The Knarr is a Norwegian sailboat that was designed in 1943 by Erling Kristoffersen as a racer, with the first production boat delivered in 1946. It is named for the Norse class of trading ships, the Knarr.
Production
The design was initially built at Grimsøykilen Boat Yard and Kilen Boat Yard in Norway and later by Børresen Bådebyggeri in Denmark. In 2004 production passed to Bootswerft Schneidereit of Germany, but that company ceased building boats on 31 May 2018 and it is now out of production. A total of 450 boats were produced.
Development
The design's concept dates to before 1940, when Willy H. Johannesen and Lars Walløe contacted Kristofersen about designing a replacement for the Nordic Folkboat, which was considered an ugly boat design in Norway. Kristofersen was approached due to having already designed other successful racing sailboats. With Norway under German occupation in the Second World War, work was slow and the design was not completed until 1943. The choice of iron for the keel was dictated by wartime restrictions making lead unobtainable.
Work on the prototype started in 1944 at Einar Iversen's property in Grimsøy, near Sarpsborg, which later grew into Grimsøykilen Boat Yard. The Germans imposed strict regulations on boatbuilding and sailing during the war, but Iversen was allowed to continue work, by promising the first boat to the Germans. He claimed that the prototype as completed was too flawed and promised the Germans the second one, which was constructed in the winter of 1944-45. The occupation of Norway ended before the German boat was delivered and the first production boats were delivered in 1946.
there were racing fleets in Norway, Denmark and San Francisco Bay, with some boats also located in Germany and France. In 1968, the national clubs created an International Knarr Championship, which is held sequentially in Oslo and Bergen, Norway, San Francisco and Denmark.