Welcome to K. Christensen & Co., Moen’s boat-building yard.

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Welcome to Hammeråker. My name is Tharald Moen and I am the third generation at this boatyard.

You are now standing at the oldest boat-building yard in Moen. There has been activity here since 1875, and my family is still involved in carrying on the work.

It all began with Christen Knutsen. He started by building boats indoors right here at Hammeråker. At first they were mostly lifeboats, but even in the first year he also built a fishing boat. A few years later a pilot boat was added.

Christen Knutsen in front of the first boat-building workshop at Moen, in the 19th century.

There were meant to be many more, and many different types of boats. You’ll hear more about some of them as the tour continues.

This is also a family history.

In 1913, Christen’s son, Knut Christensen, took over. By then, he had already been involved in the business for several years and was perhaps the one who, in practice, led the work. Three years later, he brought his cousin on board as a partner. His name was Tharald Moen – just like me.

Eventually, their sons took over: Paul Christensen in the 1950s, and Reidar Moen in the 1960s.

But in 1968, Reidar died suddenly. His brother, Odd, then took over his share of the boathouse.

Reidar Moen, Paul Christensen, Tharald Moen and Knut Christensen

At that time, there was a sharp decline in wooden boat building. They completed the boats that had already been ordered, but did not take on any new building contracts. In 1969, the building of large boats came to an end.

Nevertheless, the work here did not end there. Operations changed, and many boats have been built since 1969 as well. We’ll come back to that part of the history later.

Today, it is we, the third generation, who are in charge, and we are now in the process of handing over to the fourth generation.

When the boatyard celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2025, we published a book about its history. In it, you can read about the boats and the tools used to build them.

All the tools photographed in the book are still in the boathouse.

The book also contains a comprehensive overview of the boats that have been built here. We know that some are missing.