Editing Colin Archer (section)

== Naval architect with ship yard ==
[[File:Castor 1893.jpg|thumb|Seal and whale hunting bark CASTOR. 135 feet built in Arendal 1886. Fitted with 75 hp steam engine. Lost off Greenland 1896.]]
In 1872 Archer wanted to share his knowledge of ship and boat design. He published a 29-page design lecture that included [[Fredrik Henrik af Chapman]]'s and [[John Scott Russell]]'s theories.  This was also good advertising for him that soon gave him orders.

Based on his belief in 1873 that shipbuilding is more lucrative than building boats, in 1874, Archer and investors founded the shipyard "Laurvig Strandværft" in Rekkevik in the Larvik fjord.  At its start, Archer was a 30% owner of the shipyard.  Rekkevik lies 3&nbsp;km from the inner harbour of Larvik where his boatyard was situated at [[Tollerodden]]. One of the part owners of the shipyard was a ship owner and ordered the first ship. In 1886 Archer became sole owner of the shipyard.

=== Sailing ships ===
Laurvig Strandværft built four ships to Archer's designs:

* 1875: schooner ''Aries'', 86 feet
* 1880: brigantine ''Leon'', 108 feet
* 1892: polar ship ''[[Fram (ship)|Fram]]'', 140 feet
* 1900: auxiliary steam yacht ''Ingeborg'', 94 feet

Archer also designed several three-masted [[barque]]s 135–155 feet that were used for building seven sailing ships in [[Arendal]] 1875-1886 and one in [[Grimstad]] in 1887, both towns on the south coast. Archer's shipyard also performed repair work and especially conversion and outfitting for polar expeditions.

=== The brigantine ''Leon;'' ship and model boat ===
[[File:Fartygsmodell-LEON - Sjöhistoriska museet - SM 28945.tif|thumb|Model ship LEON at Swedish museum, Sjöhistoriska museet.]]
''Leon'' was built 1878–1880 for Herlofson brothers in Arendal. The Herlofsons were a sailing and ship owning family, and ''Leon'' remained in the family's ownership until 1894. ''Leon'' then changed hands several times among various Norwegian owners. ''Leon'' was always rigged as a brigantine, but in Norway this rig is termed "Skonnertbrigg" and most often abbreviated to schooner, which has caused authors to believe the boat was re-rigged, but it was not. During late autumn of 1915 it developed a serious leak while on a voyage in the North Sea from&nbsp;[[Granton, Edinburgh|Granton]] to [[Porsgrunn]] with coal, and was abandoned.

The plans for ''Leon'' were reproduced by Harold A. Underhill in 1958 in his book ''Plank-On-Frame Models and Scale Masting and Rigging, vol. I.''  Many models of ''Leon'' exist around the world, including one at [[Royal Museums Greenwich]].

=== Polar ships ===
[[File:Frams avreise fra Bergen, 1893 (4594992962).jpg|thumb|''Fram'' loaded heavily at the start on its first voyage 1893.|left]]
The most notable single ship built by Colin Archer was the ''[[Fram (ship)|Fram]]'', used by [[Fridtjof Nansen]] in his expedition attempt to the [[North Pole]] 1893-96 and by [[Roald Amundsen]]'s 1911 [[Amundsen's South Pole expedition|historic expedition]] as the first to the [[South Pole]]. ''Fram'' is now preserved in the Fram Museum on [[Bygdøy]], [[Oslo]], Norway.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://nbl.snl.no/Colin_Archer|title=Colin Archer, Skipskonstruktør, Verftseier|author=Tor Borch Sannes|publisher=Norsk biografisk leksikon|accessdate=May 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913183822/https://nbl.snl.no/Colin_Archer|archive-date=September 13, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1886 the 3-masted bark ''Pollux'' seal and whaling ship was built to Colin Archer's design in Arendal. In 1897 it was bought by [[Carsten Borchgrevink]], taken to Archer's yard, and fitted out for polar expeditions. Renamed ''[[SS Southern Cross (1886)|Southern Cross]]'' it was sailed to Antarctica during 1898-1900 (the [[Southern Cross Expedition]]), where Borchgrevink made important discoveries and was the first man to step on land on the mainland of Antarctica. Information from this expedition was later used by [[Roald Amundsen]] for his expedition to the South Pole.

In 1898 the Italian prince and explorer [[Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi]] wanted to do polar expeditions. He travelled to Norway and consulted the famous polar explorer [[Fridtjof Nansen]]. In 1899 Amedo bought the former whaling vessel ''[[Jason (ship)|Jason]],'' renamed it ''Stella Polare'' and took it to Colin Archer's shipyard. The interior was stripped out and new beams, diagonals and knees heavily strengthened the ship. Amedo set off in June 1899 and ''Stella Polare'' had a difficult time but survived thanks to Archer's work.

In 1899, Archer also fitted ''[[Zarya (polar ship)|Zarya]]'' for the [[Russian polar expedition of 1900–02]]. ''Zarya'' was strengthened with internal frames and beams, and deckhouses were added. The rig was changed to [[Barquentine|barkentine]] (square sail on foremast only). In October 1899 the ship was certified by Norwegian authorities for a three-year expedition in the Arctic.