Fram (Nansen)
Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2008 11:19 am
IN 1890 when the Norwegian Parliament, the Storthing, agreed to aid Nansen, he made arrangements with Mr. Colin Archer, a British-born resident in Larvik, to construct a suitable vessel for work in Arctic waters. After several models had been submitted to Nansen he chose a design, and work commenced. At the expiration of two years the immortal Fram, was ready for sea. She was the strongest vessel of her size which had ever been built for work in the Arctic. Launched at Larvik, on October 26, 1892, she was christened by Mrs. Nansen. The vessel had an ungainly look; the after part of her flush deck sloped upwards to give more head room and the masts were so thick that it was thought in the shipyard she might be top-heavy. She was built just large enough to carry provisions for 13 or 14 men for six years, besides the necessary fuel and equipment. Her displacement was close on 600 tons and she had machinery of 160 i.h.p., which gave her a speed of six knots, on a coal consumption of 2 3/4 tons per day.
Pointed at stem and stern she resembled a Scots "buckie" boat, excepting that she was carvel-built, and was almost flat-bottomed so that she could rest on the ice, if necessary, without capsizing. Both the stem and stern were considerably curved to prevent the ice gripping the ship. Her screw could be raised when necessary and was protected from damage in a well; the rudder was also similarly adapted for this purpose. The ship's sides (from 28 in. to 32 in thick,) were solidly constructed of oak, pitchpine and greenheart, and were strengthened by many beams and stays inside the vessel, while the whole ship was divided into three sections by two watertight wooden bulkheads. On her foremast the Fram carried a square foresail and topsail, and was fore and aft rigged on main and mizzenmasts; her sail area was about 650 sq. yds. Her principal dimensions were; Overall length, 128 ft.; beam (excluding ice sheathing), 36 ft; moulded depth, 17 ft; draft with light cargo, 12 ft; freeboard, with full load, 3 V2 ft.
Nansen believed in bright, cheerful colours, and the Fram 's hull above the waterline was painted grey, the gunwale green, the poop scarlet, while red, white and green were the prevailing colours of the deck fittings. The whole expedition was fitted out most thoroughly—over £25,000 was expended upon the ship and her outfit, the vessel alone costing nearly £10,000. She is depicted on the first two stamps, with her two great navigators, Nansen and later Amundsen. She left Norway on June 24, 1893, and reached 85 deg. N., the farthest North any ship had been up to that time, and returned to Norway in 1896. In 1899 she was used by Sverdrup in his exploration of Jones Sound (Baffin Bay).
In 1910 Capt. Roald Amundsen used the Fram for his famous voyage to the South Pole, after she had been converted from steam to oil firing. The vessel is now on public view at the Bygdones Museum, Oslo, where she is being preserved for posterity by the Norwegian Government.
Norway SG392
Pointed at stem and stern she resembled a Scots "buckie" boat, excepting that she was carvel-built, and was almost flat-bottomed so that she could rest on the ice, if necessary, without capsizing. Both the stem and stern were considerably curved to prevent the ice gripping the ship. Her screw could be raised when necessary and was protected from damage in a well; the rudder was also similarly adapted for this purpose. The ship's sides (from 28 in. to 32 in thick,) were solidly constructed of oak, pitchpine and greenheart, and were strengthened by many beams and stays inside the vessel, while the whole ship was divided into three sections by two watertight wooden bulkheads. On her foremast the Fram carried a square foresail and topsail, and was fore and aft rigged on main and mizzenmasts; her sail area was about 650 sq. yds. Her principal dimensions were; Overall length, 128 ft.; beam (excluding ice sheathing), 36 ft; moulded depth, 17 ft; draft with light cargo, 12 ft; freeboard, with full load, 3 V2 ft.
Nansen believed in bright, cheerful colours, and the Fram 's hull above the waterline was painted grey, the gunwale green, the poop scarlet, while red, white and green were the prevailing colours of the deck fittings. The whole expedition was fitted out most thoroughly—over £25,000 was expended upon the ship and her outfit, the vessel alone costing nearly £10,000. She is depicted on the first two stamps, with her two great navigators, Nansen and later Amundsen. She left Norway on June 24, 1893, and reached 85 deg. N., the farthest North any ship had been up to that time, and returned to Norway in 1896. In 1899 she was used by Sverdrup in his exploration of Jones Sound (Baffin Bay).
In 1910 Capt. Roald Amundsen used the Fram for his famous voyage to the South Pole, after she had been converted from steam to oil firing. The vessel is now on public view at the Bygdones Museum, Oslo, where she is being preserved for posterity by the Norwegian Government.
Norway SG392