HLA

Sven Lans was born into a farming family in Västra Saverkeit on February 16, 1917.
As the youngest of the sons, he chose to go to sea, like so many archipelago boys.
When the Winter War broke out in 1939, he was called up for military service.
When the war ended, he looked for work in Turku together with his future brother-in-law Torsten Mattsson.

As part of the negotiations on war damage compensation to the Soviet Union, Finland was required to deliver a large number of wooden ships. The delivery time was short. To cope with the deliveries, the Laivateollisuus Ab shipyard was established in Pansio in 1945.
The company was supported by shipping companies such as Finland-Amerikalinjen and Finnlines.

The first to find work were Houtskär residents Lans and Mattsson. Mattsson had "badge" number 1 and Lans number 2.
They worked as carpenters building the hull of the schooner. Later, Lans also worked in the shipyard's carpentry workshop on the schooners' interiors. According to oral tradition, the urgency was so great that the first schooner was built under the guidance of experienced, evacuated shipbuilders from Björkö in Karelia, after which the necessary drawings were made. A total of 90 three-masted schooners may have been built.

When the 24th schooner was under construction, Lans already had a family and moved back to Saverkeit in 1951.
The family took over a property, Solliden, on the village shore in Östra Saverkeit.

Sven Lans became a boat builder. He built his first boats in the summer under the open sky. But since there were plenty of orders, he built a warm workshop so he could work all year round. He mostly built motorboats according to the customer's needs.

In the early 1950s, Houtskär Church Folk High School added boatbuilding to its curriculum.
Sven Lans became a teacher and supervisor.
The first motorboat was ordered by the school's second teacher Lars Backman. Later, the school's boats became so well known that they were auctioned off at the end of the school year in the spring.

Sven Lans was also a woodwork teacher at Saverkeit Folk School for decades.
Sven died on November 5, 1995 at the age of 78.