The Ohlson brothers were born on Orust in 1918 (Einar) and 1920 (Carl-Erik) and taught themselves to sail. After appropriate training, they started their own business as yacht designers in 1951. As early as 1952 they had an early success with the bronze medal winning the 5.5 "Hojwa", with which they also became internationally known. During the following years, their work was closely linked to the development of the 5.5 series, which was considered Formula 1 in international sailing competitions until the end of the 1960s. The class was Olympic from 1952 to 1968, and Ohlson boats won medals at every game, usually several at the same time.
World famous brand
While Carl-Erik left the business in 1957, Einar Ohlson, a sensitive businessman, built a flourishing company together with his wife Wallis. Yachts were designed according to customer requirements without an in-house shipyard, completed by various shipyards as commissioned by the Ohlson engineering office and delivered under the "Ohlson Yachts" brand.
Construction drawings and film recordings for the public
Einar Ohlson's daughter ChristinStenberg and the German owner Lutz v. Meyerinck have now started to preserve the Ohlsons' life's work. More than 1,600 construction drawings and 20 hours of video material have already been collected. While the drawings are gradually being scanned and published by the Swedish Veteranbåtsarkivet, videos are being created on individual topics of life's work, which can then be viewed on the Ohlson project website www.ohlsonyachts.com. The first video is already online.