Franz Plunder: Exhibition of the adventurous life of the boat designer from Lake Constance

Atlantic and boatbuilding pioneer

The Atlantic crossing with the "Sowitasgoht V" was undoubtedly a highlight of Plunder's life. After 61 days at sea, the crew of four reached the port of New York on 13 September 1923. But even before this pioneering achievement, Plunder had already made a name for himself as an innovative boat builder. His career began unconventionally: after having to leave grammar school early, he attended the Imperial and Royal College of Industrial Drawing and later the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. He became a sculptor - and remained true to his dreams: sailing, boats and America.

From model boat to own shipyard

Plunder's passion for boat building was evident from an early age. As a child, he built model boats, and in 1904 he built a rowing boat, which he later fitted with a sail. A seven-metre sailing boat followed around 1910. His career as a boat builder was based on several weeks of work experience at a shipyard in Hamburg, a great deal of inspiration and self-taught learning. Even before the First World War, Plunder sold his first "Sowitasgoht", which was to be followed by nine more. The commercial high point of his work began after the First World War with the founding of the "Plunder Werft" shipyard in Bregenz on Lake Constance. Just one year after its foundation, the shipyard employed 30 people and was producing boats in the 7 to 8 metre class literally on the production line.

Innovation and collaboration with Ferdinand Porsche

Plunder's cracks were characterised by consistent reliability, with no two boats being the same. His "Sowitasgoht V" is considered to be one of the first yachts to cross the Atlantic without a gaff rig. In 1921, Ferdinand Porsche had a 45 built according to Plunder's plans and entered the shipyard business. The "Plunder Werft" became the "Bodensee Werft" and expanded its portfolio to include motorboats. But Plunder was drawn away from Lake Constance and into the world. He decided to leave the company and devote himself to his dream of America.

Life's work and legacy

Franz Plunder's oeuvre encompassed an impressive range of boats. It is not known exactly when he started building boats. However, Plunder sold his first "Sowitasgoht" before the First World War, and a further nine were to follow. Number five made him famous and is considered to be one of the first yachts to sail across the Atlantic without a gaff rig. However, his yachts only had the name in common: they were between six and 14 metres long, with a centreboard or fixed keel, designed for inland waterways or the high seas.

Plunder built the "Sowitasgoht VI" with Ernst Burmester in Bremen in the middle of the global economic crisis. He sailed with her to the Adriatic and Aegean. The "Sowitasgoht VII" followed in the 1930s and is still at home in Hard on Lake Constance today. Plunder's last own boat "Sowitasgoht X" was launched in 1961. He sailed it until shortly before his death in 1974.

In addition to the few surviving boats from Plunder's pen, ten rolls of construction plans still bear witness to his lively boatbuilding endeavours. His neighbour at the time, the now 84-year-old Wolfgang Allgeuer from the Yacht Club Bregenz, saved them from destruction after Plunder's death in 1974 and handed them over to the city archives. Plunder's autobiography with the obvious title "Sowitasgoht" is now only available in antiquarian bookshops. However, as the curator of the Vorarlberg Museum, Markus Barney, has discovered, it oscillates between fiction and truth. In the Museum television is an entertaining talk by Barney about the life of Franz Plunder.

Special exhibition at the Vorarlberg Museum

The current special exhibition at the Vorarlberg Museum presents Franz Plunder as a multifaceted personality until autumn 2026. Three illuminated ship masts in the first exhibition room provide insights into his childhood, his work as a sculptor and his time in America. Visitors can explore a true-to-original 1:10 scale model of the "Sowitasgoht V", which the Schwaneweder Model maker Jürgen Oltmann made especially for the exhibition. In an experience room, waves several metres high can be experienced on canvases, accompanied by an audio play about the hardships of crossing the Atlantic.

The Vorarlberg Museum in Bregenz will be showing the exhibition from April 2025 to autumn 2026 every Tuesday to Sunday from 10.00 to 18.00, and every 1st Thursday from 10.00 to 20.00.