patricmcm
Newbie
AUG 25, 2024
In regard to the Romsdal Trawlers, you are right as to a number of them running twin diesels to a single shaft, the early ones, especially, such as the 65' LOA "Edvard Grieg" class in the mid-1960s. My father was Peter Varney of Newport Beach, California, now deceased. Peter started Romsdal Shipbuilders (US & Norway) in the early 1960s as he had always been impressed by the primary hull design and seagoing capabilities of the Norwegian fishing fleet trawlers, and came to believe there might be a market for their basic oceangoing designs if such craft could be successfully
converted to "yachts" without losing their seriousness of purpose. The "Edvard Grieg" in fact traveled successfully on her own hull from Norway to California through some vicious Atlantic storms. She arrived in Newport Beach with very little damage and so gained some extremely "sales helpful" attention in the maritime press. From that point on the company began to grow, and with increasing sales the notion of larger yachting craft and "expedition" types took hold. I was a 16 year old high school artist when Peter took a chance on me one afternoon and allowed me to propose some varied upper deck supports for the trawlers which wound up in production... a pretty big deal for a kid.
Peter's first experience with serious seagoing began as an officer in the US Merchant Marine officer during WWII while working cargo ships on the North Sea routes from England to Russia and back. Following the war he had a moment's glory acting in films at MGM but determined that boats were more to his liking and so started out in sales by opening "Peter Varney Lido Yacht Sales" in Newport Beach. He would some years later connect with builders in Norway and start the Romsdal line in hopes that others would one day share his belief that the primary design elements of Norwegian commercial trawlers might prove both a handsome and physically successful form for a line of seriously oceangoing yachts.
Any information re Romsdal trawlers or any personal experiences willingly shared on this forum would be greatly welcomed. Patric McMenamin / West Linn, Oregon
