Sea Chaser I (Solö Ruff)

Remarks

Visit of the new Solö Ruff by Gunnar Sundmann (VD AB Gösta Berg), Gösta Berg, Ivar Gustafsson, Harald Wiklund (VD Volvo Penta), Tage Truedsson and Einar Runius (in black) (from right to left).

After the young Örnmaskiner shipyard had previously manufactured only rowing boats or the camping boats on behalf of Electrolux, it was decided to develop an own product range. As a designer Einar Runius was chosen. Runius designed both the smaller Passbåten Örnen and the larger Ruffbåten Örnen. With the start of production of Express Cruiser (Svanö) in 1956 the price list no. 16 listed the boats named "Vindö" and "Solö" for the first time. This layed the foundation for a long Solö series.

The Solö Ruff was an elegant 24-feet cabin cruiser with inboard and shaft drive. With this boat Örnmaskiner started the production of about 1,100 boats of all Solö boats. The boat was a great sales success and made the name of the shipyard widely known. In addition to the shipyard, the Solö Ruff was also a great success for its dealer Gösta Berg and for the engine supplier Volvo Penta. Storebro became the biggest customer of Volvo Penta at times.

The Solö Ruff was replaced in 1964 by the Solö Cabin and its sister with the new stern-drive, the Solö AquaCabin.

When the Solö Ruff came on the market in 1952, the hull length was specified with about 6.85 meters. Outer mark of the boats built until 1953 are the two round portholes in the hull to port and starboard and the single side window of the helm station. At least since 1954, the hull length is specified with 7.00 meters and the width with 2.00 meters. From the autumn of 1955, the length is 7.10 meters with a constant width of 2.00 meters. At the end of 1958, another version for double-engine and with comfortable cabin and toilet is offered parallel to the existing version. The hulls of these ships were 7.35 meters long and 2.46 meters wide. The dimensions of the hull are very similar to the dimensions of Svanö. These ships stand out due to slightly changed proportions. The production was probably intended among other things for the American market and took place in 1958/1959. At the end of production, the length of the classic model grew again from 7.10 meters to 7.25 meters in length and 2.25 meters in width. These dimensions have been valid from 1960 to 1964.

Solö Ruff - type plate AB Telfa

"Solö Ruff" was the name under which the boat was sold in Sweden. At that time "Storebro Royal Cruiser" was not yet in sight as a global brand name. In the English-speaking world the boat was called "Sea Chaser" or "Sea Chaser I". On the German market the boat was sold as "Örn Kajütboot" (1953), as "Adler-Vorderkajütkreuzer" (1960) and as "Adler Boot-Typ Solö". A Spanish language brochure identifies the boat as "Gaceta II". No wonder that the shipyard was looking for a uniform name for the marketing.

Some of the boats were also sold by partners. A big partner was AB Telfa from Gothenburg. This company marketed the boats worldwide. For this the boats got their own type plates from AB Telfa and their own serial numbers. The serial numbers on the type plates of AB Telfa are for Solö Ruff in the range from 1500 upwards.

Solö Ruff kit

Örnmaskiner also offered the Solö Ruff 1962/1963 as a kit for customers who were skilled craftsmen. The customer got a completely prefabricated hull as well as all wooden parts needed for the superstructure and the cockpit. The wooden parts were delivered cut to size. The necessary support of the self-building customers demanded a lot from Tage Truedsson. Often delivered wooden parts were sawn up because they were thought to be a different part. According to the delivery lists, a total of twelve boats were delivered in kit form.

A very famous customer and owner of a Solö Ruff was the Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren.
After grounding and repair she wrote these thankful words:

Various names of the various solo ruff variants circulate on the Internet. Sometimes the boats are called Solö Ruff 1-4. However, this distinction was not made by the shipyard. Nevertheless, there are visual differences with which the ships can be assigned to specific periods.
The table below is based on existing data and does not claim to be complete or correct (additional information or suggestions for correction are welcome).

Silhouette

Year

Info

1952-1953

Original design from 1952. Characteristic features are the two round portholes and the single down angled side window of the cockpit. The dimensions of the boat are given as 6.85 m x 2.00 m.

1953/1954

Design around 1953/1954. New are now the three oval portholes. The side window of the cockpit is still one-piece, but runs horizontally.

• The length of the boat is now 7.0 m and it is 2.0 m wide.

1954 - 1960

Design from probably mid-1954th Besides the well-known three portholes, the ship is now provided with the well-known two-part side window. This design was retained in its basic appearance until the end of the production period.

• 1955 the length of the boat grows to 7.1 m and it is still 2.0 m wide.

1960 - 1964

The well-known design is preserved. The length grows to 7.25 m. This design was retained in its basic appearance until the end of the construction period.

• Since 1960 the standard version of the Solö Ruff has been 7.25 m long and 2.25 m wide.
• The driving position changes from the starboard to the port side.

1958/1959

1958/1959, a version of the Solö Ruff is built for double engine and with more cabin comfort (e.g., with toilet). One would think that the hull of the Svanö had been used. Unlike the standard models, the boats known up to now have a two-part windscreen instead of the three-part windscreen.

• This boat is 7.35 meters long and 2.46 meters wide.