August Karlsson

August Karlsson (The master at Korsudden) was a boat builder and active during the late 1800s and early 1900s.
He built the so-called The cross streets – logboats with four boards, gables in the lowest boardwalk and placed towards the stern voice.

His boat models have become a clear example of the local boat building tradition in the area.

Years of life: 1867–1944.

Photo: August Karlsson sitting in a self-built Korsuddare! Pelle Nestorzon received the photo from his great-grandchild, Therese Rohnström.

He was active before and around the turn of the century 1900 and served as an important master for the next generation, including Oskar Kjellberg.

Activity: 

• August ran his boat building at Korsudden (hence the name of the boats), a place just south of Trosa. He was known for building extremely well-functioning utility boats adapted for the specific fishing in the archipelago.

• Signature – Korsudden: His boats, the so-called ”Korsuddarna”, were considered the finest of their kind. They were known for their unique combination of being easy to row, stable to sail, and very durable.

The construction: It was August who refined the logboat with four boards and the characteristic hewn gables at the bottom. This construction gave the boat a ”bulge” or curvature that made it not suck into the water, but float high and light.

Influence and Heritage

• The master: His perhaps most important contribution to posterity was that he trained Oskar Kjellberg. When Kjellberg later started his own yard in Trosa (where his son Karl Kjellberg took over), he carried on August Karlsson's exact molds and methods.
• From Utility Boat to Leisure Boat: What August created as a working tool for fishermen later became, through Kjellberg's further development, the popular leisure boat Stensundsekan.
• Cultural Heritage: Today, August Karlsson's ”Korsuddar” are regarded as the origin of the modern sailing canoe in the region. The knowledge of how to carve the special gables he developed is still preserved at Stensund Folk High School.

One could say that August Karlsson was the technical genius behind the shape, while the Kjellberg family became those who spread and produced the design on a large scale during the 1900s.