Story
In 1891, Vyborg Höyryvenhe Osakeyhtiö ordered a small passenger ship from Varkaus with the intention of placing it in Vyborg’s local traffic. The ship was named “Electricity”. In the summer of 1893, the company delivered “Electricity” to Vuoksi, where it was the second steamship on the water. Electricity began to flow between Antrea and Paakkola, while the same company’s steamer “Laine”, which had previously been in the area, transmitted traffic below Paakkola. In this way, Vuoksi had received shipping traffic along almost the entire length of the river. Already the following summer, however, a new larger passenger steam came to Vuoksi, and “Sähkö” was transferred to Suvanto, where it mediated passenger and freight traffic between Kiviniemi and Koukunniemi. In particular, its importance was praised in the press for the “Alkawa dairy movement” as it facilitated the transport of milk from more remote farms to dairies.
In 1918, “Sähkön” was bought by the Hiekka Steamboat Cooperative, which changed its name to “Hiekka I”. Owned by the Sand Steamboat Cooperative, it ran from Vyborg’s Salakkalahti to the Monrepoo area until 1933. After this, the stages of the ship are a little poorly documented. It was hosted at least by Annalan Saha, whose tug was operated by Ladoga, and by Karjalan Metsätuote Oy from Lappeenranta, which gave the vessel the name “Ilmi”. In the service of the Karelian Forest Product, Ilmi continued as a small tug in Ladoga, until the end of the wars it was evacuated to Lappeenranta. Apparently, however, it had no use in Lappeenranta, as it was immediately taken to a workshop on land, after which it remained standing for a decade. Its machine and boiler were dismantled, the machine in the workshop magazine and the boiler scrapped. The frame also had time to go into poor condition during standing. Coincidentally, a long-distance sailor worked in the workshop in question, who, after moving from the ships to the “lands”, had sailed for fun on a wooden steam boat in Saimaa. As this hull began to rot, he turned his attention to Ilm, who was standing in the workshop, and got it purchased in 1957.
For his first job, the new owner tipped the bottom of Ilmi. A suitable boiler was found on Ollilansaari in Puumala. The machine from the same store was initially installed in Ilm, but it turned out to be poor. Fortunately, the original machine was stored in the workshop and was installed. Although there was no condenser in it, its owners later built it.
After the renovation, it was driven the following summer. Now the name of the ship was “Fairy Tale” because it was fabulous according to the owners that they had their own steel hulled ship. Since then, the platform has been restored with great work in stages to its current appearance. Initially, it was made flat-roofed, with which construction was shaved for twenty years. It was then built into a cockpit that “managed” for ten years. Eventually, a new cockpit was built and the ship was extended by 1.27 meters. This is how the ship achieved its current appearance.
Technical information
- Name: Satu
- Type: Steam launch
- Home port: Lappeenranta
- Completed: 1891
- Builder: Paul Wahl & Co, Varkaus ?
- Former names: Sähkö (1891-1918), Hiekka I (1918-33?), Ilmi (?-1957)
- Lenght: 12.9
- Beam: 3.05
- Draught: 1.4
- Speed (knots): 6.5
- Former owners: Viipurin Höyryvenhe Oy (1891-1918), Hiekan Höyryveneosuuskunta (1918-?), Annalan saha, Karjalan Metsätuote Oy (?-1957), Private owner (1957-98)
- A nice to know fact about the ship:
- Engine type: Compound
- Engine built:
- Engine manufacturer: Lehtoniemen Konepaja, Varkaus
- Engine power (ihp): 40
- A nice to know fact about the engine:
- Boiler type: Scotch marine boiler
- Boiler built:
- Boiler manufacturer:
- Fuel: Wood
- Furnaces (number): 1
- Operating pressure (bar): 6
- Heating surface: 6.4
- A nice to know fact about the boiler:
