Bjarne Carrion

Bjarne Carrion

Bjarne Aas (born February 28, 1886 in Kristiania, today Oslo ; † March 29, 1969 in Fredrikstad , Østfold ) was an internationally successful Norwegian sailor, shipyard owner and yacht designer.

Bjarne Aas was one of the most important boat and yacht designers of the first half of the 20th century worldwide , alongside the Norwegian designers Johan Anker and Colin Archer (the three great Norwegian A 's).

Life

Bjarne Aas spent his youth in Kristiania, today's Oslo . At an early age he learned to sail on dinghies in Leangen Bay in Asker . He studied shipbuilding at the technical college in Horten and after graduating as a shipbuilding engineer he worked first in Fredrikstad , then in Bergen and in Tönsberg. In addition to his work, he was involved in the construction of sailing and motor boats. In 1916 Bjarne Aas founded Norsk Gearfabrikk AS (Norwegian Gear Factory AG) in Fredrikstad. After a few years he changed the production program. Boats were built instead of gears.

Services

He gained his international fame mainly through the design and construction of globally successful 6mR yachts and through the International One Design boats (IOD standard class) developed by him in 1936. He also designed and built various regatta yachts in the international meter classes (10mR, 8mR, 5.5mR), cruising yachts, ocean cruiser yachts, pilot, fish and patrol cutters .

In 1922 Bjarne Aas designed and built his first 6mR yacht, the Askladden . It was not particularly successful as a regatta yacht. Now owned by the Bjarne Aas Museum, it sails again after a restoration.

1924 his breakthrough to the internationally recognized regatta yacht designer with the 6mR yacht succeeded Elisabeth V . The yacht won the gold medal at the Le Havre Olympics . Inspired by this success, Bjarne Aas was henceforth seen as the challenger to the great yacht designer Johan Anker. In 1925 Bjarne Aas designed and built two 6mR yachts: The Elisabeth VI , which won the gold cup with the helmsman Eugen Lunde , the most important of all trophies at the time. The Scandinavian championships of 1925 were won by the Bjarne Aas 6mR-Yacht Flaks .

Bjarne Aas was at the height of his career as a yacht designer in the 1930s. He designed and built a number of 6mR yachts that made him famous around the world.

Most famous regatta yachts

• 1922 Askladden, 6mR
• 1924 Elisabeth V, 6mR
• 1925 Elisabeth VI, flaks, 6mR
• 1928 Sposa II, 8mR
• 1931 Elisabeth IX, 6mR
• 1933 Varg V, 6mR
• 1934 White Lady, 6mR
• 1935 Virgi, 6mR
• 1938 Anne Sophie, 8mR
• 1939 Frøya, 8mR

After the Second World War Bjarne Aas designed and built a number of 5.5mR yachts, such as the Ding How , the Viking , but also the Norma VIII and Norma X of the Norwegian King Olav .

In 1952 the 6mR yacht Elisabeth X from 1947 won the coveted gold cup. The yacht sails to this day at the forefront of the active classic 6mR yachts and became Vice European Champion before Copenhagen in 2002 .

In the 1960s the Bjarne Aas shipyard ran into major economic difficulties. New construction methods became standard in boat building. In the USA, Olin Stephens optimized his yacht designs by means of tow tank tests . Bjarne Aas categorically rejected this method because he was of the opinion that a yacht designer had to rely on his knowledge, his many years of experience and his artistic eye. In addition, glass fiber reinforced plastics ( GRP ) came onto the market as a boat building material and replaced wood as a classic building material. Boat masts were now made of the light aluminum instead of glued wood. In 1968 Bjarne Aas filed for bankruptcy for the shipyard . It was then closed.

literature

• Bjørn Arhild Hansen Ersland: Båtbyggaren Bjarne Aas (boat builder Bjarne Aas), Universtetsforlaget AS Oslo, 1999

Web links

Commons : Bjarne Aas  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Half model: Int. One design by Bjarne Aas
• Article about Bjarne Aas and Aida (6mR)
• Article by Bjørn Arild Ersland in Norsk biografisk leksikon ; Retrieved February 2, 2012