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The true Viking warships, or langskips, were long and narrow, frequently with a length-breadth ratio of 7:1; they were very fast under sail or propelled by warriors who served as oarsmen. [6] In Scandinavia, the longship was the usual vessel for war until the 12th–13th centuries.
Longships were naval vessels made and used by the Vikings from Scandinavia and Iceland for trade, commerce, exploration, and warfare during the Viking Age. The longship's design evolved over many years, as seen in the Nydam and Kvalsund ships. The character and appearance of these ships have been reflected in Scandinavian boatbuilding ...
A very long, narrow and low-boarded ship could have been built, based on ship finds from the end of the Viking Age. But such a ship could not sail to America, which was an overarching goal in the Draken project. Therefore, the ship was made wide and high-boarded in addition, and thus ended up far outside the Viking Age.
Clinker-built, also known as lapstrake-built, [1] [2] is a method of boat building in which the edges of longitudinal (lengthwise-running) hull planks overlap each other. Where necessary in larger craft, shorter hull planks can be joined end to end, creating a longer hull plank ().
The longboat usually had the largest passenger carrying capacity out of a ship's boats. Longboats were used by both warships and merchant ships. [1] [2]: 43 A longboat was fitted so that it could be propelled either by oars or by sail. The oars were double-banked - with two oarsmen on each thwart, each using an oar on their own side.
These later stems, or prows, were made of single pieces of wood or multiple pieces joined. Much of the essential boatbuilding methods found in the Hjortspring boat persisted into the Viking Age. This continuation can be seen in the boat finds from Halsnøy (200 AD), Nydam (300-400 AD), Sutton Hoo (600-700 AD), and Kvalsund (690 AD). [10]
The 1893 'Viking' replica of the Gokstad ship reproduced this form of construction. The Viking's captain, Magnus Andersen, reported that the lightness and flexibility allowed the bottom to rise and fall up to 18 mm in heavy seas without leaking and the gunwale could twist up to 15 cm out of line. Speeds of around 10 or 11 knots were recorded. [12]
In some ways the birlinn paralleled the more robust ocean-going craft of Norse design. Viking ships were double-ended, with a keel scarfed to stems fore and aft. A shell of thin planking was constructed on the basis of the keel, the planks being edge-joined and clenched with iron nails.