Smábátaútgerð og grásleppukarlar

SMALL BOAT FISHERIES AND LUMPFISH FISHERMEN | MOTOR BOAT GUNNAR
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Fishing with motor boats began in Hafnarfjörður in
the same year that the town was accorded formal
township status in 1908. That summer, the company
P. J. Thorsteinsson & co purchased a small motor
boat, the Gunnar GK 349, which was only 9.76 tons.
It was built in Denmark from oak with a clinker
design and was just over 10 meters long and nearly
three meters wide.
The boat had a "Thor" kerosene engine with an ignition ball, probably a little more than 10 HP. The first
years after the advent of the motor boats were characterised by a lack of knowledge in Iceland with
regard to this innovation. Nevertheless, the people of Hafnarfjörður had an advantage in that there was a
fully qualified master blacksmith and mechanic named Siggeir Jónsson working in the town at the time.
He had studied the construction and mechanics of the "Thor" motor design with the engine's manufacturers
in Holbæk. In March of 1906, the newspaper Ísafold contained an advertisement from the store S.
Bergmann & Co. in Hafnarfjörður, which was the agent for "Thor" in Iceland, wherein was stated among
other things: "A man, who has specifically studied the installation and maintenance of these motors, will
be available at most times." Siggeir went on one fishing trip on Gunnar, and on that trip he taught
Marteinn Óli Bjarnason to work the engine, and subsequently he was hired to be the "engineer" on the
boat. Marteinn was "a thoroughly experienced seaman, a handy worker and skilled at many tasks". During
the time when the boat was based in Hafnarfjörður, the motor ran like clockwork under the care of Marteinn.
The intention was that this boat would be used for long line fishing in the Faxi Bay, and Guðmundur J.
Guðmundsson from Hella in Hafnarfjörður was hired as foreman of the boat. In his memoirs, Ólafur
Þorvaldsson wrote about the fishing done on Gunnar GK 349: "Regarding the catch of this motor boat, which
was based in Hafnarfjörður, it may be said that despite the expert life-long knowledge of that fine man who
was its foreman, the catch was so very meager as to be nowhere nearly enough to meet the expenses. No
matter where they went to fish, it seemed that everywhere the sea was equally empty." The boat therefore
only operated out of Hafnarfjörður that one summer, after which it was sold away from the town.