Christine af Bro

Type of vessel: Boeier
Construction material: Oak, pine, larch and juniper.
Gross tonnage: 79
Length overall: 21,71 m
Lenght including bowsprit: 29,5 m
Beam: 5,72 m
Draught, abt: 2,2 m
Displacement, abt: 130 tonnes
Ballast: 20-30 tonnes
Height of mast, abt: 22 m
Sail area, abt: 230 m²
Engine: Diesel, 380 hp
Propeller: 980 mm
Steering: Tiller, wire and chain
Age of construction: 1997-2005
Place of construction: Bojortvarvet, Kristinehamn
Number of passengers: 55
Life rafts: 3 (to carry 60 persons)
Crew: 2-5
Planned traffic: Day and charter trips in the Kristinehamn archipelago

Origins

Originally the Boeier came from Holland and Flanders. At first the boeier was used putting out buoys and to locate shoals and banks, possibly due to its shallow draught. The name Boeier (“bojort” in Swedish) is believed to refer to this useful design characteristic. The Boeier has been very important in the development of Kristinehamn. On those ships iron from Bergslagen was transported via lake Vänern to destinations abroad.

The design of the Boeier

Of significance in the design of the Dutch boeier was its flat, wide almost square bottom, which meant that it could carry a large cargo. The stern was higher than the bow. Typical was also the wide, short leeboard, in order to reduce the leeway. The Boeier was rigged with a mainsail (gaff sail) an or-dinary square sail, a jib and a flying jib. The rudder was seperate from the keel.

Methods of Working

“Christine af Bro” is built according to an old dutch tradition. The keel waslaid down and, subsequently, the stem- and sternposts were erected. Instead of, as is usually the case, erecting all the frames before the planking is fixed, planking is commenced when the bottom frames are in place. The upper frames are then erected followed by the chine and the toptimber, and when the planking is completed. The thickness of the frames is 8 inches. As oakum in order to make crevices watertight and prevent rot, a mixture of tar, chalk, linseed oil and water glass is used. As an impregnating agent, linseed oil is applied over the entire vessel. The ship is carvel-built, which means that the planking is put edge to edge. The boards are placed in a steam box in order to make it possible to bend them without breaking, and they are formed to the shape of the hull. The boards are 2,5 inches thick. About 6 500 plugs of juniper wood are turned to be used for the planking. In the black-smith`s shop (in Norra Hamngatan) in the neighbourhood of the shipyard nails and bolts are forged.

The financing

The building of the vessel is financed partly from the EU. To get a contribution from EU one must obtain public in parallel. This implies, for example, that the municipality, the county employment board and the employment agency are involved to a certain extent. In the case with the Boeierproject the financing apart from EU consists almost exclusively of people employed by labour marketprograms. The total cost is estimated at 16 million SEK.