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. Build from scratch and fashioned after the earliest excavated Viking ship near Oslo, Norway. This is an improvement over the Oseberg II which I built earlier. The rowing mechanism works on a different principle, which came to me all of a sudden in the middle of the night. It works almost frictionless in an elliptical fashion. The building methods are also improved even on the pictures shown below. It was a labour of love which drove me sometimes wild to the brink of giving up. Did the Vikings give up? Neither did I! Click on the thumbnails below to view the larger version. 
Roughly based on a "Billing Boats" kit of a smaller Oseberg ship which I built first, I started to change the way I was building with the fixture. The next version of the building fixture gave me a much better and more precise hull.    
   
The oar lightweight carrier puts now less stress on the mechanism below.    
The speed control has changed and the oar movement can now be reversed. After all the Viking beached their longboats by driving them up on the beach and left by rowing reverse. Their raids had to be carried out as surprise attacks and before help for the villagers could arrive the Vikings were long gone. The boats were built symmetrical which made these maneuvers easily possible.    
  
Rowing was slow and the large sail helped and was used whenever possible. Compared to the electrically driven model boats of today this model is also very slow.   
At those slow speeds is the rudder not very effective. To achieve a much smaller turning radius I use the oars. While one side is rowing the other side is resting with the oars in or out of the water. This makes for a relatively tight turning radius which is needed on indoor pools.    
For use of the sail especially against the wind it can be furled and considerable speed can be achieved by sailing before the wind with the use of the sail giving the Norsemen oarsmen a rest. Again, the movement of the sail was restricted especially in earlier versions of the Viking longboats.   
  
The Vikings were free men and individuals that loved the difference in the shield designs. If you look closely you will notice that no two shields are the same in colour.  
The shallow draft might have been perfect for river travel or along shorelines but certainly leave not much room for the mechanics which are below deck.   
Can you imagine the phantom Norsemen oarsmen below the cover?  
Nobody really knew but the Maiden Voyage of my Oseberg III was a rather public affair. The longship was for the first time in the water at the Toronto Hobby Show in 2007. I was of course prepared to use the boat for display only but it performed great. Some ballast added and you could see the model moving in the pond guided by a rather inexperienced captain. One learns fast under pressure!    
An experience I never forget. This fall I might have a video in this very spot. Remember to come back. Last modified on March 21, 2008 |