Tar weekend coming up!
Summer is over and the maintenance of our beloved ship is in need of some extra pair of hands! If you have time to spend, and love the dark and musky fragrance of tar?
Craftsmanship, knowledge & community
Volunteer
Volunteer on board!
During late summer and autumn 2023 we may offer the opportunity to come on board as a volunteer in port in Gothenburg, to help out with the maintenance of the ship. We will release more information as soon as we have available opportunities. Stay tuned here or join our Volunteer Facebook group for updated information.
Below, you will find information about volunteering on board the Götheborg. If you don't get the answers to your questions here, don't hesitate to send an email to volunteer@soic.se.
Would you like to volunteer?
As a volunteer, you get the chance to pick up knowledge about traditional materials and learn craftsmanship on board. What is required to keep an 18th-century ship in good shape? What materials were used at that time, and what is used today? How is a lashing made? The tasks varied and can revolve around anything from taring ropes, scraping the hull, to working in the rigging. But also help in the galley (kitchen) and so on.
Volunteers are essential for the maintenance of the ship and keeping her in shape. Being a volunteer on board is an excellent way to get to know the ship and learn from others. The practical work gives you hands-on experience in a delightful kinship together with our permanent crew and other volunteers.
What does it mean to volunteer?
As a volunteer on board the Götheborg you work with maintenance while we are in port in Gothenburg. Unlike sailing along as a deckhand, you don’t pay to volunteer. The work as a volunteer is unpaid, but we offer lunch, not to forget, a great and friendly group of people to hang out with.
Photo: Linda Åkerberg/Wilderness Stories
Working at heights
Volunteering may involve working at heights. It is an opportunity to experience what it is like climbing and helping with the rigging, which is 40 meters high.
Climbing the rig and working at heights is also a big part of the work done on board while sailing. It is common to initially feel a certain unease when working at such heights, but most people get used to it quickly.
We offer
(This applies to the event "Downrigging days", but not normal volunteer weeks later in summer or autumn.)
- All meals are included. This also includes morning and afternoon fika.
- A bunk or hammock to sleep in on board (note that you won't have a separate cabin, but sleep in a space together with other people).
- Washing machines and driers.
- Guitars and board games for the evenings, film nights can be arranged.
- A great group of people and a nice and welcoming atmosphere.
Photo: Linda Åkerberg/Wilderness Stories
Bring with you
- Your own bedlinen and towel.
- Work clothes and work shoes. (When work is really dirty, work clothes will be available on board).
- A music instrument (if you want to).
- Use only soft bags when coming to the ship.
Photo: Linda Åkerberg/Wilderness Stories
Expectations
- Be prepared to do whatever maintenance that is going on at the moment.
- Maintenance can happen inside the ship, outside of the hull and in the rig, high aloft.
- Ship life includes galley- and cleaning work.
- Be able to enter the rig at high heights.
How to apply
Create an account in Paam by clicking the button.
Make sure to fill in all your personal details before you apply.
To keep updated on volunteering on board the Götheborg, also join our Facebook group.
Latest news
Open on weekends in September 2023
Good news! We will extend the period that we are open to visitors in Eriksberg, Gothenburg. All through September 2023, we will stay open for guided tours on weekends. Opening hours will be 11:00–16:00 and tours will leave once an hour. Welcome on board the world's largest ocean-going wooden sailing ship!
Götheborg will attend Donsö Shipping Meet
At the end of August, Götheborg of Sweden will attend Sweden’s largest shipping event, Donsö Shipping Meet (DSM). It’s the first time that the ship will attend the event, and it is also the first time that Götheborg will moor at Donsö in the southern archipelago outside of Gothenburg.