1889 Built as wooden pine hulled Hardanger jakt by Jo Sjøtrø in Nordvik for the brothers Ola and Johan Drøpping.
Tonnage about 120 ton, dim. 76 x 21 x 8ft.
Sail area. Mainsail 140 square meters. And total sail area about 400 square meters.
1925 Re-rigged as a galleass. Her sail area was then somewhat reduced.
1936 She received her first engine a Wickmann, 50hp.
The "SVANHILD " galeass was built as a Hardanger jakt in Nordvik in Surnadal on Nordmøre in 1889. The vessel is 76 feet long and 21 feet wide when built.
The ship was used to carry mainly fish and salt between Kristiansund and Lofoten .
As a jakt, SVANHILD had one mast, and a crew of six people. Around 1925 , SVANHILD was rigged to galeass , that is, it got two-mast. The sails became smaller and easier to work with, and you could now sail the vessel with five people. In the mid -1930s , a motor was installed in SVANHILD and the large rig was removed. SVANHILD continued to operate freight along the coast until 1976.
Then the ship was bought by private persons in Kristiansund, and the intention was to re-rig the ship again into a sailing vessel. This project was not completed, and in 1983 SVANHILD was purchased by Oddbjørn Hovland and Berit Kjeldsberg. After a short stay in Haugesund, the ship got as homeport Florø , and in 1984 a cooperative with several owners from the coastal town was formed. Two years of restoration and rigging yielded fruit, and in the period 1985 - 1988 SVANHILD was on a three-year-long around the world circumnavigation. After returning home in 1988, she went on a couple of years with some charter assignments, including to Copenhagen and to Vågsberget for filming of Knut Hamsun's "Landstrykere".
In 1995, the SVANHILD Foundation was established and all the old owners transferred their shares free of charge to the foundation. The Friends of SVANHILD's association was established at the same time as the foundation and aims to create an active environment for the conservation and use of SVANHILD. The Friends Association is responsible for activities, day trips, meetings and so on. From 1991 to 2001 , SVANHILD has undergone extensive restoration. Most of the ship has been replaced and rebuilt at the Hardanger Fartøyvernsenter in the years 1991-1997. The new rig is made in Florø. The extensive restoration work is mainly financed by the National Antiquarian, but also with good support in the form of licenses from the County Cultural Office, Sparebanken Sogn and Fjordane and Florø municipality.
In connection with the restoration work, Oddbjørn Hovland, a former employee of the Coastal Museum, has carried out a thorough research and documentation work on the type of sailing vessel that SVANHILD represents. During the period 2000 - 2005 , the Coastal Museum by Trond Strømgren led the restoration work, and SVANHILD was certified as a training vessel in April 2005. SVANHILD is today one of the most authentic restored vessels in Norway. The administration of SVANHILD is located under the Coastal Museum in Florø.
1991-1997 Was restored Hardanger Fartoeyvernsenter, in that time most of her hull was replaced and restored as she was in 1889, and her rig replaced by a new one, rigged as a galleass.
Fitted out with two Perkins SABER diesel engines each 182hp.
Interior fitted out with a new galley and expanded bunk capacity, as well as two new toilets.
She participated in the Tall Ship Race in the summer of 2008.
2019 In service, same name and owners.
https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C2%ABSVANHILD%C2%BB
Niger 2019 800f sg?, scott?
Niger 2020 800f sg?, scott? now rigged as a two mast ketch.