Bjarne Aas (1886-1969) was a Norwegian engineer, sailor, yacht designer and shipbuilder who designed approximately 615 boats during his career Wikipedia. He became internationally renowned for his yacht designs and traditional wooden boat construction. Born in Kristiania (now Oslo) on February 28, 1886, Aas studied ship construction at the Karljohansvern technical college in Horten Wikipedia. After graduation, he worked as a boat designer in several Norwegian cities including Fredrikstad, Bergen, and Tønsberg. In 1916, he founded Norsk Gearfabrikk AS on Isegran in Fredrikstad Wikipedia. By 1936, he had established his own boatbuilding business at the same location.
His most famous creation was the International One Design (IOD), conceived in 1935 in collaboration with American yachtsman Cornelius “Corny” Shields. The IOD became hugely successful, with at least 235 boats built by its 75th anniversary, with fleets in Norway, Sweden, UK, Bermuda, USA, and Canada.
Bjarne Aas was among the particularly successful international builders of wooden Dragons WikipediaSailboatData.com, alongside other renowned yards like Anker & Jensen (the original designers), Pedersen & Thuesen, Abeking & Rasmussen, and Savell.
In the 1960s, when the boat building industry revolutionized with plastics, fiberglass, and aluminum replacing wood, Aas refused to conform to modern building methods, believing these new materials were incompatible with his construction philosophy. This led to financial problems, and in 1968 he petitioned his boatyard for bankruptcy Iodwca. He died the following year on March 29, 1969. Despite the closure of his yard, his son Henrik Aas carried on the design tradition, and his boats—particularly the IODs—remain highly prized classic yachts that continue to race today.
| Country | Norway |
| Locations | Fredrikstad, Østfold |
| Years in Operation | 1939-1968 |
| Boats Built | BER 1 CAN 70 71 72 81 90 95 DEN 176 229 236 GER 208 GBR 240 254 257 275 281 294 349 354 379 382 388 514 GRE 6 7 IRL 4 55 349 JAM 4 NOR 95 110 137 138 148 171 183 184 196 199 201 202 205 211 224 230 231 232 234 SWE 217 218 219 USA 6 21 55 61 66 69 83 93 100 157 229 |