Royal Cruiser III

Information

Seaworthiness and good handling characteristics marked the Royal Cruiser/Storö III. Tore Comstedt won the hard "Pavillon d’Or" again in 1965, this time with a Storö III.

The Royal Cruiser III was the direct successor of the Royal Cruiser II. The hull of both ships was identical and still drawn by Otto Scheen jr. In contrast to the Royal Cruiser II, however, the design of the superstructure was designed by Winfried H. Wilke.
While the first boats had the helm on the starboard side, this was changed during production. All Storebro boats which were built later had the helm on the port side. This can be seen in brochures from 1965 and 1967. The change coincides approximately with the change of road traffic in Sweden in 1967.

Late versions received the larger white air intake on the side, which was also fitted to the Royal Cruiser IV/34, instead of the smaller metal one.

As with almost all Storebro boats up to that time, the steering position was not covered. Following the wishes of the owners, two options were added to the Royal Cruiser III. In the simpler version, a roof was simply mounted on the windscreen. For this, the wood above the windows was raised slightly and the roof was supported at the rear with two metal struts. The second, more elaborate version also included laterally modified windows that closed the driver's cab to the roof at the side as well.

A prominent owner of Royal Cruiser III was the French chanconier Charles Aznavour, who bought a Royal Cruiser III in 1968. Unfortunately, his ship was driven from the anchorage to the rocky coast in a storm and severely damaged.