Colin Archer

Colin Archer was a Norwegian naval architect and shipbuilder who was known for his design of seaworthy pilot and rescue boats and the larger sailing and polar ships. He was born in Larvik, Norway, as the 12th of 13 children to parents who immigrated from Scotland in 1825. He spent some time as a farmer and administrator in Queensland, Australia, with several of his brothers, before returning to Norway in 1861 and studying practical and theoretical shipbuilding. He married Karen Sophie Wiborg in 1869 and had five children with her. He designed his vessels in the workroom of his residence at Tollerodden, where he also had his own shipyard. He was influenced by the work of Fredrik Henrik af Chapman and John Scott Russell, and he developed a distinctive style of double-ended boats with sharp bow waterlines and wide midship sections. His pilot boats proved to be very seaworthy and stable, and he received an order to design a rescue boat for the Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue. He built about 200 boats in his career, including the famous polar ship Fram, which was used by both Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen for their expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic regions. He also designed other polar ships, such as the Gjøa and the Maud. He was awarded the Order of St. Olav for his contributions to Norwegian maritime history. He died in Larvik in 1921 at the age of 88.