Editing Fridtjof Nansen (section)

=== Preparations ===
Nansen chose the Norwegian naval engineer [[Colin Archer]] to design and build a ship. Archer designed an extraordinarily sturdy vessel with an intricate system of crossbeams and braces of the toughest oak timbers. Its rounded hull was designed to push the ship upwards when beset by pack ice. Speed and manoeuvrability were to be secondary to its ability as a safe and warm shelter during their predicted confinement.<ref name="Fleming240" />

The length-to-beam ratio—{{convert|39|m|ft|adj=mid|-long}} and {{convert|11|m|ft|adj=mid|-wide}}—gave it a stubby appearance,<ref name="Huntford192">Huntford, pp. 192–197.</ref> justified by Archer: "A ship that is built with exclusive regard to its suitability for [Nansen's] object must differ essentially from any known vessel."<ref>Nansen 1897, vol.&nbsp;I, p.&nbsp;60.</ref> It was christened ''[[Fram (ship)|Fram]]'' and launched on 6 October 1892.<ref name="Huntford192" />

Nansen selected a party of twelve from thousands of applicants. [[Otto Sverdrup]], who took part in Nansen's earlier Greenland expedition was appointed as the expedition's second-in-command.<ref name="Nansen78" /> Competition was so fierce that army lieutenant and dog-driving expert [[Hjalmar Johansen]] signed on as ship's stoker, the only position still available.<ref name="Nansen78">Nansen 1897, vol.&nbsp;I, pp.&nbsp;78–81.</ref><ref name="Huntford222">Huntford, pp. 222–223.</ref>