World of Ships – May 2018

PADDLE STEAMERS

Paddle Steamers I World of Ships I 37

A

lthough more than

100 paddle steamers

were built for service in

Imperial Finland, some

with British connections

in design and provision

of machinery, most

disappeared quite quickly as the former Grand

Duchy developed into the modern republic.

With screw steamers, some offering cabin

accommodation, dominating traffic on the

Saimaa Lake system radiating from the town

of Savonlinna, paddle power was relegated to

other lakes in Central and West Finland, the

latter still boasting a remarkable survivor,

Lahtis, which dates from 1865 and is the

subject of a museum/restoration project at

Jyvaskyla on Lake Paijanne. The town of

Keuruu on Lake Keurusselska, a little way

to the west, has boasted a passenger paddler

since 1986, when Elias Lonnrot, a replica of a

vessel built in 1865, was put into service and

has since become a top tourist attraction.

CHAPTER FIVE

FINLAND

ABOVE A 1980s replica of a steamer dating from 1865, Elias Lonnrot has become a tourist attraction on

Lake Keurusselska. (Russell Plummer)

ELIAS LONNROT

OWNER Keuruun Matkailu O/Y

BUILT 1986 by Laivateollisuus O/Y, Turku

DIMENSIONS 31.3m x 5m (hull), 9m (over paddles)

MACHINERY Scania diesel (200hp) driving two variable

displacements pumps and hydraulic motors coupled to

independent paddles

SPEED 10 knots

PASSENGERS 150

The lake systems north and south of Tampere

were the last in Finland to enjoy the benefits

of steamships, and Elias Lonnrot, a vessel

introduced in 1865 and in service for 60

years, has been faithfully recreated by the

municipality of Keuruu, from where the

original operated between 1891 and 1924

Local journalist and ship lover Jorma

Tuomi-Nikula wrote a book about the real-

life Elias Lonnrot, a country doctor who

was responsible for Finland’s national epic

the ‘Kalevala’, and started a campaign that

resulted in the construction of a vessel

closely resembling the original ship, which

had been designed to carry goods and up

to 150 passengers through sometimes quite

turbulent waters at a speed of ten knots. When

the Helsinki-Tampere railway was nearing

ABOVE Paddle box close-up of the steamer named after country doctor and Finnish national epic writer

Elias Lonnrot. (Russell Plummer)

completion, lake steamer services ceased and

the first Elias Lonnrot was used as a log tug on

weekdays before assuming a passenger role on

Sundays, usually taking people from lakeside

communities to church. Contracts for the new

vessel were signed with builders in Turku, and

efforts were made to ensure the requirements

of a modern excursion vessel carrying 150

could be fitted into a hull of the same design

and dimensions as one built over a century

earlier.The selection of diesel-hydraulic

machinery was one concession to technology,

with a main Scania generator driving two

variable displacement pumps which use

hydraulic oil to power a further pair of pumps

to turn 4.4m paddle wheels, which can be used

independently to aid manoeuvrability, although

there is also a conventional stern rudder.

Much use was made of the skills of the

shipyard’s carpenters in other areas, with

exterior decks sheathed in teak, while below

there are seats for 90 in saloons and a small

forward restaurant, which offer a timeless

atmosphere, with dark wood surfaces,

03 Paddlers_Czech Rep_NL.indd 37 17/04/2018 12:25