Blekinge eka design by Hans Friedel

Hi Chuck!!

Here is my version of a traditional Swedish small boat called "Blekinge eka".

The BE is actually a rather strange boat because it is one of the few Swedish traditional boats with a transom. The reason for that is because the BE has its roots in an area that for a long time (1400-1500) has been the Naval center of Sweden and has always been under strong influence from other European boat builders were transoms were rather common. The Swedish boatbuilders just added the transom to their traditional clink built designs and the BE was born

Another specialty with the BE is that is actually a genuine sailboat. Most other Swedish small traditional boats are rowing boats but they turned out to be descent sailors too. The BE turned out to be a very good sea boat and it started to spread along the coast. And you will find in most parts of Sweden nowadays.

The Be is the mother of all Swedish traditional long keel boat with transoms the Swedish "Folkboat" is an upscale BE.

The long keel of the BE makes it perform much more like a bigger boat than a smaller dingy. For this reason the BE has always been popular among sailing schools. And you can buy fiberglass boats today but the modern Fiberglas BE has deeper keels and Bermuda rigs

The data for my boat is

Length 4.485m
Beam 1.43m
Displacement 350kg Freeboard height 0.270m at 350kg

Hull weight 100kg (aprox)

This boat would work fine for 1-3 persons. And it would be rather easy to build according to the modern Stitch and glue technique.

If someone is interested I have full-size patterns and building drawings

Regards Hans Friedel