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The polar ship FRAM.
Fridtjof Nansen proposed building a small ship (170 tons) which would carry provisions for 5 years for 12 men, with an engine which would give a speed of 6 knots, and rigged for sailing. It was to be built to withstand the pressure of the ice and, therefore, to sit upon the ice. He called his ship the FRAM, which means "Onward," and predicted it would take 3 years to cross the Arctic Ocean. Nansen employed a Scottish shipbuilder named Colin Archer who developed many plans of the proposed ship. One was finally agreed upon: lovely - no; practical - yes.
The shape of the hull was designed so that the pressure of the ice would tend to push it up on the ice and not crush it, as was the fate of the ships of previous expeditions. The sides were rounded, the bottom flat, and the ship one third as broad as she was long. In open seas, it was said: "She sailed with the smooth aplomb of an old barrel, but in ice she performed splendidly." Her hull consisted of 3 layers and was greater than 2 feet thick. Matured oak and greenheart, a West Indian hardwood, were used. The greenheart was used for the ice skin on the outside. The hold looked like a cobweb of balks, stanchions, and braces. The bow and stern were rounded and smooth so the ice had nothing to hold on to. Nansen wanted to make the ship as small as possible. He reasoned that if it were lighter, it could be made stronger in proportion to its weight, and a small ship is better adapted to navigation among the ice floes. It turned out to be 402 tons gross and 307 tons net. It was 113 ft. at the waterline; with a keel of 103 ft. Breadth was 36 ft., and depth 17 ft. The draught of water with light cargo was 12.5 ft., and displacement was 530 tons. With heavy cargo, draught was 15 ft., and displacement 800 tons. Freeboard was 3 to 6 ft. The ship carried coal for 4 months of steaming at full speed. She was rigged as a 3-masted fore and aft schooner, and the engine was 220 hp, giving the ship a speed of 6 -7 knots.
The saloon, or dining room, was in the middle surrounded by the cabins. The walls and ceiling were layered for protection and warmth with felt, panelling, air, reindeer hair stuffing, panelling, linoleum, air, panelling, and 4 in. deck plates. She had a skylight protected with three panes of glass. This was done to prevent a problem typical on Arctic expeditions of moisture condensing on walls and running down into the cabins and bunks and freezing them.