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The project
The Association Forsviks Varv (Forsvik’s Shipyard Assoc.) was founded
in 1995 with the aim of building the paddle steamer Eric Nordevall II.
This ship will be a replica of the original Eric Nordevall, which commissioned
in 1836, saw 20 years of service before capsizing and sinking in Lake
Vättern. Today she lies in 45 meters (147’) of water and is still in
good condition.
© Reinhardt Grosch
The Eric Nordevall belonged to the first generation of steamships.
Designed to travel the Göta Canal, the Eric Nordevall and her sister-ships
initiated a revolutionary change in Swedish transportation and communications
by permitting a fixed timetable for the Stockholm - Gothenburg route.
Paddle steamers like Eric Nordevall represent the transition from
the traditional mode of travel by horse-drawn carriage to the new mechanical
means of transportation, reflecting the industrial revolution and the
period’s advances in engineering.
Great pains are being taken to construct the Eric Nordevall II as
an exact copy of the original using construction techniques true to
the period throughout, with the exception of certain modifications imposed
by the Swedish Maritime Administration.
© Reinhardt Grosch
The paddle steamer is being replicated close by Karlsborg, at Forsviks
Varv, using new constructional drawings based on qualified measurements
taken on the wreck during the course of marine archaeological research.
When the hull and superstructure are completed, the ship will be towed
across Lake Vättern to the Motala Verkstad (Foundry) where its’ reconstructed
machinery will be installed. This same Motala Verkstad is the company
which provided the original steam engine for the first Eric Nordevall.
© Reinhardt Grosch
The reconstruction of one of Sweden’s first paddle steamers is being
carried out in close co-operation with both marine archaeologists, the
National Maritime Museum and several other institutions concerned with
Swedish cultural heritage. The goal of the Eric Nordevall II Project
is to once again see an authentic paddle steamer in passenger service
on the Göta and Trollhättan Canals, as well as on Lakes Vänern, Vättern
and Mälaren and in so doing, present the public with a living example
of cultural history from the period when Sweden’s modern industrialism
was in its’ infancy. Because neither ship nor machinery of this type
has been preserved, the reconstruction of the Eric Nordevall is a project
of great maritime and general historical interest, both in Sweden and
internationally.
© Reinhardt Grosch
| Facts |
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| Type of vessel: |
Sidewheeler steamship |
| Length: |
28.6 metres (95 ft) |
| Beam: |
6.5 metres (22 ft) |
| Width of hull inside wheelhouses: |
4.3 metres (14 ft) |
| Draught: |
1.9 metres (6 ft) |
| Displacement: |
150 tons |
| Propulsion: |
2 sidelever steamengines of 17 hp each |
| Speed: |
7 knots |
| Passengers: |
approx. 80 |
| Wooden planking on 58 ribs of oak To be commissioned in 2009 |
Original drawing of Eric Nordevall´s machinery,
National Maritime Museum, Stockholm.
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