af Chapman, originally known as Dunboyne, is a full-rigged steel ship moored on the western shore of Skeppsholmen in Stockholm, Sweden. Built by the Whitehaven Shipbuilding Company in 1888, the ship was originally owned by Charles E. Martin & Co of Dublin. It made voyages between Europe, Australia, and the west coast of North America, and was later sold to Norwegian owners in 1909.
The ship was sold to the Swedish shipping company Transatlantic in 1915 and subsequently to the Swedish Navy in 1923. The Navy renamed it after the shipbuilder and Vice Admiral Fredrik Henrik af Chapman. Used as a training vessel, the ship made several trips around the world and ran aground at Port Aleza, Puerto Rico, on July 13, 1934. During World War II, it served as a barracks ship.
In 1947, the Stockholm City Museum saved the ship from being broken up, and since 1949, af Chapman has been managed by the Svenska Turistföreningen (STF). Today, the ship serves as a youth hostel with 285 beds, having undergone a comprehensive restoration in 2008. The ship is docked on the shore next to the Admiralty House, while the adjacent youth hostel Skeppsholmen houses the reception, a kitchen for guests, and other facilities. From October 1, 2021, to April 30, 2022, the ship was closed for renovation works.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Nik Frost
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