The resulting boat went on to become an international favorite of sailors and still endures more than 60 years after its design. The first Nordic Folkboat was built in Göteborg in Sweden
, and as of 2007, more than 4000 Nordic Folkboats are still sailing around the world.
or lap-strake method of boat building. The boat was designed to be built with oak framing and fir planking, although different builders used many different species of wood. The boat has an open cockpit
and a low coachroof covering a small cabin usually consisting of two bunks and minimal storage furniture. The boat is rigged as a simple fractional sloop
, with minimal standing rigging
, consisting only of two lower shrouds, two jumper shrouds, a headstay
, and a backstay
. Despite the simplicity of the rigging, the mast is highly tunable, enabling the Folkboat to sail well in light and heavy air well beyond initial expectations.
“International Folkboat”. This design corresponded largely to the original, but it offered more comfort below deck, and it had a self-bailing cockpit. However, the term “International Folkboat” was too misleading and was forbidden. Today, the class is simply called “IF-boat
.” The IF-boat was manufactured at Marieholms Bruk in Småland (Sweden) until 1984.
In 1968, the Folkboat successfully made the transition from traditional clinker timber to modern molded GRP
(fiberglass) construction ... retaining the characteristic simplicity of the design. In 1975, Erik Andreasen, a Dane, introduced a GRP replica of the original design ... the mold being taken from his own Tibbe which won the Gold Cup that year. Weights and measurements were carefully preserved to insure level competition with wooden boats, and only an outboard engine was provided. The type is called the Nordic Folkebåd.
A newly-built fiberglass Folkboat is an exact replica of the original Folkboat ... and today, wooden and GRP boats race together. The class rules are administrated by the Folkboat International Association. The largest international regattas are: Gold Cup (an unofficial world championship), Sessan Cup (a team race), Kieler Woche and San Francisco Cup. There are active fleets in Denmark, Sweden, Germany, United Kingdom, Ireland, Finland, USA, Canada, Holland and Belgium.
In the United Kingdom, a large fleet has developed on the south coast, and the class is continuing to expand. The 2004 Folkboat Nationals were hosted by the Royal Lymington
Yacht Club.
In the United States, an active group of Folkboats in the San Francisco Bay Area is organized as the San Francisco Bay Folkboat Association, which schedules various racing and social events such as the bi-annual San Francisco Cup Regatta. The San Francisco Bay fleet has been supported over the years by the Alameda, California boatbuilder Sven Svendsen, who was the first US builder of Fiberglass Nordic Folkboats.
The Folkboat is also a popular cruising yacht especially in the Baltic Sea
area, despite its small interior size and lack of "heads".
The iron ballast keel represents more than half of this displacement making the Folkboat extremely stiff and seaworthy, and it is one of the smallest craft to have made regular ocean crossings and circumnavigations.
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
. The design of this boat was the result of a competition held by the Scandinavian Yacht Racing Union in 1942, who were hoping to create an easily sailed and low cost boat. The competition produced no outright "winner " but, taking the best features of a number of the entries received, the organisers commissioned professional designer Tord Sundén to create a craft that met the goals of the design competition. The resulting boat went on to become an international favorite of sailors and still endures more than 60 years after its design. The first Nordic Folkboat was built in Göteborg in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, and as of 2007, more than 4000 Nordic Folkboats are still sailing around the world.
Design
The Nordic Folkboat, as initially designed, is constructed of wood in the clinkerClinker (boat building)
Clinker building is a method of constructing hulls of boats and ships by fixing wooden planks and, in the early nineteenth century, iron plates to each other so that the planks overlap along their edges. The overlapping joint is called a land. In any but a very small boat, the individual planks...
or lap-strake method of boat building. The boat was designed to be built with oak framing and fir planking, although different builders used many different species of wood. The boat has an open cockpit
Cockpit (sailing)
In the Royal Navy, the term cockpit originally referred to the area where the coxswain was stationed. This led to the word being used to refer to the area towards the stern of a small decked vessel that houses the rudder controls...
and a low coachroof covering a small cabin usually consisting of two bunks and minimal storage furniture. The boat is rigged as a simple fractional sloop
Fractional rig
A fractional rig on a sailing vessel consists of a foresail, such as a jib or genoa sail, that does not reach all the way to the top of the mast....
, with minimal standing rigging
Standing rigging
On a sailing boat, standing rigging generally refers to lines, wires, or rods which are more or less fixed in position while the boat is under sail. This term is used in contrast to running rigging, which represents elements of rigging which move and change fairly often while under sail...
, consisting only of two lower shrouds, two jumper shrouds, a headstay
Forestay
On a sailing vessel, a forestay, sometimes just called a stay, is a piece of standing rigging which keeps a mast from falling backwards. It is attached either at the very top of the mast, or in fractional rigs between about 1/8 and 1/4 from the top of the mast. The other end of the forestay is...
, and a backstay
Backstay
On a sailing vessel, a backstay is the piece of standing rigging that runs from the mast to the transom of the boat, counteracting the forestay and jib...
. Despite the simplicity of the rigging, the mast is highly tunable, enabling the Folkboat to sail well in light and heavy air well beyond initial expectations.
Evolution
In 1966, Tord Sundén introduced the carvel-plankedCarvel (boat building)
In boat building, carvel built or carvel planking is a method of constructing wooden boats and tall ships by fixing planks to a frame so that the planks butt up against each other, edge to edge, gaining support from the frame and forming a smooth hull...
“International Folkboat”. This design corresponded largely to the original, but it offered more comfort below deck, and it had a self-bailing cockpit. However, the term “International Folkboat” was too misleading and was forbidden. Today, the class is simply called “IF-boat
IF-boat
The IF-boat is a sailboat class.-Specifications:The IF-boat has a reputation as a strong sailor, at ease in any force of wind. Its overall length is 7.87 metres for a waterline length of 6.03 metres...
.” The IF-boat was manufactured at Marieholms Bruk in Småland (Sweden) until 1984.
In 1968, the Folkboat successfully made the transition from traditional clinker timber to modern molded GRP
Glass-reinforced plastic
Fiberglass , is a fiber reinforced polymer made of a plastic matrix reinforced by fine fibers of glass. It is also known as GFK ....
(fiberglass) construction ... retaining the characteristic simplicity of the design. In 1975, Erik Andreasen, a Dane, introduced a GRP replica of the original design ... the mold being taken from his own Tibbe which won the Gold Cup that year. Weights and measurements were carefully preserved to insure level competition with wooden boats, and only an outboard engine was provided. The type is called the Nordic Folkebåd.
A newly-built fiberglass Folkboat is an exact replica of the original Folkboat ... and today, wooden and GRP boats race together. The class rules are administrated by the Folkboat International Association. The largest international regattas are: Gold Cup (an unofficial world championship), Sessan Cup (a team race), Kieler Woche and San Francisco Cup. There are active fleets in Denmark, Sweden, Germany, United Kingdom, Ireland, Finland, USA, Canada, Holland and Belgium.
Long Distance Capabilities
In the 1950s, the Folkboat began to attract the attention of long-distance voyagers for its modest cost and seaworthiness.- Ann Gash from Australia, who made a single-handed circumnavigation in Ilimo between 1975 and 1977.
- 1962/1963 Adrian Hayter sailed single handed from New Zealand to the U.K.in 'Valkyr' by the Westward/Panama route.
- Lt. Col. H.G. "Blondie" HaslerHerbert HaslerLieutenant-Colonel Herbert George "Blondie" Hasler, DSO, OBE was a distinguished Royal Marines officer in World War II, responsible for many of the concepts which ultimately led to the post-war formation of the Special Boat Service...
sailed a greatly modified folkboat Jester to second place in the first Observer Singlehanded Trans Atlantic RaceSingle-Handed Trans-Atlantic RaceThe Single-handed Trans-Atlantic Race, or STAR, is an east-to-west yacht race across the North Atlantic. When inaugurated in 1960, it was the first single-handed ocean yacht race; it is run from Plymouth to the USA, and is held every four years....
in 1960. - Mike Richie sailed Jester in several Singlehanded Trans Atlantic Races until Jester was damaged and lost at sea. Richie survived and competed for many years in a replica of Jester.
- Rozelle Raines sailing Martha McGilda in which she was the first British Woman to sail singlehanded to Russia in the 1960s.
Geographic Spread
According to Nordic Folkboat International Association by 2007, the largest Folkboat fleet is in Sweden (1300 registered boats) followed by Denmark (1125), Germany (900), Finland (400), UK (100), U.S.A. (100) and The Netherlands (48).In the United Kingdom, a large fleet has developed on the south coast, and the class is continuing to expand. The 2004 Folkboat Nationals were hosted by the Royal Lymington
Lymington
Lymington is a port on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Solent, in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. It is to the east of the South East Dorset conurbation, and faces Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight which is connected to it by a car ferry, operated by Wightlink. The town...
Yacht Club.
In the United States, an active group of Folkboats in the San Francisco Bay Area is organized as the San Francisco Bay Folkboat Association, which schedules various racing and social events such as the bi-annual San Francisco Cup Regatta. The San Francisco Bay fleet has been supported over the years by the Alameda, California boatbuilder Sven Svendsen, who was the first US builder of Fiberglass Nordic Folkboats.
The Folkboat is also a popular cruising yacht especially in the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
area, despite its small interior size and lack of "heads".
Key dimensions
- Length (LOA): 7.68 m (25' 2")
- Length on waterline: 6.00 m (19' 8")
- Beam: 2.20 m, Sail area: 24.00 m² (258 ft²)
- Draft: 1.2m (3' 11")
- Weight: 1930 kg (2.12 Imp. tons) (minimum)
- Ballast: 1050 kg (1.16 Imp. tons)
The iron ballast keel represents more than half of this displacement making the Folkboat extremely stiff and seaworthy, and it is one of the smallest craft to have made regular ocean crossings and circumnavigations.
Builders
- Folkboat Central Hamburg (ex Kerteminde)
- Bootbau in Switzerland
- Brandt-Møller Boatyard in Denmark
- Parnu Shipyard in Estonia
External links
- Nordic Folkboat International Association
- UK Folkboat Association
- San Francisco Bay Folkboat Association
- Folkboats Australia
- International Folkboat links
- Swedish IF-Boat association
- Finnish Folkboat Association
- An online diary of a folkboat in Wales, UK
- Folkboat Erasmus, US 118. Online account of a Nordic Folkboat on San Francisco Bay.. HTML and Flash. Updated link on 2010-01-08.
- s/y Kåre, Folkboat SWE 52