Paul Bohling

Paul Böhling (born March 6, 1906 in Tönning ; † January 9, 1968 in Hamburg-Harburg ) was a German shipbuilding engineer , yacht designer and shipyard owner in the post-war period of World War II .

He built his boat and yacht hull constructions mainly from the material steel, which he did not rivet, but joined in an all-welded construction. At the time it was a relatively expensive process that was hardly used in the private yacht sector. In addition, he was the first pan-European designer to test private yacht hull designs in the towing channel of the shipbuilding research institute in Hamburg and built the first German aluminum ocean-going yacht. Paul Böhling was also an official surveyor for the German Sailing Association (DSV).

Act

Böhling's passion for the construction of boats and yachts, coupled with innovative and technically unconventional thinking, has given rise to a large number and range of extremely successful sports boats. The “Blitz-Jollenkreuzer” (built 1942–46) is to be mentioned as a milestone in his boat and yacht building career. Furthermore, the prestigious projects, which were particularly important for the first years of his shipyard and were noticed by the national and international press, such as the cruiser racing yacht “ Romance ” (completed in 1951), the sea cruiser “Inschallah” (completed in 1952) and the 17 meters (Length over all) Aluminum ocean-going yacht "Kormoran" (completion 1953) to be mentioned.

meaning

Built yachts and boats, Böhling shipyard, 1950–56

Paul Böhling is considered a lateral thinker. The main material for the hulls of the Böhling yachts and boats was steel or aluminum because of his unrestricted technical conviction. He represented this vehemently and at every opportunity in specialist circles and in the public interested in water sports. In doing so, he made steel yacht construction very popular in the sport boat sector far beyond the Hamburg state borders . This earned him the respectful title of Genius with an Iron Will during his lifetime .

Many of the Paul Böhling yachts are still actively sailing as so-called classics on domestic and foreign seas. According to the database, forty-nine existing, seaworthy Böhling yachts and boats are currently registered in the worldwide online register of classic yachts. Most of them were built under his own direction in his shipyard "Paul Böhling Yacht- und Bootswerft" in Hamburg-Harburg. At many other shipyards, however, Böhling cracks also served as a design template.

Life

Paul Böhling was born on March 6, 1906 in Tönning an der Eider , North Friesland district , and grew up there with his parents and sister. Although his father, as the station master of the German State Railroad, had little affinity for sea and shipping, the young Böhling was drawn to the Krem shipyard in Elmshorn on the Lower Elbe near Hamburg . There he learned his trade. He was a great talent. In 1929, at the young age of 23 and still at the very beginning of his career, Paul Böhling drew his first construction draft in a sectional view (crack) of a gaff rigged pointed gate on linen.

Paul Böhling obtained his engineering degree at the part-time evening school and continued his professional career at the administrative headquarters of " Deutsche Werke AG " in Berlin. During his next professional position, the " Deutsche Werft AG " in Hamburg-Finkenwerder , the young foreman Böhling met his future wife in the administration there, whom he married in 1934. In the same year her firstborn "Paul" was born. A daughter and another son followed later.

For the shipbuilding engineer Böhling, who has meanwhile been promoted to a master craftsman, Deutsche-Werft AG was initially the last step on his career ladder. He was buried in a bomb attack on Hamburg and injured so badly that he had to take a long recovery break. After the end of the war, the engineer moved with his family to Hamburg-Harburg in "Hafengebiet 8" and continued his career as operations manager at various Hamburg shipyards. This included the “ Ottensener Eisenwerk AG ” shipyard as well as the small and fine traditional shipyard “ Sietas ” in Hamburg-Cranz .

In February 1949, Böhling founded the "Paul Böhling Yacht- und Bootswerft" in Hamburg-Harburg. In 1967 he set the course for his now established and internationally known quality shipyard. His son Paul was supposed to take care of the technical issues of the company as a foreman, while the now 61-year-old shipyard founder wanted to devote himself more to his great passion; the drawing of cracks and the actual construction.

But fate wanted it different. On January 9, 1968, Paul Böhling was involved in a tragic traffic accident with a fatal outcome while driving a van on the way to his shipyard. In particular, the great sympathy for his death from associations, specialist institutions, sailors and motorboat drivers all over Germany as well as his obituary in the press, underlined the great popularity of the late Paul Böhling. His last design “Wanderer”, a steel motor cruiser with a length of 9.30 m, was successfully realized in the Böhling shipyard, which his first-born son Paul continued to run until 1982.

Lightning dinghy cruiser

Paul Böhling made a name for himself as an innovative designer long before he founded the shipyard with the design and construction of the 25 m² lightning dinghy cruiser made of steel (construction period 1942–1946). In 1942 a group of members of the long-established Hamburg “Segel-Club Oevelgönne e. V. “to build this dinghy cruiser planned by long-time club colleague Böhling as a touring vehicle.

Due to its great popularity with sailors between the Elbe and Weser to the Lower Rhine, the German Sailing Association even recognized the traveling dinghy as a national class in 1949 and approved it for regatta sailing. The concise lightning symbol is used as an identifier in the sail.

Böhling yacht and boat yard

In February 1949 Böhling founded the sole proprietorship Paul Böhling Yacht- und Bootswerft with three employees and the foreman W. Peters at the large port lock, port district 8, in Hamburg-Harburg. The shipyard was able to establish itself very quickly. In the first five years since it was founded, over thirty yachts and boats with steel hulls completed at the shipyard were recorded. The construction genius had made a name for itself far beyond the country's borders. Among other things, orders were received from South America. In 1955, Paul Böhling's first-born son, Paul Böhling junior, joined the family business with technical support.

Paul Böhling did not rest in the following years either. Many new developments and special constructions, sailing and motor yachts alike, left the Harburg quality construction yard; Technically high quality and always a little ahead of the times. But steel and aluminum remained the main materials for Böhling.

In 1967 the technical responsibility of the shipyard fell to Böhling's son Paul. When Paul Böhling had a fatal accident in 1968, his son Paul took over responsibility for the shipyard and thus continued the Böhling era.

The oil and economic crisis that followed in the 1970s had existential consequences for many shipyards, whether large or small. The Böhling shipyard also had to close its doors in 1982 in connection with the shipyard crisis . Due to the modernization of the Harburg inland port, nothing today reminds of the former shipyard of the Böhling yacht and boat building yard.

Major shipyard projects

For the start-up and establishment phase, four important contract and reputation projects in particular created the basis for the good development of the shipyard in the following years and are therefore explicitly mentioned. However, the decisive factor for the company's success has always been the innovative strength of the designer and owner Paul Böhling.

10 KR ocean yacht Romance

Paul Böhling made friends with the idea of ​​entrepreneurship relatively late, well after his fortieth birthday. The fateful encounter with the bus and transport company Heinrich Peill from Stade was responsible for this. He submitted the actual start-up order to Böhling, namely the construction of a seaworthy 50 foot (15.24 Lüa) cruiser racing yacht (KR) and thus created the substantial basis for the establishment of the Böhling shipyard from an economic point of view. Just a few months after the formal founding of the shipyard, the Heinrich Peill project was laid down in 1950 as a highly rigged ketch long keel yacht.

Böhling made the design and construction of the seagoing cruising yacht a top priority. He did not rivet the steel hull of the yacht, which was the conventional method in ship steel construction at the time, but joined the Siemens-Martin steel (SM steel), just like in his Blitz construction from 1946, in an all-welded construction. A process that was relatively expensive until then and that was hardly used in the private yacht sector. Böhling's entire technical knowledge flowed into this yacht construction (construction period 1950–51) and in June 1951 the first self-designed and built Böhling cruiser racing yacht "Ursula 2" (original name of the yacht), with great attention from the local press, be launched into the water.

The ocean yacht still sails in the Mediterranean under her new ship name Romance .

9 KR sea cruiser Inschallah

The enormous effort that went into the first Prestige shipyard contract was very characteristic of the Genius Böhling. He was not a passionate businessman, the technical idea was always in the foreground for him. This in turn not only brought Böhling a high profile, but also interesting projects. At the end of 1951 he was commissioned to build the 9 KR Stahl- Yawl Inschallah (construction period 1951–52). It became Böhling's second prestigious project.

The sporting ambition of the client of the Inschallah encouraged Böhling to undertake extensive tests in the towing test canal of the “Hamburgische Schiffbau Versuchsanstalt” (HSVA) and at the same time created a development innovation for sport shipping. With the Inschallah in 1952, Paul Böhling was the first Europe-wide designer to test a private yacht model in the tow channel. A time-consuming and costly procedure, in which only large-scale shipping was sometimes found. From a construction point of view, however, an ingenious approach, which was expressed in over 40 sporting successes of the racing yacht between 1952 and 1955.

12 KR aluminum ocean-going yacht Kormoran

As early as 1953, the trade press eyed another project that was being developed at the Böhling Innovationswerft. A 17 meter (length over all) yawl made of a seawater-resistant aluminum hull which the designer welded in the non-load-bearing areas. A true masterpiece, taking into account aluminum welding, which is currently in its infancy. In fact, it was the legendary Kormoran (built 1952–1953), the first German private ocean-going yacht made of aluminum.

The client was the Hamburg fruit shipping company owned by the entrepreneur "Willy Bruns". Under the skipper "Klaus Hegewisch", this pioneering work by Böhling achieved an impressive second place in the overall ranking of the 3600 nautical miles jubilee transatlantic regatta "Newport - Marstrand" of 1955, which was a drain on people and materials Crown compass by Ludwig Schlimmbach, awarded and also honored with the New York Yacht Club Prize. Klaus Hegewisch wrote a book about the successful transatlantic trip in which he praised the ingenious yacht construction of the Kormoran by Paul Böhling. Measured against the press reaction at the time, the cormorant was Paul Böhling's most spectacular construction and brought him international recognition as far as the USA.

9 KR spreader ketch Safari

Spreading gaff ketch "Safari"; built in 1955 by Paul Böhling

In 1955 - as a further development of the Inschalla - the spreader gaff ketch Safari was created. The client was F. Naumann from the sewing and typewriter dynasty Naumann zu Königsbrück . The safari was also towed in the test channel. In order to be able to sail safari with a small crew, Böhling chose the wishbone or spreading gaff rigging .

Safari is still the only German original Wishboneketch today . According to Paul Böhling jr. the Safari was the first German yacht with Alurigg. Welded U-profiles, which became narrower towards the top. This also showed Paul Böhling's willingness to experiment. The trees and the gaff were made of wood.

A special feature of Safari and the Inschalla is the room layout. Due to the raised deck saloon, the engine could be installed deep in the keel, where it had a positive effect as a ballast component. The Böhlingsche “deck saloon yacht” offers a good all-round view and is therefore very different from the “cellar ships”.

literature

biography

• Frank W .: creative genius with Sturrkopp. Look astern. In: Classic. Friends of Classic Yachts (ed.). Kiel March 2011. No. 1, pp. 20–33.

Others

• Tom Körber: Topos of the locus amoenus. The search for a lovely place. In: Sailing Journal. Delius Klasing Verlag, Bielefeld March 2012, No. 48, pp. 12–34.
• Klaus Becker: Atlantic regatta with the cormorant - based on notes by Klaus Hegewisch. Georg Lentz Verlag, Munich 1955.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o} Paul Böhling Biography Blick achteraus . In: Klassiker , the quarterly trade journal of the “Freundeskreis Klasse Yachten e. V. ". No. 1, 2011, pp. 20-33.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h} Obituary for the death of Paul Böhling . In: Yacht , No. 3, 1963, p. 10.
3. ↑ Spring regatta on the Alster . In: Yacht , No. 13, 1956, p. 318.
4. ↑ ^{a b c} Overview of sports boats built at the Böhling shipyard 1950–1956.
5. ^ ^{A b} Club chronicle since 1905. Sailing Club Oevelgönne. "By making this available, Paul Böhling had ..."
6. ↑ ^{a b} Stacking flight with Paul Böhling - Ursula II goes to water . In: Harbuger Nachrichten , June 16, 1951 (article with picture).
7. ↑ Sailors back on Helgoland - for the first time there is the Inschallah new building from the Böhling shipyard . In: Yacht , No. 14, 1952, pp. 308-309, 323 (report with picture).
8. ↑ ^{a b} The great adventure -… Kormoran has the trophy… . In: Hamburger Abendblatt , 9./10. July 1955, p. 23 (article with picture).
9. ↑ … Newport-Sweden Race - German Kormoran… In: New York Times , July 3, 1955.
10. ^ A lance for steel dinghy cruisers - Böhling statement (letter to the editor). In: Yacht , No. 7, 1957, p. 151.
11. ^ A lance for steel dinghy cruisers - Böhling statement (letter to the editor). In: Yacht , No. 10, 1941, pp. 112-113.
12. ↑ Yacht Archive Friends of Classic Yachts. Database of classic yachts existing worldwide. Keyword designer: Böhling . Retrieved November 3, 2015.
13. ↑ ^{a b c d} Wanderer - Böhling shipyard business strategy . In: Yacht , No. 8, 1968, p. 48.
14. ↑ What was built 1952–53 - shipyard survey . In: Yacht , No. 6, 1953, p. 128.
15. ↑ What was built 1953–54 - shipyard survey . In: Yacht , No. 6, 1954, p. 105.
16. ↑ What was built 1954–55 - shipyard survey . In: Yacht , No. 5, 1955, p. 92.
17. ↑ What was built 1955–56 - Shipyard survey . In: Yacht , No. 6, 1956, p. 120.
18. ↑ What is being built - shipyard survey . In: Yacht , No. 5, 1955, p. 92.
19. ↑ Competent shipyards for aluminum construction - Böhling jun. In: Yacht , No. 7, 1968, p. 43.
20. Jump up in time - The designer Böhling. The shipyard. in the "Sailing Journal", a bimonthly sailing magazine. No. 48, 2012, pp. 26-27.
21. ↑ Homepage Classical Sailing with Yacht Romance Rediscover individuality
22. ↑ Inshallah in the tow test tank . In: Yacht , No. 4, 1956, p. 69.
23. ↑ The yacht in the tank . In: Yacht , No. 12, 1966, p. 70.
24. ↑ The yacht in the tank . In: Yacht , No. 6, 1953, p. 128.
25. ↑ Yacht sport archive. 1956, issue 4, p. 68