Nordic Folkboat

Nordic Folkboat
Smartskaft, CC BY-SA 3.0

The clinker-built keelboat that was meant to be cheap enough for many – and became one of the most sailed boats in the Nordic countries.

In 1941 the Scandinavian Yacht Racing Union announced a competition for a simple, seaworthy and cheap boat that many could afford. None of the entries won outright, and Tord Sundén worked out the final boat with features from several proposals.

Clinker building was an old Nordic technique that ordinary boatbuilders knew, and the boat became a popular alternative to the expensive racing classes. The Folkboat is still a lively class and a model for later cruising boats.

Materials: Clinker planking of pine or mahogany on oak frames, iron or lead keel; later fibreglass

Manufacture: Built by many small yards in Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Germany from 1942; in fibreglass from the 1970s.

The overlapping planks along the hull, showing that the boat is clinker-built.

The rudder hung outside the raked transom.

The small cabin and the low rig with jib and mainsail.