The Eric Nordevall II Project

An association called Forsviks Varv (Forsvik's Shipyard Assoc.) was founded in 1995 with the aim of building a paddle steamer "Eric Nordevall II". This ship will be a replica of the original E. Nordevall, which saw 20 years of service before sinking in Lake Vättern.

The E. Nordevall and her sister-ships initiated a revolutionary change in Swedish transportation and communications by permitting a fixed timetable for the Stockholm - Gothenburg route.

Paddle steamers like the E. Nordevall represent the transition from the traditional mode of travel by sailing vessels or horse-drawn carriage to the new mechanical means of transportation, reflecting the industrial revolution and the period's advances in engineering.

Great pains are being taken to construct the Eric Nordevall II as a historically true copy of the original, with the exception of certain modifications imposed by the Swedish Maritime Administration.

The paddle steamer is being replicated at Forsviks Varv on the western side of Lake Vättern, close by the town of Karlsborg, using new constructional drawings that are based on qualified measurements taken on the wreck during the marine archaeological research of the 1980's. When the hull and superstructure are completed, the ship will be towed across Lake Vättern to the Motala Verkstad where its two side-lever engines will be installed. The engines are built according to the original plans. The original plans are preserved; they are in the Archives of the Swedish National Maritime Museum. The Motala Verkstad is the same company that provided the original steam engines for the E. Nordevall.

The reconstruction of one of Sweden's first paddle steamers is being carried out in close co-operation with marine archaeologists, the Swedish National Maritime Museum and several other institutions concerned with Swedish cultural heritage. The goal of the Project Eric Nordevall II is to once again see an authentic paddle steamer in passenger service on the Göta Canal, as well as on Lakes Vänern, Vättern and Mälaren and in doing so, to present the public with a living example of cultural history from the period when Sweden's modern industrialism was in its infancy. Because neither ship nor machinery of this type has been preserved, the building of the Eric Nordevall II is a project of great maritime and general historical interest, both in Sweden and internationally.