STOREBRO Passion - information about STOREBRO Royal Cruisers

Remarks

Visit of the new Solö Ruff by Gunnar Sundmann (VD AB Gösta Berg), Gösta Berg, Ivar Gustafsson, Harald Wiklund (VD Volvo Penta), Tage Truedsson and Einar Runius (in black) (from right to left).

After the young Örnmaskiner shipyard had previously manufactured only rowing boats or the camping boats on behalf of Electrolux, it was decided to develop an own product range. As a designer Einar Runius was chosen. Runius designed both the smaller Passbåten Örnen and the larger Ruffbåten Örnen. With the start of production of Express Cruiser (Svanö) in 1956 the price list no. 16 listed the boats named "Vindö" and "Solö" for the first time. This layed the foundation for a long Solö series.

The Solö Ruff was an elegant 24-feet cabin cruiser with inboard and shaft drive. With this boat Örnmaskiner started the production of about 1,100 boats of all Solö boats. The boat was a great sales success and made the name of the shipyard widely known. In addition to the shipyard, the Solö Ruff was also a great success for its dealer Gösta Berg and for the engine supplier Volvo Penta. Storebro became the biggest customer of Volvo Penta at times.

Modifications

Solö Ruff of 1953 (No. 22)
with two round port lights
and single side window

When the Solö Ruff came on the market in 1952, the hull length was specified with about 6.85 meters. Outer mark of the boats built until 1953 are the two round portholes in the hull to port and starboard and the single side window of the helm station. At least since 1954, the hull length is specified with 7.00 meters and the width with 2.00 meters. From the autumn of 1955, the length is 7.10 meters with a constant width of 2.00 meters. At the end of 1958, another version for double-engine and with comfortable cabin and toilet is offered parallel to the existing version. The hulls of these ships were 7.35 meters long and 2.46 meters wide. The dimensions of the hull are very similar to the dimensions of Svanö. These ships stand out due to slightly changed proportions. The production was probably intended among other things for the American market and took place in 1958/1959. At the end of production, the length of the classic model grew again from 7.10 meters to 7.25 meters in length and 2.25 meters in width. These dimensions have been valid from 1960 to 1964.

Miscellaneous

Solö Ruff - type plate AB Telfa

"Solö Ruff" was the name under which the boat was sold in Sweden. At that time "Storebro Royal Cruiser" was not yet in sight as a global brand name. In the English-speaking world the boat was called "Sea Chaser" or "Sea Chaser I". On the German market the boat was sold as "Örn Kajütboot" (1953), as "Adler-Vorderkajütkreuzer" (1960) and as "Adler Boot-Typ Solö". A Spanish language brochure identifies the boat as "Gaceta II". No wonder that the shipyard was looking for a uniform name for the marketing.

Some of the boats were also sold by partners. A big partner was AB Telfa from Gothenburg. This company marketed the boats worldwide. For this the boats got their own type plates from AB Telfa and their own serial numbers. The serial numbers on the type plates of AB Telfa are for Solö Ruff in the range from 1500 upwards.

Solö Ruff kit

Örnmaskiner also offered the Solö Ruff 1962/1963 as a kit for customers who were skilled craftsmen. The customer got a completely prefabricated hull as well as all wooden parts needed for the superstructure and the cockpit. The wooden parts were delivered cut to size. The necessary support of the self-building customers demanded a lot from Tage Truedsson. Often delivered wooden parts were sawn up because they were thought to be a different part. According to the delivery lists, a total of twelve boats were delivered in kit form.

A very famous customer and owner of a Solö Ruff was the Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren.
After grounding and repair she wrote these thankful words:

7.7.1964

      ASTRID LINDGREN

      To

      AB Örnmaskiner, the kindest, I have to ask to express my

      heartfelt thanks for the nice Solö-baot that now

      lies at my bridge here in Furusund. A small piece of Småland,

      and what a nice bit late! My children sit and look at it with

      sparkling eyes, not to talk about my grandchildren! On its maiden voyage

      the boat had the great misfortune to fall into the hands of a

      driver who "knows the fairways" and who was - with 30

      years of experience in motorboats - so much qualified so

      that he put the boat aground after five minutes. Results:

      Rudder damage, propeller damage, shaft damage and nearly ulcers

      in me, because this happened just by midsummer and it was

      the world's loveliest weather. But now the boat is like new again

      and everyone is happy. Thank you thank you!
With cordial greeting
Your
Astrid Lindgren

Various names of the various solo ruff variants circulate on the Internet. Sometimes the boats are called Solö Ruff 1-4. However, this distinction was not made by the shipyard. Nevertheless, there are visual differences with which the ships can be assigned to specific periods.
The table below is based on existing data and does not claim to be complete or correct (additional information or suggestions for correction are welcome).

Silhouette	Year	Info
	1952-1953	Original design from 1952. Characteristic features are the two round portholes and the single down angled side window of the cockpit. The dimensions of the boat are given as 6.85 m x 2.00 m.
	1953/1954	Design around 1953/1954. New are now the three oval portholes. The side window of the cockpit is still one-piece, but runs horizontally. The length of the boat is now 7.0 m and it is 2.0 m wide.
	1954 - 1960	Design from probably mid-1954th Besides the well-known three portholes, the ship is now provided with the well-known two-part side window. This design was retained in its basic appearance until the end of the production period. 1955 the length of the boat grows to 7.1 m and it is still 2.0 m wide.
	1960 - 1964	The well-known design is preserved. The length grows to 7.25 m. This design was retained in its basic appearance until the end of the construction period. Since 1960 the standard version of the Solö Ruff has been 7.25 m long and 2.25 m wide. The driving position changes from the starboard to the port side.
	1958/1959	1958/1959, a version of the Solö Ruff is built for double engine and with more cabin comfort (e.g., with toilet). One would think that the hull of the Svanö had been used. Unlike the standard models, the boats known up to now have a two-part windscreen instead of the three-part windscreen. This boat is 7.35 meters long and 2.46 meters wide.

2020-12-17

Photos and images

Solö Ruff 1952-1953

Solö Ruff 1954

Solö Ruff 1954-1964

Solö Ruff with double engines

Images of the production in Storebro

Additional Photos

In some cases, further images of registered ships are available for registered users.

Engines

Engines		Volvo Penta MB18F	Albin O-411	Volvo Penta BB50	Volvo Penta BB41/BB43	Volvo Penta MD4	Volvo Penta MB36A	Volvo Penta BB25	Volvo Penta BB70	Volvo Penta BB100A
Production				1950-1956	1951-1957	1954-1964	1956-1964	1957-1963	1958-1962	1963-1969 ^*
Fuel		Paraffin/Kerosene	Petrol/Gasoline	Petrol/Gasoline	Petrol/Gasoline	Diesel	Paraffin/Kerosene	Petrol/Gasoline	Petrol/Gasoline	Petrol/Gasoline
Stroke		4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
No. of cylinders		4	4	4	4	4	8	4	4	4
Bore	[mm]	84.14	78.00	75.00	75.00	75.00	84.14	79.37	79.37	84.14
Stroke	[mm]	80	92	80	80	100	80	80	80	80
Compression ratio			5.6:1	7.7:1	6.5:1	19.0:1		7.4:1	8.2:1	10.0:1
Displacement	[l]	1.78	1.76	1.42	1.42	1.77	6.56	1.58	1.60	1.78
Torque	[Nm]
Engine output	[kw/(HP)]	33 - 41/ (45 - 56)	31/(42)	37/(50)	29/(40)	14 - 29/ (19 - 39)	53 - 74/ (72 - 100)	24/(32)	37 - 63/ (50 - 85)	46 - 74/ (63 - 100)
Rotations	[1/min]	3000-4500	2500	3500	3500	1500-3400	1600-3200	2200	4000	3000-5000
Weight	[kg]	200		205	185	260	340	180	180 ^****
^* All variants of this engine
^**** Weight without gearbox

As a registered user, depending on the type of boat, you have access to further diagrams regarding consumption, range and noise level.

Statistics

As a registered user, you have access to further diagrams on hull colours, layout variants, type of wood used and production figures per year, depending on the type of boat.

Legend:
	PDF-file available for download		PDF-file not available for download		PDF-file only available for registered users		PDF-file only available for registered owners		PDF-file only available for SRCC members

Brochures, flyer		Low	Hi
Örnmaskiner Solö Ruff - Brochure	1952
Örnmaskiner Solö Ruff / Vindö - Brochure	1953
Örnmaskiner Örn Kajütboot / Örn Kabriolettboot - Brochure	1953
Örnmaskiner Baltic 21 / Baltic 24 - Brochure	1953
Örnmaskiner Gaceta I / Gaceta II - Brochure	1953
Örnmaskiner Solö Ruff / Vindö - Flyer	1958
Örnmaskiner Solö Ruff / Vindö - Flyer	1958
Örnmaskiner Solö Ruff - Kit - Flyer	1962

Pricelists		Low	Hi
AB Örnmaskiner - Pricelist	1954
AB Örnmaskiner - No. 15B - Pricelist	1955
AB Örnmaskiner - No. 15O - Pricelist	1955
AB Örnmaskiner - No. 16 - Pricelist	1956
AB Örnmaskiner - No. 19 - Pricelist	1957
AB Örnmaskiner - No. 20B - Pricelist	1958
AB Örnmaskiner - No. 21B - Pricelist	1960
AB Örnmaskiner - No. 22B - Pricelist	1961
AB Örnmaskiner - No. 24B - Pricelist	1962
AB Örnmaskiner - No. 26B - Pricelist	1964

Complete brochures		Low	Hi
AB Örnmaskiner - Complete brochure	1964
AB Örnmaskiner - Complete brochure	1964

Storebro - Technical documents			Low	Hi
Solö Ruff 7.15 x 2.00 - Outboard Profile and Arrangement	133E	1954
Solö Ruff 7.25 x 2.20 - Outboard Profile and Arrangement	152B	1960
Solö Ruff 7.25 x 2.20 - Profiles	152C	1960

Technical brochures - Manuals			Low	Hi
Albin 0-11, 0-21, 0-41 and 0-411 - Manual
Albin 0-11, 0-21, 0-41 and 0-411 - Manual
Albin AL-23, 0-41 and 0-411 reverse gear - Manual
Penta BB41/BB43 - Manual
Volvo Penta BB100/MB18F/BB30B/BB30F - Manual
Volvo Penta MD4 - Manual

Technical brochures			Low	Hi
Volvo Penta - Program 1954
Volvo Penta - Program 1959
Volvo Penta - Program 1960
Volvo Penta - Program 1964
Volvo Penta BB50 - Productflyer
Volvo Penta BB70 - Productflyer
Volvo Penta MB36A - Productflyer
Volvo Penta MD 4 - Productflyer

Multimedia documents			Low	Hi
Seachaser I		2021

Newspaper articles			Low	Hi
Three swedish motorboats (Yacht 1958/i. 12/ p. 355)		1958
Dagens PS - Solö Ruff - timeless Swedish classic with style		2021

Technical Data
Year of production	1952-1964
L.o.a. [m]	6.85 - 7.35
Beam [m]	2.25
Draft [m]	0.70
Displacement [t]	1.20
Fuel [l]	75 - 130
Voltage [V]	12
Hull	Mahogany

Number of boats	ca. 600

Designer	Einar Runius