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Icelander · 11-08-2008, 11:46 PM

Viking Ships

Not all vessels used by the Scandinavians of the so-called Viking Age were dragon-prowed longships. I realise that this is shocking and nearly as painful as the news that we didn‘t wear horned helmets and charge into battle naked and screaming, but it‘s the truth nonetheless.

The Danish and Norse were great traders and it is unlikely that most of their legendary voyages were made in longships. Those longboats were meant for warfare and carried a crew much too large to be practical in a trading or exploration vessel. Even when a large group of men set sail to settle a new land, it‘s probable that they did so in the seaworthy and versatile karves, not in dragon-prowed longboats that could not carry enough food and water for journeys of that length.

All Norse boats and ships of the period are constructed using the same clinker-built method. The keel is usually made of oak, with pine used for masts and decking. The most common vessels are boats known as færings (four-oarings), which literally refers to the number of oars used to propel the boat. They were used as fishing boats and sometimes carried by larger vessels as ship‘s boats. A larger færing is called a sexæring (six-oaring) Both types can reach lengths of over 20‘ and carry a similar single-mast as Norse ships.

Larger vessels may be broadly (for the purposes of gaming, at least), by divided into three types of ships. Knarrer and smaller trading craft such as the byrðing had rounded keels and higher freeboards, being designed primarily as sailing ships that carried cargo and having oars only as a back-up to the sails. Karves were all-purpose craft, adaptable for both war and trade. They were long and narrow, but not as narrow as a swift-running longship. The freeboard was also higher than on most longships.

The most famous vessels of the Vikings, the longships, ranged in size from the small snekkjas at just over a 50‘ to the monstrous 150‘ long Serpent-Ships of kings and great lords. No wreck of a longship over 120‘ long has yet been found, but enough evidence for their existence can be found in contempoary sagas to make it credible that such ships were used in warfare, at least.

Byrðing (46‘)
TL: 3
ST/HP: 86
Hnd/SR: -3/3
HT: 12c
Move: 0.1/5
EWt: 5t
LWt: 9.6t
Load: 4.6t
SM: +5
Occ: 6
DR: 3
Range: F
Cost: $5K
Locations: M,O
Draft: 3‘
Notes: Listed move is for under sail. When being rowed without a sail, Move is 0.03/2.5.

Byrðings are coastal trading vessels, probably used in the Baltic and the waters around Denmark. It is the kind of boat that might be used by a well-to-do farmer to travel to market. It has two to three oars on either side and a small open hold for cargo or personal belongings. This example is based on the Skuldelev 3 wreck, reconstructed as the Roar Ege.

Optional Modifiers: Byrðings are a small craft, open-decked with a low freeboard, and not intended for deep sea sailing. As such, Hnd penalties for weather and high seas are increased by 1 each. These penalties are cumulaltive when appropriate.

Knarr (52‘)
TL: 3
ST/HP: 115
Hnd/SR: -3/4
HT: 12c
Move: 0.2/6
EWt: 12t
LWt: 36t
Load: 24t
SM: +6
Occ: 8
DR: 5
Range: F
Cost: $12K
Locations: M,O
Draft: 4.2‘
Notes: Listed move is for under sail. When being rowed without a sail, Move is 0.02/2.

A knarr is a versatile, fast, seaworthy and cheap merchant vessel that can operate almost anywhere in the world. As such, it dominated trade over a large part of the known world for a very long time. Knarrer routinely crossed the North Atlantic carrying livestock and stores to Norse settlements in Iceland and Greenland as well as trading goods to trading posts in the British Isles, Continental Europe and possibly the Middle East.

The knarr was a merchant vessel and as such did not carry enough rowers to be as fast and manouverable under oar as longhips. There were only four oars on boar, for example. As sailing ships, however, knarrer were exceptionally fast and only needed a very small crew. This example is based on the wreck Skuldelev 1, reproduced as the vessel Ottar.

While knarrer were more comfortable than longships, long journeys in them still subjected their crew to hardship nearly undreamed of for a modern man. It was far from unknown for a large proportion of settlers‘ ships to be lost in transit and no man could be sure of returning to shore when he set sail on a knarr.

Optional Modifiers: Knarrer are amazingly seaworthy and capable of crossing great oceans, but they remain an open-decked vessel with little in the way of shelter. As such, any Hnd penalties for weather are increased by 1.

Karve (77‘)
TL: 3
ST/HP: 141†
Hnd/SR: -3/3
HT: 12c
Move: 0.2/7
EWt: 22t
LWt: 71t
Load: 34t (+5t ballast)
SM: +7
Occ: 35+35
DR: 5
Range: F
Cost: $44K
Locations: M, O
Draft: 3.3‘
Notes: Listed move is for under sail. When being rowed without a sail, Move is 0.1/3.

An all-purpose vessel useful for both war and trade, it has sixteen oars on each side and usually carries two sets of oarsmen that can spell each other at the oar. Karves are almost as seaworthy as knarrer and have the additional benefit of being a warship. As such, they are a very good vessel to go viking (raiding). Their cargo capacity is enough for the crew, weapons and armour and perhaps some seized loot on the way back. There is no proper hold and little shelter, howver, as in longships.

This vessel is based on the Gokstad wreck. Many reconstructions of it have been made, including the Viking and Íslendingur, both of which have sailed across the Atlantic to America. This demonstrates the seaworthiness of the design.

Optional Modifiers: Since karves are a open-decked vessels, any Hnd penalties for weather are increased by 1. Hnd under oars gets a +1 bonus when turn radius might
influence it.

Karve (80‘)
TL: 3
ST/HP: 141†
Hnd/SR: -3/3
HT: 12c
Move: 0.2/7
EWt: 22t
LWt: 80t
Load: 53t (+5t ballast)
SM: +7
Occ: 35+35
DR: 5
Range: F
Cost: $44K
Locations: M, O
Draft: 5.5‘
Notes: Listed move is for under sail. When being rowed without a sail, Move is 0.1/3.

This is the replica Íslendingur, with a deep draft for a Viking vessel and a much larger displacement than other replicas. This does not appear to affect the seaworthiness of the craft and enables it to carry enough food and water for a long journey.

Optional Modifiers: Since karves are a open-decked vessels, any Hnd penalties for weather are increased by 1. Hnd under oars gets a +1 bonus when turn radius might influence it.

© 2008 Garðar Steinn Ólafsson
All rights reserved.

11-08-2008, 11:46 PM	#12
Icelander Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Iceland*	Re: Sailing Ships -At least until CCoI (Low-Tech) arrives Viking Ships Not all vessels used by the Scandinavians of the so-called Viking Age were dragon-prowed longships. I realise that this is shocking and nearly as painful as the news that we didn‘t wear horned helmets and charge into battle naked and screaming, but it‘s the truth nonetheless. The Danish and Norse were great traders and it is unlikely that most of their legendary voyages were made in longships. Those longboats were meant for warfare and carried a crew much too large to be practical in a trading or exploration vessel. Even when a large group of men set sail to settle a new land, it‘s probable that they did so in the seaworthy and versatile karves, not in dragon-prowed longboats that could not carry enough food and water for journeys of that length. All Norse boats and ships of the period are constructed using the same clinker-built method. The keel is usually made of oak, with pine used for masts and decking. The most common vessels are boats known as færings (four-oarings), which literally refers to the number of oars used to propel the boat. They were used as fishing boats and sometimes carried by larger vessels as ship‘s boats. A larger færing is called a sexæring (six-oaring) Both types can reach lengths of over 20‘ and carry a similar single-mast as Norse ships. Larger vessels may be broadly (for the purposes of gaming, at least), by divided into three types of ships. Knarrer and smaller trading craft such as the byrðing had rounded keels and higher freeboards, being designed primarily as sailing ships that carried cargo and having oars only as a back-up to the sails. Karves were all-purpose craft, adaptable for both war and trade. They were long and narrow, but not as narrow as a swift-running longship. The freeboard was also higher than on most longships. The most famous vessels of the Vikings, the longships, ranged in size from the small snekkjas at just over a 50‘ to the monstrous 150‘ long Serpent-Ships of kings and great lords. No wreck of a longship over 120‘ long has yet been found, but enough evidence for their existence can be found in contempoary sagas to make it credible that such ships were used in warfare, at least. Byrðing (46‘) TL: 3 ST/HP: 86 Hnd/SR: -3/3 HT: 12c Move: 0.1/5 EWt: 5t LWt: 9.6t Load: 4.6t SM: +5 Occ: 6 DR: 3 Range: F Cost: $5K Locations: M,O Draft: 3‘ Notes: Listed move is for under sail. When being rowed without a sail, Move is 0.03/2.5. Byrðings are coastal trading vessels, probably used in the Baltic and the waters around Denmark. It is the kind of boat that might be used by a well-to-do farmer to travel to market. It has two to three oars on either side and a small open hold for cargo or personal belongings. This example is based on the Skuldelev 3 wreck, reconstructed as the Roar Ege. Optional Modifiers: Byrðings are a small craft, open-decked with a low freeboard, and not intended for deep sea sailing. As such, Hnd penalties for weather and high seas are increased by 1 each. These penalties are cumulaltive when appropriate. Knarr (52‘) TL: 3 ST/HP: 115 Hnd/SR: -3/4 HT: 12c Move: 0.2/6 EWt: 12t LWt: 36t Load: 24t SM: +6 Occ: 8 DR: 5 Range: F Cost: $12K Locations: M,O Draft: 4.2‘ Notes: Listed move is for under sail. When being rowed without a sail, Move is 0.02/2. A knarr is a versatile, fast, seaworthy and cheap merchant vessel that can operate almost anywhere in the world. As such, it dominated trade over a large part of the known world for a very long time. Knarrer routinely crossed the North Atlantic carrying livestock and stores to Norse settlements in Iceland and Greenland as well as trading goods to trading posts in the British Isles, Continental Europe and possibly the Middle East. The knarr was a merchant vessel and as such did not carry enough rowers to be as fast and manouverable under oar as longhips. There were only four oars on boar, for example. As sailing ships, however, knarrer were exceptionally fast and only needed a very small crew. This example is based on the wreck Skuldelev 1, reproduced as the vessel Ottar. While knarrer were more comfortable than longships, long journeys in them still subjected their crew to hardship nearly undreamed of for a modern man. It was far from unknown for a large proportion of settlers‘ ships to be lost in transit and no man could be sure of returning to shore when he set sail on a knarr. Optional Modifiers: Knarrer are amazingly seaworthy and capable of crossing great oceans, but they remain an open-decked vessel with little in the way of shelter. As such, any Hnd penalties for weather are increased by 1. Karve (77‘) TL: 3 ST/HP: 141† Hnd/SR: -3/3 HT: 12c Move: 0.2/7 EWt: 22t LWt: 71t Load: 34t (+5t ballast) SM: +7 Occ: 35+35 DR: 5 Range: F Cost: $44K Locations: M, O Draft: 3.3‘ Notes: Listed move is for under sail. When being rowed without a sail, Move is 0.1/3. An all-purpose vessel useful for both war and trade, it has sixteen oars on each side and usually carries two sets of oarsmen that can spell each other at the oar. Karves are almost as seaworthy as knarrer and have the additional benefit of being a warship. As such, they are a very good vessel to go viking (raiding). Their cargo capacity is enough for the crew, weapons and armour and perhaps some seized loot on the way back. There is no proper hold and little shelter, howver, as in longships. This vessel is based on the Gokstad wreck. Many reconstructions of it have been made, including the Viking and Íslendingur, both of which have sailed across the Atlantic to America. This demonstrates the seaworthiness of the design. Optional Modifiers: Since karves are a open-decked vessels, any Hnd penalties for weather are increased by 1. Hnd under oars gets a +1 bonus when turn radius might influence it. Karve (80‘) TL: 3 ST/HP: 141† Hnd/SR: -3/3 HT: 12c Move: 0.2/7 EWt: 22t LWt: 80t Load: 53t (+5t ballast) SM: +7 Occ: 35+35 DR: 5 Range: F Cost: $44K Locations: M, O Draft: 5.5‘ Notes: Listed move is for under sail. When being rowed without a sail, Move is 0.1/3. This is the replica Íslendingur, with a deep draft for a Viking vessel and a much larger displacement than other replicas. This does not appear to affect the seaworthiness of the craft and enables it to carry enough food and water for a long journey. Optional Modifiers: Since karves are a open-decked vessels, any Hnd penalties for weather are increased by 1. Hnd under oars gets a +1 bonus when turn radius might influence it. © 2008 Garðar Steinn Ólafsson All rights reserved. __________________ Za uspiekh nashevo beznadiozhnovo diela! Last edited by Icelander; 11-20-2008 at 05:12 AM.