Wooden Boat AtlasDesigners, builders & classes · v3.0

Atlas / Builders & Yards

from the mid-1930s · Vejle, Denmark

Børresen Bådebyggeri

Vejle, Denmark

Three hundred and twenty-five wooden Dragons and a hundred and forty Knarrs from one Danish yard — which means a good many of the Knarrs racing on San Francisco Bay were built here.

Founders
The brothers Børge and Albert Børresen; first Dragon built 1935–36, apprenticeships completed 1938
Sites
Dragevej on Vejle Fjord; a second yard at Brønsodde, the former Ustrup Shipyard, from 1962
Scale
325 wooden Dragons — 30 a year at peak in the early 1960s, with a workforce of about thirty; 140 Knarrs; 40 Finn dinghies for the 1952 Helsinki Olympics
Recognition
Royal Warrant Holder from 1967, after Crown Prince Constantine of Greece won Olympic gold in a Børresen Dragon in 1960
Material
Moved to fibreglass in 1971
  • 1936–1971Dragons — 325 in wood
  • Knarrs — 140
Sourcing notes & unresolved questions
  • Knarr production began in Norway at the Grimsøykilen and Kilen yards before Børresen took it up; total Knarr production is given as about 450 boats.
  • No Folkboat production by this yard was confirmed.

Wooden Boat Atlas v3.0 · built 30 July 2026 · a project of the Golden Gate Wooden Boat Foundation · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · open data · corrections