Drakkar (Norwegian Drakkar, from the Old Norse Drage - “dragon” and Kar - “ship”, literally “dragon ship”) is a wooden Viking ship, long and narrow, with a highly curved bow and stern. Viking ships were designed for a variety of purposes and were not all the same size or type. The three most famous and best preserved ships to this day were found in Norwegian burial mounds near the Oslofjord - in Gokstad, Oseberg and Thun. Why am I leading this conversation? And besides, the reconstruction of the drakkar from Useberg was carried out in Riga! Here is photographic evidence of this:
And information from the Ministry of Health of the press:
The project manager for the launch of the vessel, Juris Erts, said that Osa was made according to thousand-year-old drawings and is unique in its kind - there are no copies not only in the Baltics and Scandinavia, but throughout the world.
The Osebergship - the progenitor of the Osa - is the oldest Norwegian Viking warship, which began to be built in the early ninth century, and was used as a representative transport of the king's retinue, as well as during attacks and for transporting cavalry.
The modern Osa was recreated by the Kubuks company with the support of Norwegian entrepreneur Per Bjorkum and Latvian artisans. Other countries also helped financially - the amount of investment cannot be calculated, because the ship turned out to be unique. The idea to build a Viking ship arose in early 1990; work on the drawings began only in 2000. Practical work took place in 2007.
http://www.ves.lv/article/81102
The unofficial launch of the drakkar took place in early May, as described by an eyewitness to this event:
On the morning of May 9, Victory Day, Lenya called me and invited me to witness a solemn event - the launching of the first longship built in Latvia. I quickly got ready and came, especially since place X is located next to the house.
The Drakkar was built by order of the Norwegian side for the purpose of riding tourists. It is made of oak (only the mast is made of pine) and reaches a length of 24 m. The prototype was the famous tomb ship from Oseberg, 9th century. I’ll say right away that during construction all authentic technologies were not fully observed, since the ship was not initially planned as a complete reconstruction. The work was carried out over two years. The master is Juris Erts, an experienced carpenter and yachtsman. For now the ship is in Riga, and perhaps you can still freely look at it with your own eyes. In the future, it will be transported by water to Norway.
I present to your attention my photo report interspersed with video.
http://ms-reenactor.livejournal.com/153724.html
And here is the official descent:
On Saturday, May 23, a Viking ship, created according to thousand-year-old drawings, was lowered onto the main river of Latvia, LNT TV channel reports. The unique vessel named Osa has no analogues not only in the Baltics and Scandinavia, but throughout the world.
The modern Osa was created in the likeness of the Oseberg ship, an oak Viking ship (longship) discovered in 1904 near Tonsberg in the Norwegian province of Vestfold. The boat and its contents were recovered from the ground and are now on display at the Longship Museum in Oslo. Judging by dendrochronological data, this ancient ship was launched ca. 820 and until 834 it was used in coastal navigation, after which it was used as a funeral ship.
The length of the ship is 22 meters, width 6 meters, the size of the mast could vary from 6 to 10 m. With a sail area of 90 square meters. m. the ship could reach speeds of up to 10 knots. 15 pairs of rowlocks indicate that the ship was propelled by 30 oarsmen. The bow and stern of the ship are decorated with intricate carvings in the form of intertwined animals, as well as triangles connected into a valknut.
The construction of the world's first Latvian Viking ship, which was already sailing the waters of the Daugava on May 23, has been carried out by the Kubuks company since 2007.
As the LNT television company reports, this summer the ship will travel across the Baltic Sea to Ventspils, and then go to the island of Gotland and Sweden.
http://www.novanews.lv/index.php?mode=news&id=74349
But on the eve of the official launch, on Friday, May 22, my husband, at my request, found the drakkar’s parking place and photographed it in detail. So all the photos of the Riga Drakkar in this post are ours. :-)
About the further fate of the drakkar:
The organizers plan to place a replica of the boat in front of the Presidential Palace so that everyone interested will have the opportunity to get acquainted with the intricacies of shipbuilding by the ancient Vikings.
In June, an analogue of the Osa boat on the Baltic Sea will set off from Riga to Ventspils, and then through the island of Gotland to Sweden.
http://rus.delfi.lv/news/daily/latvia/article.php?id=24410117
And now a story about the original Viking ship, in whose image the Riga Drakkar was created:
In striking contrast to the ascetic decoration of the ship from Gokstad is the luxurious splendor of the ship discovered in 1903 in Oseberg. In general, the designs of these two ships are similar; The ship from Ouseberg is only slightly shorter, it has only one pair of oars less, but the overall impression of it is completely different, since the depth of the ship in the middle does not even reach 1 meter. Rising from the long, low sides, the bow and stern soar high above the water, and the soaring curve of the bow ends in a spiral - a curved snake. Bands of rich carving with a pattern of undulating scrolls outline the two edges on either side of the nose; upon closer inspection, it turns out that these are not just curls, but rows of intertwining animals. Anyone standing on the deck facing the bow could see another panel with carvings - more grotesque and even humorous in style, where small half-human figures with bulging eyes and tadpole bodies climbed on top of each other.
However, no matter how richly decorated the ship from Ouseberg was, it was never intended to sail on the open sea. Its draft is too low, its keel is thin, and there are no gates in the oarlocks; there are weak spots at the stern and in the hull itself due to the grooves in the planking, and almost all the deck boards are nailed, so that if necessary it would not even be possible to bail out water. Such a ship was only suitable for the calm waters of an enclosed fjord; Apparently, it was used for pleasure trips or, since many of the objects found in it could be associated with a cult, the ship served religious purposes and was used in the cult of some deity.
The burial took place around the middle of the 9th century, but the ship was already old and worn out when it entered the mound. Its keel is almost in disrepair; the block holding the mast in place had broken at some point and was being repaired; the tiller was missing; the oars, rudder and mast were not part of the original rigging, but replacements - indeed, some of the oars were not even finished. Apparently the ship had not been used for several years and was missing some of its rigging, so it had to be hastily outfitted to make it worthy of its latest task.
The ships also had tents - frames for them were found both in Gokstad and Oseberg. The frames were made of ash, and on the boards that formed the “ridges” above the tent, animal heads were carved, which protruded above the fabric of the tent. Their purpose is to protect sleeping people from evil. Frames from dismantled beds were also found, some of them with the heads of animals, very similar to the animals from the tent; Obviously, the tent and beds were a set.
The tents were very spacious: the tent from Ouseberg was 5.18 meters long, 4.38 meters wide and 3.43 meters high, while the other was only slightly smaller and its height was 2.63 meters. Such tents were sometimes pitched on the deck when the ship was moored, but more often when traveling along the coast, people went ashore each evening and pitched a tent on the ground. Those who did not have beds used leather sleeping bags, often one between two people, for warmth.
A night on the shore provided an opportunity to do some cooking. Among the kitchen utensils found on the ship from Useberg are two iron cauldrons with chains and hooks for hanging, spoons, knives, hatchets, wooden bowls, barrels and plates, and a hand mill for grinding grain; on two boards lay the carcass of an ox.
Carved pillars ending in the heads of gaping-mouthed animals may once have adorned small ships and are thought to predate the Viking Age; other similar pillars were found in the burial chamber on board the ship from Ouseberg, although we do not know what item they were part of. This snake head is from the Oseberg ship itself, and it was a permanent part of its hull, but from other sources we know that the figures on the bows of the ships could be removable.
http://www.bibliotekar.ru/vikingi/4.htm
And a few quotes about longships in general.
Of course, the Vikings would not have gained their gloomy glory if they had not possessed the best ships of that time. The hulls of their “sea dragons” were perfectly adapted to sailing in the choppy northern seas: low sides, gracefully upturned bow and stern; on the stern side there is a stationary steering oar; painted in red or blue stripes or checks, sails made of rough canvas on the mast were installed in the center of the spacious deck. The same type of merchant and military ships, much more powerful, being inferior in size to the Greek and Roman ones, were significantly superior to them in maneuverability and speed. Time really helped to evaluate their superiority. At the end of the 19th century, archaeologists found a well-preserved 32-oared dragon in a burial mound in southern Norway. Having built its exact copy and tested it in ocean waters, experts came to the conclusion: with a fresh wind, a Viking ship under sail could develop almost ten knots - and this is one and a half times more than Columbus's caravels during the voyage to the West Indies... through more than five centuries.
http://www.vokrugsveta.ru/vs/article/123/
The dimensions of the drakkars ranged from 35 to 60 meters. A carved dragon's head was attached to the bow (hence the name of the type of ship), and shields were located along the sides. Not every ship with a dragon's head on its nose was a longship - the dragon's head symbolized the high status of the ship's owner, and the ship itself could be anything. When approaching friendly lands, the dragon's head was removed - according to the beliefs of the peoples of the North, it could frighten or anger good spirits. If the Vikings wanted peace, the leader from the bow of the drakkar showed a shield, the inside of which was painted white. Drakkars were propelled by oars and a simple sail. Steering was carried out using a steering oar with a short transverse tiller mounted on the starboard side. Large ships had up to 35 pairs of oars (the "Great Serpent", built for King Olaf Tryggvasson in the winter of 999/1000) and reached speeds of up to 10-12 knots, which can be considered an outstanding indicator for ships of this class. Drakkars were distinguished by their versatility - the ships were used for military operations, transportation, as well as for long sea voyages, which the design of the ship allowed. In particular, the Vikings reached Iceland, Greenland and North America using longships.
Drakkars are large analogues of another type of Viking ship - Snekkars (from Snekja - snake and Kar - ship). Snekkars had a smaller size (up to 30 meters) and a smaller team (up to 60 people). They were also driven by a square sail, had 25-30 pairs of oars and on the open sea could reach a speed of 15-20 knots.
Viking fleet: ship bows in Norwegian rock art:
Drakkars, due to their shallow draft, were convenient for moving along rivers. For the same reason, longships were often also used for sudden landing of troops in the attacked territory. The low sides made the drakkar barely visible against the background of sea waves, which made it possible to maintain camouflage until the last moment.
A number of longships have survived to this day - they are now exhibited in Viking ship museums in Norway and Denmark.
Drakars were built from ash, pine or oak. Viking shipbuilders initially chose trees with natural curves for the keels and frames. After felling, the tree was cut in half, and then one board was cut from each half. To maintain strength and elasticity, the Vikings hewed boards exclusively along the grain, and used various types of axes as tools. The resulting boards could be bent up to 40 degrees without causing deformation. For side cladding, oak boards were taken and overlapped. The boards were fastened with iron nails and rivets. Then the entire structure was impregnated with pine resin. In this way, when moving through the water, an air gap was created - this increased stability, stability and speed of movement: the higher the speed, the more stable and smooth the boat moved.
Various historical organizations have tried to recreate this ship using original technologies. "The Seahorse of Glendalough" (Havhingsten fra Glendalough) a 30-meter ship, an almost exact copy of the Viking ship Skuldelev-2 (named after the village of Skuldelev in which marine archaeologists found 5 ships in 1962) built in 1042 in Ireland and sank at the end XI century in the Roskilde fjord. It took about 300 oak trunks, 7,000 iron nails and rivets, 600 liters of resin and 2 km of ropes to create it.
http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%94%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%80
The Normans called their warships “long” (longships), and also, depending on their size, drakkars (“dragons”) or auger (“snake”). For example, two Viking ships found in Norway dating back to the 9th and 10th centuries, respectively, have a length of about 23 m; one 15, the other 16 pairs of oars, clinker (edge on edge) plating and remarkably slender hull contours, smoothly flowing into gracefully curved stems. Scientists claim that drakkars were often built with a length of 30 m or more, and the transport ships of the Normans - knorrs, on which the Vikings transported captured cattle and horses, reached 50 meters in length.
Viking boats differed in the number of pairs of rowing oars, large ships - in the number of rowing benches. 13 pairs of oars determined the minimum size of a combat vessel. The very first ships were designed for 40–80 people each, and a large keel ship of the 11th century. could accommodate several hundred people. Such large combat units exceeded 46 meters in length.
Old Norse sagas tell that stylized images of mythical dragons and snakes were a favorite decoration on the prows of Viking ships. The sight of monsters growing in the sea was supposed to terrify enemies and, undoubtedly, instill panic in the peaceful coastal villages of other countries.
The heads of dragons were sometimes covered with gold, and carved overlays on the sides often depicted their paws, wings and scales. The same decoration could be on the stern, and in some cases there was a writhing tail of a dragon. When sailing in the waters of Scandinavia, these decorations were usually covered or removed so as not to frighten their wives, children, old people, as well as good spirits who patronized the sailors. Often, when approaching a port, shields were hung in a row on the sides of ships, but this was not allowed on the open sea.
In addition to the fearsome dragons and snakes, Viking ships sometimes carried less warlike figures - carvings of a bull, lion, deer or dolphin, and transport and fishing ships often had no decorations. The drakkar of the Norman king William the Conqueror, who carried out a conquest of England in 1066, carried a gilded figure of a lion on the stem, and on the sternpost a wooden statue of a leader blowing a war horn, with a banner in the other hand.
The attitude of the Vikings towards their ships is evidenced by their sonorous names, sung in ancient sagas: “Sea Serpent”, “Raven of the Whirlwind”, “Lion of the Waves”, “Sea Deer”, “Horse of the Wind”, “Sleigh of the Lord of the Seas”. And the longships of the sea kings lived up to their names. Their high seaworthiness was clearly confirmed in practice, when in 1893 a copy of the Gokstadt ship, called the Viking, crossed the Atlantic in 27 days, overtaking other sailing ships along the way, in particular a four-masted schooner. Thanks to the absence of superstructures and the semi-rigid hull design, when the frames were connected to the skin with flexible vines, the drakkar had enviable lightness, agility and excellent stability. According to the captain of the Viking, Magnus Anderson, in a fresh wind, the hull of the longship, under the influence of the sail, rose half a foot above the water, which reduced the friction surface and made it possible to reach a speed of 10-12 knots. Thus, the high seaworthiness of Viking ships was once again confirmed.
The bow and stern of the boat are identical, which made it possible to row in any direction without turning around. The boats had a keel to which the frames were attached, and the frames were attached to the plating. The rudder was a large oar attached to the side of the sternpost. Viking boats had up to 32 oars on each side.
Ships were often built from planks laid in overlapping rows and held together by curved frames. Above the waterline, most of the warships were brightly painted.
Viking ships moved with the help of sails and oars. The simple sail, made from rough canvas, was often painted with stripes and checkered patterns. The mast could be shortened and even removed altogether. With the help of skillful devices, the captain could steer the ship against the wind. The ships were steered by a paddle-shaped rudder mounted at the stern of the vessel.
Several surviving Viking ships are on display in museums in Scandinavian countries. One of the most famous, discovered in 1880 in Gokstad (Norway), dates back to approximately 900 AD. It reaches a length of 23.3 m and a width of 5.3 m. The ship had a mast and 32 oars, and it had 32 shields. In some places, elegant carved decorations have been preserved.
http://copypast.ru/2008/09/30/vikingi_i_ikh_drakkary.html
The Riga reconstruction is far from the only one.
In 1880, near Sandefjord (Norway), a large Scandinavian ship dating back to the 9th century (called the Gokstad ship) was found 24 m long, 5.1 m wide. The sailing rig consisted of one large rack sail sewn from vertical panels The mast had a height of approx. 13 m. The length of the rowing oar was 5.5 m. The ship had sixteen pairs of oars. It is therefore not entirely clear why the figure shows only ten oar holes. The cross on the mast square, shown in the above figure, is also puzzling. In the 9th century. Almost all Vikings, without exception, were consistent, convinced pagans. It remains to be assumed that the depicted cross has nothing to do with Christian symbolism.
This beautiful and slender vessel with a steeply raised side line at both ends is built entirely of oak and richly ornamented. The silhouette of a Scandinavian vessel is one of a kind and has not only aesthetic advantages. The exceptional seaworthiness of this type of vessel was practically proven by twelve young Norwegians in 1898 (1893?) Having built an exact copy of the Gokstadt ship, they successfully crossed the North Atlantic, showing an average speed of 9-10 knots, and a maximum speed of 11 knots (!). This is quite good for later large sailing ships, as for combat rowing ships, it is almost fantastic!
http://www.sci-lib.net/index.php?s=00f98edf138f824760e13fa34af7bd6b&act=Print&client=printer&f=38&t=2251
Another example of successful reconstruction and navigation:
Danish historical reconstruction enthusiasts will embark on a sea voyage on July 1, 2007, aboard the largest replica of a Viking longship.
The 30-meter long longship "Havhingsten fra Glendalough" ("Horse of the Sea from Glendalough") is modeled after an 11th-century Viking ship found in Roskilde, Denmark in 1962, but built in the Irish town of Glendalough.
http://www.lenta.ru/news/2007/05/28/viking/
The largest known Viking longship currently bears the name Roskilde 6. Naturally, no one knows the real name of this handsome man. When the slender and beautiful silhouette of Roskilde 6 appeared on the horizon a thousand years ago, it was very bad news for those who saw it. This drakkar carried a company of stern warriors thirsting for blood and booty across the waters of the northern seas.
This is the largest Viking ship ever found. It was discovered in Rocksylda in 1996, quite by accident. Keeping the rules of the Danish language, its name is more correctly pronounced as “Roskilde” (Danish: Roskilde). According to calculations, the construction of such a ship in those distant times took 30 thousand man-hours of skilled labor of shipbuilders, plus the work of felling trees and transporting materials. The ship is just over 36 meters long, four meters longer than Henry VIII's flagship, the Mary Rose, built five centuries later. Roxylde 6 is also six meters longer than the Viking ship recreated as the Sea Stallion, which sailed from Scandinavia to Dublin, rounding Scotland, in 2007.
Excavations "Roskilde 6" 
The original hulk of the ship is mounted in a metal frame that recreates its shape and full length.
This giant was built after 1025, when the oak trees used for construction were cut down. It could carry 100 warriors, who took turns at 39 pairs of oars if there was not enough wind to fill the square woolen sail. It was quite cramped for them on board; they had to sleep between the seats, and there was very little space for supplies. Therefore, they took a minimum of supplies - fresh water, ale or mead, which did not spoil very quickly, dried fish, as well as salted and dried meat.
The swim was uncomfortable, but usually short. There was no need to take a large load, since the ship was moving surprisingly fast. Thus, the Sea Stallion vessel managed to maintain an average speed of 5.5 knots, and its maximum speed was 20 knots. Once ashore, the Vikings were able to obtain food by hunting and plundering, being ruthless and efficient. All of Europe experienced the wrath of the Normans for more than three hundred years.
Surely the ships did not come one by one. “There is evidence in the records that ships arrived in the hundreds,” says Gareth Williams, a scientist at the British Museum. – Therefore, we can talk about an army of up to 10 thousand people, which suddenly landed on your coast. These were well-trained, strong warriors, capable of moving very quickly both on water and on land.” According to Williams, such luxury ships were incredibly expensive to build, but they were a devastating demonstration of Norman military might.
Circumstances of discovery and restoration
The ship was found completely by accident when an extension was being made at the Roskilde ship museum in Denmark (!). The museum itself also houses previously discovered Viking ships, which in ancient times were sunk specifically to narrow the passage in the fjord and protect the approaches to Roskilde, the ancient royal capital of Denmark.
In 1996, archaeologists observing the progress of construction work discovered the skeleton of a huge ship at the site of the new foundation, some of the frames of which had already been broken by piles driven into the base of the extension.
Moreover, the accidental discovery turned out to be a real treasure, consisting of nine (!) Viking ships in total. “Roskilde 6” (I hope the number “6” in the name is now clear), from which almost half of the hull was saved, became the most spectacular discovery.
The original Roskilde ships are spectacularly displayed in a hall specially built for this purpose. The cases look very durable, but they can break like fragile glass. During excavations, the damp frames of Roskilde 6 could crumble into dust if there was access to air. The ship conservation project was led by a specialist from the National Museum, Kristiane Straetkvern. Its essence was to dry 10-meter-long frames much more slowly than was done using previous methods, and then replace the lost moisture with synthetic resin, making the frame lighter but remaining strong.
It was a tense moment for the ship as the assembly and testing of the dried frames began. Each of them was inserted and secured into its carefully laser-cut and well-sized socket. The result is a bolted-on frame that resembles a giant children's construction set. But during transportation it can easily be disassembled into hundreds of parts.
Ship parts in the process of conservation 
The final stage of work: assembly of the Roskilde 6 ship on a frame 
The mothballed wreck of the ship "Roskilde 6" mounted on a frame in the exhibition pavilion of the National Museum of Denmark
The team from the Roskilde Museum have grown into a group of experts in the reconstruction of ancient ships and are regularly called upon to carry out restoration work. They hope that one day they will be able to recreate a life-size replica of the huge ship Roskilde 6 and send their creation overseas - not to terrorize the population of Europe, but to leave them in awe of history.
Technical characteristics and design features
It was possible to establish that "Roskilde-6" was a longship, an incredible length - 37 m, with a hull width of 3.5 m, thus, this ship should be classified as a class that gave rise to such giants as the legendary "Long Serpent" and " Big Dragon." Built around 1025, the beautiful boat was almost certainly royal property, and it is difficult to avoid the temptation to attribute it to King Canute, who then reigned in Denmark, Norway, England and southern Sweden.
The keel, oak and T-shaped in cross-section, reaches 32 m in length, consists of a central section and two nodes at the edges, to which it was attached by means of long overlapping joints. The frames, located at a distance of 78 cm from each other, covered the first five planking chords, which turned the upper crossbars connecting them (unfortunately, not preserved) into ideal cans for rowers. Light half-frames, fitted and secured between the frames, added strength to the third and fourth chords. The latter was further strengthened by a stringer, to which the lower beams were connected. Only a fragment of the keelson, resting on the frames and secured with horizontal bends, survived. The sail size of the vessel is estimated at 200 square meters. m. Taking into account also 78 rowers with long oars, the sight of such a leviathan must have taken your breath away. A real ship from the saga, it could easily accommodate 100 warriors, and, without a doubt, additional formidability and belligerence was given to it, as always, by a superbly crafted dragon head (which, however, was not found).
Diagram of the preserved hull of the longship "Roskilde-6"
Reconstructed silhouette of the ship "Roskilde 6" in comparison with the silhouette of a person (in the bow).
There has not yet been a reconstruction of the ship "Roskilde 6", the most similar of the Viking ships found is the "Skuldelev 2" (Danish: Skuldelev 2 - Skullelev 2), which is 6 meters shorter than the "Roskilde 6". Long sea passages speak of the very good qualities of this ship. 
Good day.
The warm summer is over. The dachas, gardens, vegetable gardens and vacations, including “vacations” from hobbies, are over. A 1/50 scale model of a Viking ship called the Drakkar from Revell became such a unique vacation for me.
A little history.
Drakkar (Drage - “dragon” and Kar - “ship”) is a long and narrow wooden Viking ship, with its bow and stern raised high.
The dimensions of the drakkars reached 18.5 meters and had up to 35 pairs of oars. Drakkars were propelled by oars and a rectangular sail. A carved dragon's head was attached to the bow (stem) (hence the name of the type of ship), and along the sides there were shields for transporting the protection of the rowers. Steering was carried out using a steering oar with a short transverse tiller mounted on the starboard side. Drakkars were distinguished by their versatility - the ships were used for military operations, transportation, as well as for long sea voyages, which the design of the ship allowed. In particular, the Vikings reached Iceland, Greenland and North America using longships.
Archaeologists, scientists and historians have published a lot of scientific works on Scandinavian mythology, created an even larger number of works on the life, morals and customs of the Scandinavians, but... we are not interested in this, we need ships - Drakkars. And archaeologists have them too.
The most famous ships that have survived to this day are the ships from Gokstad, Oseberg, Skullelev, Ladby, Nydam, Tune, Kvalsund. By the way, the ship proposed by Revell is most similar to the Gokstad ship.
In addition, some idea about the ships of the northerners is given by runic (picture or memorial) stones, in particular the Satur-Hammar stone from Gotland (Sweden).
In general, this topic is quite interesting, but I think those who are interested will be able to find the information they need without my tediousness, so let’s get down to business.
Box.
So, Revell offers us four sprues of brown plastic with two halves of the hull, a deck, cradle, mast, yard, oars, rudder, bow and tail figures, shields, anchor, rigging equipment and some kind of stand with a nameplate. Plastic sail, skein of thread and decal.
After studying the kit, I came to the conclusion that the only advantage of this model is the very well detailed and molded wood grain on the hull and deck. Everything else leaves much to be desired. The decal in the form of a stern Viking in a horned helmet on a sail is an obscure thing, just like the sail itself is made of plastic.
I would rather call the oars spears, because that’s what they look like. The shields would not be bad if (if only) it weren’t for the truncated imitation of leather edging and conical umbons.
Assembly.
As I said above, in my opinion, with the contours of the hull, the presented ship most resembles a ship from the Gostad. But I decided not to make the Gokstad ship, but, so to speak, a collective image, which was expressed in smoothing and giving smoother, rounded shapes to the stem and sternpost, as well as replacing figures and various little things.
The first stage, after gluing the body halves, was its “nagelization”. That is, initially I wanted to make metal rivets, but during the painting process I decided that wooden dowels looked better. This process was perhaps the most tedious and time-consuming in the construction of the model: first, holes were drilled in the hull skin boards, then the pins themselves were made and glued. The process of making them consisted of melting synthetic bristles of a brush over the candles, resulting in spherical caps on a stem. In total, about 1200 dowels were made (600 not on each side), which is barely a third of the required number, but this would have been too much, to the detriment of entertainment.
Next, a dragon's head for the stem and tail for the stern post were carved from linden. The deck was used from the kit, without modifications (although it needed them - at least beams, and perhaps frames at the same time), the only thing was that I had to add the flooring myself in the bow (which is still included in the kit at the stern).
“Ducks” were made and glued onto the bulwark, of which only six were given in the set, out of the required fourteen. Replaced with wooden supports for the spar, onto which I also attached the pole for the tent, as well as the twist itself with the latter. Cradles for the oars were made.
I didn’t like the oars themselves, so I had to make new 32 oars from linden. Well, turning them while standing would not be very convenient, besides, the harsh northern robbers needed to “stash” their ill-gotten gains somewhere, so I made a corresponding number of benches-chests, plus a chest for the helmsman and a chest for the jarl.
For the ambiance, I added a few homemade little things to the deck - several barrels, a tub with a lid, a bucket, a hatchet and a bag. Plus one barrel (at the stern), a prefabricated wooden model (unfortunately, I don’t know the manufacturer).
Converted to a wooden steering wheel and its mount. The mast and yard were also replaced with wooden ones, carved from poplar. Anchor from Amati.
The last part taken from the kit were shields, of which the manufacturer generously provided 64. Perhaps this is logical - there could be several shifts of rowers on board during a combat voyage, but such a number of shields on the sides of the model, in my opinion, is overkill.
And again, as I wrote above, I did not like the cone-shaped umbos, which were mercilessly cut off and replaced with brass hemispheres. The leather edging on the front side is made well, but on the back it is not classy, to say the least - it has gone downhill.
The sail was naturally replaced with a fabric one. Initially, a special canvas was purchased for shipbuilders, but I didn’t really like it - the weaving is very small. I wanted a more brutal look, so I purchased a coarser fabric.
There are still debates about the color of the sail, in particular whether the sail was striped (with contrasting colors) or not. Again, at the beginning of the article, I wrote about images of Viking ships on rune stones, where a diamond-shaped pattern is visible, which consisted of sails sewn onto the canvas (to strengthen it) with intersecting strips of leather. I like this theory better than the red and white striped ones. The sewn stripes would have looked tacky on the model and I was content with simple stitching, but I was too clever with tucking the edges in two layers - it turned out massive and not even, one would have been enough, but “after a fight, they don’t wave their fists.”
The final touch was installing the rigging. In general, the rigging was quite primitive: forestay, fordun (shrouds), halyard (archstay). For control: brace, sprout and sheet.
Coloring.
If we were to make a ship of one of the most famous sea robbers, then make it brutal, and therefore dark and gloomy.
The body was painted with a dirty brown color selected “by eye”, using which I used a dry brush to highlight the wood texture in two passes. Tempera - natural sienna and light ocher. To give the effect of dark wood, everything was covered with bitumen varnish with a solvent in a 1:1 ratio.
The deck is painted sand color, stained with Tamiya dark brown stain, and highlighted with the same natural sienna and light ocher.
The wooden parts were painted with bitumen varnish.
Stand.
The stand is made of pine board brushed with brushes and coated with walnut varnish. Holder figures - “drip tips for vipers”: D (for those not in the know - a drip tip mouthpiece for electronic cigarettes), I saw and purchased it by chance in the appropriate store.
I apologize in advance for possible errors in specific terminology (I've never been a shipbuilder).
Thank you for your attention.
P.S. I forgot to point out a couple of my mistakes. Firstly, the fastening of the forestay, halyard (archstay) and fordun (shrouds) is not fully reproduced. Secondly, the anchor rod is fixed parallel, and not perpendicular to the horns. It seems that everything, I repented :)
With the help of special items you can build and improve buildings, as well as demolish them if necessary.
Warrior Blueprint- an item necessary for the construction and improvement of the Military Bloc. It can be purchased in the Clan Store for Loyalty points and in the Item Store for Gold. There is also a chance to find a Warrior's Blueprint in Loki's Chest.
Bronze- an item that is needed to improve buildings from levels 27 to 31. It can be earned by completing personal Tasks, purchased in the Clan Store for Loyalty points or as part of bank offers, and also received for attacking Uber Invaders. The probability of getting Bronze is affected by the Hero’s Skills, learned Knowledge, equipment and boosts that increase the Hero’s combat performance in the fight against Invaders.
Nugget— an item for improving buildings from level 32 to 35. It is issued as a reward for achieving milestones in Competitions and for winning places in the Asgard League ratings. The Nugget can also be purchased as part of bank offers or found in the Chests of the Gods, which are dropped by extracting resources in the “Gifts of the Gods” locations of levels 8 and 9.
All of the above items are displayed in the “Resources” section in the “My Items” tab.
Torch- an item with which you can instantly demolish an unnecessary building in the city. It can be purchased in the Item Store for Gold, and can also be received as a reward for attacking Invaders and for logging into the game daily. The number of available Torches is displayed in the “My Items” tab, in the “Bonuses” section.
Drakkars - from the Old Norse Drage - "dragon" and Kar - "ship", literally - "dragon ship") - a wooden Viking ship, long and narrow, with a highly curved bow and stern.
Structurally, the Viking drakkar is a developed version of the snekkar (from the Old Norse “snekkar”, where “snekja” means “snake”, and “kar”, respectively, “ship”). The snekkar was smaller and more maneuverable than the longship, and in turn was descended from the knorr (the etymology of the Norwegian word "knörr" is unclear), a small cargo ship that was notable for its low speed (up to 10 knots). However, Eric the Red discovered Greenland not on a longship, but on a knorr.
The dimensions of the drakkar are variable. The average length of such a ship was from 10 to 19 meters (35 to 60 feet, respectively), although ships of greater length could presumably exist. These were universal ships; they were used not only in military operations. They were often used for trade and transportation of goods; they traveled longer distances (not only on the open sea, but also along rivers). This is one of the main features of the Drakkar ships - the shallow draft made it possible to easily maneuver in shallow water.
Drakkars allowed the Scandinavians to discover the British Isles (including Iceland) and reach the shores of Greenland and North America. In particular, the American continent was discovered by the Viking Leif Eriksson, nicknamed “The Happy One.” The exact date of his arrival in Vinland (as Leif called probably modern Newfoundland) is unknown, but it certainly happened before the year 1000. Such an epic journey, crowned with success in every sense, speaks better than any characteristics that the drakkar model was an extremely successful engineering solution.
It is believed that the drakkar (you can see pictures of the reconstruction of the ship below), being a “dragon ship,” invariably had a carved head of the desired mythical creature on its keel. But this is a misconception. The design of the Viking longship actually implies a high keel and an equally high stern with a relatively low side height. However, it was not always the dragon that was placed on the keel; moreover, this element was mobile.
The wooden sculpture of a mythical creature on the keel of the ship indicated, first of all, the status of its owner. The larger and more spectacular the structure, the higher the social position of the ship's captain. At the same time, when the Viking longship sailed to its native shores or the lands of the allies, the “dragon head” was removed from the keel. The Scandinavians believed that in this way they could scare the “good spirits” and bring trouble to their lands. If the captain longed for peace, the place of the head was taken by a shield, turned towards the shore with the inner side on which was printed white cloth (a kind of analogue of the later “white flag” symbol).
The Viking drakkar (photos of reconstructions and archaeological finds are presented below) was equipped with two rows of oars (one row on each side) and a wide sail on a single mast, that is, the main thing was the oar stroke. The drakkar was steered by a traditional steering oar, to which a transverse tiller (special lever) was attached, located on the right side of the high stern. The ship could develop a speed of up to 12 knots, and in an era when an adequate sailing fleet did not yet exist, this figure rightly inspired respect. At the same time, the drakkar was quite maneuverable, which, combined with its shallow draft, allowed it to easily move along fjords, hide in gorges and enter even the shallowest rivers.
Another design feature of such models has already been mentioned - the low side. This engineering move, apparently, had a purely military application, because precisely because of the low side of the drakkar it was difficult to distinguish on the water, especially at dusk and even more so at night. This gave the Vikings the opportunity to get almost close to the shore before the ship was noticed. The dragon's head on the keel had a special function in this regard. It is known that during the landing in Northumbria (Lindisfarne Island, 793), wooden dragons on the keels of Viking longships made a truly indelible impression on the monks of the local monastery. The monks considered this “God’s punishment” and fled in fear. There are not isolated cases when even soldiers in forts left their posts at the sight of “sea monsters.”
Typically, such a ship had from 15 to 30 pairs of oars. However, the ship of Olaf Tryggvason (the famous Norwegian king), launched in 1000 and called the “Great Serpent,” supposedly had as many as three and a half dozen pairs of oars! Moreover, each oar had a length of up to 6 meters. During the journey, the crew of a Viking longship rarely consisted of more than 100 people, in the vast majority of cases it was much less. Moreover, each warrior in the team had his own bench, where he rested and under which he stored personal belongings. But during military campaigns, the size of the drakkar allowed it to accommodate up to 150 soldiers without a significant loss in maneuver and speed.
The mast was 10-12 meters high and was removable, that is, if necessary, it could be quickly removed and laid along the side. This was usually done during a raid to increase the ship's mobility. And here the low sides and shallow draft of the ship came into play again. The drakkar could come close to the shore and the warriors very quickly went ashore, deploying positions. That is why the Scandinavian raids were always lightning fast. It is known that there were many models of longships with original accessories. In particular, the famous “Queen Matilda Carpet”, on which the fleet of William I the Conqueror was embroidered, as well as the “Bayenne Linen” depict longships with spectacular shiny tin weathervanes, brightly striped sails and decorated masts.
In the Scandinavian tradition, it is customary to give names to a wide variety of objects (from swords to chain mail), and ships were no exception in this regard. From the sagas we know the following names of ships: “Sea Serpent”, “Lion of the Waves”, “Horse of the Wind”. These epic “nicknames” show the influence of the traditional Scandinavian poetic device - kenning.
The classification of Viking ships is quite arbitrary, since, of course, no actual drawings of longships have survived. However, there is quite an extensive archeology, for example - the Gokstad ship (also known as the Gokstad longship). It was found in 1880 in Vestfold, in a mound near Sandefjord. The vessel dates back to the 9th century and presumably this type of Scandinavian vessel was most often used for funeral rites.
The ship from Gokstad is 23 meters long and 5.1 meters wide, with a rowing oar length of 5.5 meters. That is, objectively, the Gokstad ship is quite large, it clearly belonged to a headwing or a jarl, and perhaps even a king. The ship has one mast and a large sail made of several vertical stripes. The drakkar model has elegant outlines, the vessel is entirely made of oak and is equipped with rich ornaments. Today the ship is exhibited at the Viking Ship Museum (Oslo).
It is curious that the longship from Gokstad was reconstructed in 1893 (it was called “Viking”). 12 Norwegians built an exact copy of the Gokstad ship and even sailed across the ocean on it, reaching the shores of the United States and landing in Chicago. As a result, the ship was able to accelerate to 10 knots, which is actually an excellent indicator even for traditional ships of the “era of sailing fleet”.
In 1904, another Viking longship was discovered in the already mentioned Vestfold, near Tønsberg; today it is known as the Oseberg ship and is also exhibited in the Oslo Museum. Based on extensive research, archaeologists have concluded that the Oseberg ship was built in 820 and participated in cargo and military operations until 834, after which the ship was used in funeral rites. The drawing of the drakkar could look like this: 21.6 meters in length, 5.1 meters in width, the height of the mast is unknown (presumably ranging from 6 to 10 meters). The sail area of the Oseberg ship could be up to 90 square meters, the probable speed was at least 10 knots. The bow and stern sections have magnificent carvings of animals. Based on the internal dimensions of the drakkar and its “decoration” (primarily referring to the presence of 15 barrels, which were often used by the Vikings as clothing chests), it is assumed that the ship had at least 30 oarsmen (but larger numbers are quite likely).
The Oseberg ship belongs to the auger class. An auger or simply an auger (the etymology of the word is unknown) is a type of Viking longship, which was made only from oak planks and was widely represented among Northern European peoples much later - from the 12th to the 14th centuries. Despite the fact that the ship received critical damage during a funeral rite, and the burial mound itself was plundered in the Middle Ages, archaeologists found on the burnt drakkar the remains of expensive (even now!) silk fabrics, as well as two skeletons (of a young and an elderly woman) with decorations that speak of their exceptional position in society. Also found on the ship was a traditionally shaped wooden cart and, most surprisingly, peacock bones. Another “uniqueness” of this archaeological artifact is that the remains of people on the Oseberg ship were initially associated with the Ynglings (a dynasty of Scandinavian leaders), but later DNA analysis revealed that the skeletons belonged to haplogroup U7, which corresponds to people from the Middle East, in particular Iranians.
Another famous Viking longship was discovered in Østfold (Norway), in the village of Rolvsey near Tyn. This discovery was made by the famous 19th century archaeologist Olaf Ryugev. The “sea dragon” found in 1867 was called the Thun ship. The Thun ship dates back to the turn of the 10th century, around 900. Its cladding is made of oak boards laid overlapping. The Tyun ship was poorly preserved, but a comprehensive analysis revealed the dimensions of the drakkar: 22 meters long, 4.25 meters wide, with a keel length of 14 meters, and the number of oars could presumably vary from 12 to 19. The main feature of the Tyun ship is that the design was based on oak frames (ribs) made of straight rather than bent boards.
Viking drakkars were built from strong and reliable wood species - oak, ash and pine. Sometimes the drakkar model involved the use of only one breed, more often they were combined. It is curious that Old Scandinavian engineers sought to select tree trunks for their ships that already had natural bends; not only frames, but also keels were made from them. The cutting of wood for the ship was followed by splitting the trunk in half; the operation was repeated several times, with the elements of the trunk always split along the grain. All this was done before the wood dried, so the boards were very flexible; they were additionally moistened with water and bent over an open fire.
The main tool for building a Viking longship was an axe; additionally, drills and chisels were used. Interestingly, saws were known to the Scandinavians fromVIIIcenturies, but they were never used for building ships. Moreover, there are legends according to which famous shipbuilders created longships using only an axe.
To sheath the ships of the drakkars (pictures of the drawings are presented below), the so-called clinker laying of boards was used, that is, overlapping laying (overlapping). The fastening of the boards to the hull of the ship and to each other strongly depended on the area where the ship was made and, apparently, local beliefs had a great influence on this process. Most often, the planks in the skin of a Viking longship were fastened with wooden nails, less often with iron nails, and sometimes they were tied in a special way. Then the finished structure was tarred and caulked; this technology has not changed for centuries. This method created an “air cushion”, which added stability to the ship, while increasing the speed of movement led to improved buoyancy of the structure.
The sails of the “sea dragons” were made exclusively from sheep wool. It is worth noting that the natural fatty coating on sheep’s wool (“scientifically” it is called lanolin) gave the sailing fabric excellent protection from moisture, and even in heavy rain such a fabric got wet very slowly. It is interesting to note that this technology for making sails for longships is clearly reminiscent of modern linoleum production techniques. The shapes of the sails were universal - either rectangular or square, this ensured controllability and high-quality acceleration in a tailwind.
Icelandic Scandinavian experts calculated that the average sail for a drakkar ship (photos of reconstructions can be seen below) required about 2 tons of wool (the resulting canvas had an area of up to 90 square meters). Taking into account medieval technologies, this is approximately 144 man-months, that is, to create such a sail, 4 people had to work every day for 3 years. It is not surprising that large and high-quality sails were literally worth their weight in gold.
As for the selection of a crew for a Viking longship, the captain (most often it was a hersir, chief or jarl, less often a king) always took with him only the most reliable and trusted people, because the sea, as we know, does not forgive mistakes. Each warrior was “attached” to his oar, the bench next to which literally became home for the Viking during the campaign. He kept his property under a bench or in a special barrel, slept on a bench, covered with a woolen cloak. On long campaigns, whenever possible, Viking longships always stopped near the shore so that the warriors could spend the night on solid ground.
A camp on the shore was also necessary during large-scale military operations, when the ship took two to three times more soldiers than usual, and there was not enough space for everyone. At the same time, the captain of the ship and several of his associates did not normally participate in the rowing, and the helmsman (helmsman) did not touch the oar. And here it’s worth remembering one of the key features of “sea dragons,” which can be considered textbook. The warriors laid their weapons on the deck, while their shields were hung overboard on special mounts. The drakkar with shields on both sides looked very impressive and really struck fear into the hearts of enemies with its very appearance. On the other hand, by the number of shields overboard it was possible to determine in advance the approximate size of the ship's crew.
Medieval Scandinavian ships were repeatedly recreated in the 20th century by reconstructors from different countries, and in many cases a specific historical analogue was taken as a basis. For example, the famous longship "Seahorse of Glendalough" is actually a clear replica of the Irish ship "Skuldelev II", which was released in 1042. This ship was wrecked in Denmark near the Rosklilde fjord. The name of the ship is not original; archaeologists named it that way in honor of the town of Skuldelev, near which the remains of 5 ships were found in 1962.
The dimensions of the drakkar “Seahorse from Glendalough” are amazing: it is 30 in length, 300 trunks of first-class oak were used to build this masterpiece, seven thousand nails and six hundred liters of high-quality resin were used in the process of assembling the drakkar model, as well as 2 kilometers of hemp rope.
Another famous reconstruction is called "Harald Fairhair" in honor of the first king of Norway, Harald Fairhair. This ship was built from 2010 to 2015, it is 35 meters long and 8 meters wide, it has 25 pairs of oars, and the sail has an area of 300 square meters. The recreated Viking ship can easily accommodate up to 130 people, and on it the reenactors traveled across the ocean to the shores of North America. The unique longship (photo above) regularly travels along the coast of Great Britain; anyone can join the team of 32 people, but only after careful selection and lengthy preparation.
In 1984, a small longship was reconstructed based on the Gokstad ship. It was created by professional shipbuilders at the Petrozavodsk shipyard to participate in the filming of the wonderful film “And Trees Grow on Stones.” In 2009, several Scandinavian ships were created at the Vyborg shipyard, where they are moored to this day, periodically used as original props for historical films.
Thus, the legendary ships of the ancient Scandinavians still excite the imagination of historians, travelers and adventurers. Drakkar embodied the spirit of the Viking Age. These squat, nimble ships quickly and quietly approached the enemy and made it possible to implement the tactics of a quick stunning attack (the notorious blitzkrieg). It was on longships that the Vikings plied the Atlantic; on these ships the legendary northern warriors sailed along the rivers of Europe, reaching all the way to Sicily! The legendary Viking ship is a true triumph of the engineering genius of a distant era.
P.S. Today, the drakkar tattoo is a fairly popular option for “artistic body carving.” In some cases it looks quite impressive, but you need to understand that we do not have a single historical evidence that the Drakkar tattoo could exist. Despite the fact that we know quite a lot about tattoos in Scandinavian culture. Such a significant moment suggests that the Drakkar tattoo is not at all a way to honor the memory of ancestors, but rather a stupid whim.
