Stakken - Kvaløysletta, Tromsø, Norway.

Stakken

At Stakken, south of Kvaløysletta, stands a row of boathouses, eleven in all, most of them built using old, traditional building techniques, with turfed roofs. Behind the row of boathouses lie several buildings big and small – a “båtskott” (boat shed), smithy, wooden shack, fishing hut and toilet.

Me, posing in front of the boathouses at “Stakken”

Most of the land is owned by Arctandria, Tromsø Kystlag (founded in 1979). The company also owns two of the boathouses and the buildings behind, and the site has been to a great extent built on a voluntary basis. The rest of the boathouses are privately owned, mostly by members of Arctandria.

In the boathouses are housed old and new Nordland (wooden) boats of different sizes – the largest is the fembøring (five-man boat) Salarøy, which is owned by the Salarøy foundation and is housed in the large boathouse. In its establishment phase at Stakken, the Arctandria association has set up its own buildings, but its main aim is to preserve the coastal culture by restoring old boats, building new ones using traditional principles and holding a variety of courses in restoration, smithcraft, sweeping, etc., as well as 4-H.

The buildings were built according to old designs and building techniques, mostly during the 1980s and 1990s. In many cases there are new materials as well as the re-use of old building materials, which has been the custom along the coast of North Norway for hundreds of years.