Viking ship model

Viking ship model plans

6 sheets (GIF format)

 

 

Historical description

Vikings have become famous principally thanks to the long trips they made in their ingeniously constructed ships in which they visited four continents. Along Western European coasts and rivers they travelled to the Mediterranean Sea. Via Russian rivers they travelled to the Black Sea and Constantinople and to the Caspian Sea and further to Baghdad in Asia. They resided in Shetland and Orkney and crossed the Atlantic Sea to Iceland, Greenland and Canada, and maybe also made it as far south as along the present-day coast of the United States. Depending on the field of application there were several different ships; from the broad merchant vessel to the fast, slender warship. The warship was built so the Vikings could ground it on shoal shores if they were attacked and also to be able to operate without any wind. They had to freight heavy and voluminous goods with high value per unit e.g. coins and other things they got from their raids. The ship could hold up to 20-30 ton, and only one metre was needed for a fully-loaded ship. The merchant vessels were built with a large load capacity and for seaworthiness rather than speed. These ships had a wide deck and a cargo hold in the middle of the ship. The ships were 15-30 meters long. They were built as so-called shellbuildings i.e. first they put on the powerful keel which would preferably be in one piece. Over the keel rested a big oak block with a hole for the mast. The boards were usually made from oak and sometimes pine. The ship was built so that the board plates partly covered each other and were joined together by iron nails. They made the boards watertight with tar. In one of the boards on top there were holes for the oars. The sails were made of wool or sometimes linen.They used a lot of different tools. The axe was the most important. Other tools they used were:Knife for making ornamentsHammer and forceps for making iron nails and rivetsAdze for shaping curved parts The tools that were used when these ships were built were nearly designed in the same shape that the tools are designed today.Scientists have built Viking ships and calculated that they travelled at a speed of 12-14 knot, but normally they travelled at a speed of 8 knot with full sails and a good breeze.