More about Aida

AIDA was built according to drawings from the drawing board of renowned American boat designer John G. Alden. The construction has design number 547, and the first boat was named “Cassiopeia”. It was rigged as a schooner and had Bermuda sails on the mainmast.

Alden designed a version with gaff sails on both masts, a topsail on the mainmast and a broadsail on the foremast. Design 547B was named “Story II”. Both versions are described in the book “John Alden and his yacht designs”: https://www.amazon.com/John-Alden-His-Yacht-Designs/dp/0070282544

It is this version that was the inspiration for “Aida”. “Aida” has been assigned design number 547F in the Alden registry database at the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The museum has acquired all the design drawings from Alden’s business, which was established in 1909 and has produced approx. 1000 designs. See here: http://aldendesigns.com/

Some of the contributors to the book were the famous English boat designer Olins Stephens (of Sparkman & Stevens) and the American sailor Donald G. Parrot. The latter had in 1947 ordered drawings from Alden for a schooner not unlike the "Cassiopeia" and later took over the company and the sale of Alden's drawings. I came into contact with him in 1987 and ordered drawings from him for designs 547 and 547B.

The following year was spent talking to a selection of boat builders across the country about building a hull according to Alden's drawings and construction specifications. The choice finally fell on Brekneholmens Båtbyggeri at Borhaug on Lista. The price was reasonable, and we agreed on delivery of the finished hull with engine installed during 1990. The agreement was that I would deliver all the bolts and screws for the hull – all stainless – as well as lead for the ballast keel and engine/propeller system.

The boat was to be built with oak in the keel, stem, frames and beams, and with pine in the skin/exterior cladding. The deck was to be of teak laid on fiberglass-coated plywood. The deckhouse was also of fiberglass-coated plywood with teak cladding.

The boatyard had three employees at that time: Lars Tjørve was the owner of the company. His nephew Ragnar Brekne, who was also a boatbuilder and was in his mid-30s at the time, was supposed to take over the day Lars retired. They had Reidar (Brekne?) with them, and at times a fourth man was with them (I don't remember his name, but I think he was close to Lars.

The construction began in the winter of 1988-89. Bolts and French screws were sent to the boat building. Lead - 8 tons - was purchased from a farmer in the inner Sogn. The load was picked up with a large truck - a robbery story in itself. We had very long arms after having to lug 8 tons onto the truck.

An engine was purchased. It was a Bedford type 466, 6-cylinder diesel with a probable past as an engine in one of the Bergen municipality's garbage trucks. It was renovated according to all the rules of the art by a good friend at the workshop at the Perkins dealer Universal Diesel Vest in Bergen.

Through my work as a journalist for a maritime newspaper in Bergen, I was able to purchase a PRM marine gear and a propeller system. Everything was eventually assembled on a large trailer and taken to the boatbuilding yard in Borhaug.

A close relative in Søvik on Sunnmøre owned a mechanical factory that manufactured stoves, central heating systems and the like for the shipping industry. He had taken an interest in my project. Eventually he became so involved that he built his own version of design no. 547, only in aluminum.

The relative had heard about a batch of teak replacement wood, which was stacked up at a furniture factory in Sunnmøre. It had been discarded as furniture wood, but would be excellent for furnishing a schooner or two. The batch was purchased, divided between us and came in handy as bunk fronts, moldings and other things.

The relative later manufactured all the rigging fittings, the fittings for the deck hatches, etc. And last but not least, his factory manufactured the central heating and the heating radiators, all to special measurements.

The aforementioned many tons of ballast lead were packed on pallets in Bergen and sent to Borhaug. The boatyard cast the large lead keel itself outside the boatyard and had it bolted under the boat.

The masts were cut in a forest at Lysekloster main farm and towed to a boatyard on Lepsøy near Os outside Bergen for manufacturing.

Sails for a schooner the size of AIDA are not cheap. Negotiations were made with an agent in Oslo who represented Lee Sails in Hong Kong. The choice finally fell on Lyngør Seilmakerverksted. I knew sailmaker Frederik Brodersen a little from before through work, and AIDA received a set of sails sewn in a newly developed fabric called “Lyngør Classic”. This was a fabric woven from Terylene and cotton as a replacement/alternative to the well-known Duradon fabric.

AIDA was to have traditional steering - hydraulics were not an option. On the wish list was a traditional so-called "worm steering" - a worm steering - which was almost exclusively used on North American and Canadian fishing schooners around 1900 (for example, the fishing schooner "Bluenose II" has a similar steering machine). The challenge was that the manufacturer was located in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada. A steering machine and associated steering wheel, both in bronze, were purchased at great expense. (The company still exists, but the steering machines are no longer manufactured - AIDA's must be one of the very last. But the steering wheels can still be obtained. https://www.lunenburgfoundry.com/ )

The work on the boat progressed well. I visited the boatbuilding site about every other month. I only had a few comments about the work. In one place I was dissatisfied and asked that it be redone, namely the transom. I had been asked early on to be aware that they liked to lay the planks vertically (I think it was my old friend Gunnar Eikli who mentioned it). I had therefore made it clear to Lars early on that the planks in the transom should lie horizontally. On the next visit, the planks were laid – vertically. This was then corrected by laying a layer of planks horizontally on top of the vertical ones. The transom on AIDA must be Norway's most solid.

The boat builders performed a few extra tasks, namely the manufacture of two diesel tanks and a septic tank for the toilet. The necessary electrical and technical installations for the engine, exhaust system and other necessary for the voyage home to Bergen were carried out by me.

AIDA was launched on May 3, 1990. The boat was naturally high in the water – it lacked both furnishings and rigging. Excess lead ballast, about one and a half tons, was stowed forward, along with a lock (15 fathoms ~ 27.5 meters) of anchor chain and the associated anchor.

One weekend two weeks later, four of us arrived in Borhaug to sail the boat home. A day was spent making the final preparations (building up temporary berths and tables, refueling with diesel and water, and final financial settlements with the boat builder). On Saturday morning, the moorings were cast. The first leg was very strenuous, and we reached Egersund after 8 hours of sailing. On day 2, we reached Sagvåg and on day 3, Straume near Bergen. Apart from severe seasickness on the first day, the trip was problem-free.

After returning home, it was agreed that the boat would go back to the boatyard the following year for minor repairs (warranty repairs). However, this was dropped when I received word that Ragnar had died (of cancer) just a few months after we left Bordhaug. (He was only 36 years old, as far as I remember. Ragnar's death was a tragedy for the boatyard. He had just finished building a house at Borhaug and had a wife and small children. It was a hard blow for Lars Tjørve, who lost his spark and shortly afterwards abandoned the boatyard.)

Varde in September 2020

Tom Rasmussen