Hvalsoe Rowing

Hvalsoe-for-website.jpg

  • Breasthook is left open around stem

  • Stem raked sharply forward

  • Sharp angle between keel and stem

  • 2009.16.1

  • Builder/Location: Eric Hvalsoe, Seattle, WA Date: 1989

  • Length: 13’ 4” Beam: 4’5” Rig: Sprit

  • Shape: Bottom, round/Transom stern

  • Construction: Frame, steam bent/Lapstrake/ Clench nailed/Skeg

  • Material: red cedar, oak, mahogany, copper

  • Plank Thickness: 3/8”

  • Rib Dimensions / Spacing: 3/8” X 5/8” – 8”-81/2” centers

he Hvalsoe 13, 15, and 16 represent a new design series originating in Seattle following the wooden boat revival of the 1970’s. They are creations of Seattle native Eric Hvalsoe. The Hvalsoe 13 (initially spelled Valso, a phonetic  derivation of the designer’s name) was the first of the three designs, and was drawn by Eric while still in trade school in 1981.

Eric began building boats in Tacoma at the L.H. Bates Vocational Technical Institute in 1979-81. Designing he learned on his own through research and a careful eye for lines. The Hvalsoe 13 was his first ‘official’ design, and is very successful as a combination  boat, a small craft that is a pleasure both to sail and row. The first was built for Gerry Brown, a tugboat skipper from Seattle, and launched in 1982. Eric has built several more HV 13s; CWB’s boat is one of these. Eric has also taught classes in building the HV 13 at CWB and in Holland, and a few have been built by amateurs who purchased plans. The subsequent Hvalsoe designs are similar in lines and appearance to the 13.

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