History

On May 27, 1939, an unusual construction was moved into the lake at Götaverken. It was Thorsten Kreuger's yacht EDI, a craft designed by Knut Ljungberg with a hull made from aircraft aluminum. Ljungberg was the head of the Hästholm shipyard where many large motor yachts were built, several of them designed by himself. The boat had not been given a conventional "new construction" number in the 500 series, but was built on order number 3010, which in Götaverkens Number and Literature List of 1939 was part of the group 3001-4000 called "Aircraft manufacturing account".

The construction work for the hull and details was carried out at Götaverken under the direction of Vilhelm Rören and Karl Gustav Gislén. The boat had the dimensions L.O.A. 31.5 m, beam 4.75 m and draft 0.93 m, with a displacement of 35,000 kg. As mentioned, the hull was built from lightweight metal, specifically German aluminum alloys. The frame from the aluminum alloy "Bondur", and consisted of Z-profiles 50x35x35. The planking was made from 4-5 mm thick BS-Scewasser, and was riveted to the frame with riveted joints. The bow and stern rail were made from sand-cast aluminum. The entire ship, but especially the hull, had the character of an experimental construction.

The machinery consisted of three engines, each connected to a propeller. The total power was about 1400 hp at 1900 rpm. The speed was estimated to be 26 knots. According to certain sources, however, the estimated speed could not be reached, as the center propeller wasn't able to run at peak efficiency due to interference from the side propellers. The spaces on board were large, and all in all had room for 14 people. The high quality interior was made by master carpenter O Hj. Wikström, Stockholm.

The hull was built in a temporary shed that had been set up at the western part of the T-channel. Construction of the hull was not without challenges; in order to shape the frames and plates, these had to be annealed. The shaping then had to take place within a certain number of hours before the metal hardened again. The launch was done with the help of a pontoon crane that lifted the hull into the T-channel.