Boaty McTruckface pops up for sale in Sweden

Scania Group says the 11-metre steel-hulled former tow boat, named Harald – that’s the name of the first king of Norway – was bought by Jorgen Paugart, a Scania dealership employee based in Gavle in central Sweden.

“The background is that my wife and I have a houseboat on a barge and needed to tow it out of the docks,” Paugart told Scania Group in a post on Facebook explaining the story behind the unusual-looking boat.

“In 2018, we therefore purchased a boat that had once been used for log driving. However, the wooden wheelhouse was dilapidated and needed to be replaced.”

His solution was to look around the dealership for bits he could use to restore the wheelhouse. A number of cabovers were sitting in the yard stripped of parts and were due to be scrapped.

The boat was already fitted with a Scania DC11 inboard engine, so it was a natural fit to also equip Harald with a Scania cab.

“Originally, I connected the steering wheel with the rudder but that was cumbersome and required a lot of rotations, so it’s now electrohydraulically operated by joystick,” Paugart said.

Harald is well equipped for a more leisurely life, although it retains some of its working origins, including a small lift crane and a towbar.

However, it also now has a cradle for a jet ski, a double bed in the forepeak, and – despite the big side mirrors – a reversing camera to help with the design’s limited rearward vision.

How much will Harald cost you? It’s listed online for 249,000 Swedish krona, or the equivalent of about $40,000 in our money.