Sogn og Fjordane Coastal Heritage Museum
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Nilsenslippen - A Truly Unique Experience

Did you know you can run an entire workshop with 80-metres of drive belts. Or build a bandsaw using a bicycle wheel? Want to learn what tools and equipment were needed to repair a boat in the 1950s? Join us for a guided tour of Nilsenslippen and gain a unique insight into our recent history.

What is Nilsenslippen?

Nilsenslippen was a workshop for small and medium-sized boats, which operated from 1933 to 1987 in Florø. It was owned by the Nilsen family—first by Bertel Nilsen, known locally as “Mr Nilsen”, and later by his son Herman Nilsen.

A “slip” is the track or ramp used to haul boats ashore for repairs. The slip led to the workshop owned by family Nilsen, thus Nilsenslippen! In addition to the slip, Nilsenslippen consisted of a forge, a woodworking shop, and a mechanical workshop. Back then boats didn’t come with manuals or spare parts. The mechanics had to diagnose the problems themselves, and parts fixed or made on site. In this modest workshop, Mr Nilsen and his son Herman managed to repair nearly everything that came up the slip.

Join us for a guided tour

Join us for a guided tour and experience the early transition into the motor age! Fascinating for both those who lived through it—and for those who grew up in the “plug-in age”.

The tour is included in the museum ticket.

See you there!

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Nilsenslippen and the Coastal Museum

Nilsenslippen was centrally located in Skudalen, in the heart of Florø. When the town planned a shopping centre in the early 1990s, the old workshop had to be demolished. The building—along with its machinery and interior—was moved to the Coastal Museum and reconstructed on our grounds in 1992/93. Since then, the building has hosted various activities.

In 2020, the Coastal Museum began an extensive restoration of Nilsenslippen. Over the following years, we restored the entire building. The forge was rebuilt, and tools and furnishings were placed back in the workshop. But the crown jewel is Mr Nilsen’s machinery. All the machines have been restored and new drive belts installed, allowing us to run them as they did when the workshop was operational. In the workshop you can witness lathes, grinders, pillar drills, and several other machines in action—all powered by a single motor and drive belts!

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