The M/K Vally fishing boat (1917) An important symbol of northern Norwegian coastal culture

During World War II, in the autumn of 1944, when the Germans retreated from the Lyngen position, they opted for scorched earth tactics. An evacuation order was in effect across Finnmark and Nord-Troms and all goods, cattle and movable property were removed before all of the buildings were burned to the ground. MK Vally is one of very few historical relics left from before the war in what is now a fjord settlement that was completely burned to the ground. In 2000, Vally was granted official protected status and today the boat is the oldest protected vessel of its type in Finnmark. Vally is a floating historical relic and, as a former fishing vessel, it is also an important symbol of northern Norwegian coastal cultural heritage.

M/K Vally as a fishing vessel

With the exception of the war years, Vally was in continuous operation as a fishing boat from 1917.

Vally is a carvel-built cutter with a straight bow and long stern. Carvel is a unique technique used to build wooden hulls for ships. The method is characterised by a distinctive smooth cladding and an internal framework created as a skeletal structure with greater strength and rigidity than vessels constructed using shell structures or clinker methods. The hull is made from pine planks above the water and the bottom is made from spruce. The dimensions are 42 feet long and 13.7 feet wide. The vessel was built for sailing and motorised operation, even though the hull design was like a sail cutter. She was built at a time when the engine was close to taking over as the main means of propulsion and there is still a 30/55 Hk Volda engine from 1962 on board.

The vessel was built to make fishing practically feasible and has a focus on safety. The small size meant that the vessel could be easily operated by just two people. Vally was originally used for local fishing. Predominantly cod fishing, as herring and pollock were less reliable and fishing was done for sale. Altafjorden also experienced an influx of salmon, which could be caught while heading to the spawning grounds (Schmidt: 2023). In later times, Vally was also used for fishing in Lofoten and for halibut and cod fishing using nets and lines at Nordbanken and Nordkappbanken.

Vally has a lot of knowledge to share about the Nordic region and Nordic coastal culture. Fishing was traditionally a male-dominated profession. There were traditional beliefs among fishermen that it was unlucky to have women on board fishing boats. My father (Snorre Øien) described how fishermen at port would tie a rag to a stick and dip it into petrol before lighting it on fire in order to burn away any trace of a female presence before heading out to fish. “You have to burn here, she was all the way up to the railings...” and they had to soak the nets in alcohol if women stepped over them. However, my father believed that this wasn’t done due to strong superstition but rather as part of a humorous community-building process. The reason why so many boats are referred to as female and have been given female names might be explained by the fact that fishermen often named the vessels after the wives they left behind while fishing.

The war history of M/K Vally

During World War II in 1941, Vally was seized for use by the Germans, but the owners inflicted “engine damage”, preventing the Germans from being able to get the motor running. Attempts were made to repair the vessel, but after a year of being dry-docked in Kåfjord, M/K Vally was returned to its owners as the Germans considered the boat to be unusable. The boat was towed to Storsandnes, where it stayed for the remainder of the war until the evacuation order was issued in 1944. The technical sabotage can be considered a symbol of quiet but strong popular resistance to the occupation to prevent the Germans from making use of the vessel.

The Germans adopted the scorched earth tactic with the aim of laying everything to waste to deprive the opposition of any help and resources. Since all of the buildings would be burned, the population had to be evacuated to the south. Many local boats were modified in order to accommodate as many people as possible during the evacuation voyage. The owner of Vally, Jens B. Digre, embarked with his own family and several others being evacuated to Lødingen. As Vally had suspected engine damage, the boat couldn’t run on her own but was towed out of Altafjorden by the cutter “Duen”. After passing Stjernsundet, when they were no longer visible from land, they prepared the engine (repaired the “damage”) and, after some spluttering, Vally came back to life again.

To restore or bring ashore

The social mission of the museum entails safeguarding vessels that can document important national industries, such as coastal fishing. When the status of a vessel changes from being used to becoming part of a collection, completely new conditions come into play, safeguarding becomes prominent and repairs and restoration have to be carried out in accordance with antiquarian principles in order to minimise interference with the original design and condition of the vessel.

It is both challenging and expensive to have such a large floating artefact in the collection, as it requires continuous care. One vision of cultural heritage is that use is the best form of protection rather than leaving protected vessels on land as empty shells. Our goal at Alta Museum is to keep the protected vessel afloat and run it in collaboration with the enthusiastic organisation Friends of Vally, which was founded in 2007.

At the time of writing (2023), a new chapter is being penned in the story of M/K Vally. The vessel is in a precarious condition with acute damage from moisture and rot. For six years now the museum has applied to the Norwegian Directorate of Cultural Heritage and several other private and public sources for funding to carry out restoration work. However, we have so far been unsuccessful in obtaining funds for the restoration and we are now in a situation in which we have to consider bringing the vessel onto land. This is not what we want to do at Alta Museum, as it is difficult to make a landed vessel seaworthy again and the vessel has greater dissemination value for us when it is afloat.

Our future vision for M/K Vally

M/K Vally has a place in many a heart among the older population of Alta and many people are on a “first name basis” with her. She hails from a time when fishing vessels such as this, with the unmistakable thumping sound from the Volda single-cylinder semi-diesel engine, were common along the coast. Coastal and fjord fishing have traditionally been the most important industry in the central and outer parts of Altafjorden.

In line with the Norwegian Directorate of Cultural Heritage’s strategy to preserve, use, develop and experience cultural heritage, Alta Museum wishes to promote the use of M/K Vally as soon as the vessel has been restored.  M/K Vally is the ideal venue for exciting museum dissemination of coastal and boat culture. This can be done by participating in activities in Altafjorden such as fishing, gutting and eating the fish on board. 

The vessel will be operated non-commercially with fixed annual funds from Alta Museum and voluntary contributions from the Friends of Vally. We are planning to undertake short boat trips in the local area during the summer with up to six visitors on board and the boat being piloted by two members from the organisation Friends of Vally. 

 We have a mooring site in Urnesbukta in the port of Alta, which makes Vally accessible for the local community. We are planning to hold events such as “Open boat” during the beautiful summer days at Alta’s marina. People will be able to come on board, listen to stories told by people with knowledge of the history of the boat, learn to tie knots and take a look below deck, thereby getting to know Vally so that she can live on and continue to have a place in the hearts of the population of Alta.