Olaf T. Engvig

Olaf T. Engvig is a maritime historian, photographer, author of numerous books, and consultant to maritime museums in Norway, Sweden, the U.K. and U.S. He’s an international expert on the history of shipbuilding, including the use of iron and steel. See his book "Viking to Victorian: Exploring the Use of Iron in Ship Building".

He's passionate about the restoration and preservation of historic ships. Engvig has been instrumental in restoring many unique old vessels, for example, the Vaerdalen with some photos shown here. You can learn about the role of Scandinavian ships in building Pacific Coast cities and Engvig's journey to save the Vaerdalen in "The Ships that Built the West: The Scandinavian Navy, Wapama and Vaerdalen", Engvig's newest e-book.

Engvig constantly seeks to keep maritime history alive for future generations to appreciate. He's been the editor of several magazines in Norway, and a leader of marine archaeological expeditions and excavations. In addition, he was the founder and CEO of a ship wharf specializing in restoration of historic ships.

Olaf Engvig’s roots are in Rissa, Norway, where Johan Bojer wrote his book "The Last of the Vikings" (Den Siste Viking). Engvig actually learned to square sail from Jakob Kvithyll, the skipper Bojer described in his book.