Fridtjof Nansen
Preparations

Nansen chose the Norwegian naval engineer Colin Archer to design and build a ship. Archer designed an extraordinarily sturdy vessel with an intricate system of crossbeams and braces of the toughest oak timbers. Its rounded hull was designed to push the ship upwards when beset by pack ice. Speed and manoeuvrability were to be secondary to its ability as a safe and warm shelter during their predicted confinement.

The length-to-beam ratio— 39-metre-long (128 ft) and 11-metre-wide (36 ft) —gave it a stubby appearance, justified by Archer: "A ship that is built with exclusive regard to its suitability for object must differ essentially from any known vessel." It was christened Fram and launched on 6 October 1892.

Nansen selected a party of twelve from thousands of applicants. Otto Sverdrup, who took part in Nansen's earlier Greenland expedition was appointed as the expedition's second-in-command. Competition was so fierce that army lieutenant and dog-driving expert Hjalmar Johansen signed on as ship's stoker, the only position still available.
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