viking yachts history

Not too long ago, though, the picture at Viking was anything but rosy. When the double-whammy of a nationwide recession hit in 1990, followed by the introduction of a federal luxury tax in 1991, the company went from 1,500 employees in two plants to just 80 employees in one plant. In general, the marine industry went into a tailspin that resulted in massive plant shutdowns and a significant rippling effect of related closures as ancillary businesses, such engine manufacturers, equipment producers and other vendors saw their markets dry up.

The Healeys borrowed working capital and invested their own money to keep the company afloat. Bob Healey also was instrumental in organizing a national, grass-roots campaign to fight the tax based on a loss of jobs issue. In taking the industry lead, Bob organized busloads of out-of-work boat builders that converged on Capitol Hill. Other demonstrations took place on a regular basis around the country to plead for support in repealing the tax. In Rhode Island, a boat was set on fire aboard a barge in Narragansett Bay as a symbol of protest. It took better than two years, but by 1993 the luxury tax was history and Viking was poised to flex its muscles as boat buyers returned to the market. It is interesting to note that Viking's decision to remain open, despite dismal sales attributable to the luxury tax allowed the company to tool up for new models. Thus, when the tax was lifted, Viking roared to the front line leapfrogging over its competition firmly establishing Viking as the dominant builder in its class.

In dealing with an owner base that is constantly seeking new and larger models, Viking produced the Custom 105, built in Viareggio, Italy, to Viking's specifications by Versilcraft. The new yacht made its premiere at the 42nd Annual Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show in October 2001 and was awarded the National Marine Manufacturers Association Innovation Award at the Miami International Boat Show in February 2002.

In February 2002, Viking opened a new service facility in Riviera Beach, Florida, near Palm Beach, to accommodate Viking owners who bring their boats south for the winter. The new facility features slips for in-water work, as well as land storage to handle larger projects and outfitting. A 125-foot by 150-foot shed with 50 feet of clearance will accommodate boats with tuna towers for indoor work.

In December 2002, the Bass River Marina, adjacent to the Viking Yacht plant was bought back by the Healeys and reflagged the Viking Yachting Center. It was at this marina where the Healey brothers started their maritime careers. The brothers sold the property in 1964 when they devoted all of their energies to boat manufacturing.

In early 2003, Viking formed two new companies, Atlantic Marine Electronics (AME) and Palm Beach Towers (PBT). Atlantic Marine Electronics is based at the Viking Yachting Center (with a satellite office in Riviera Beach) and is responsible for the sophisticated electronic navigation packages, which are installed aboard Viking Yachts and Viking Sport Cruisers. Based at the Riviera Beach, Florida, facility (with additional service bays at the Yachting Center), Palm Beach Towers designs and builds tuna towers and fabricates other aluminum and fiberglass components for Vikings and other yacht brands.

At a very special breakfast presentation on October 29, 2003 during the International Boatbuilders’ Exhibition & Conference in Miami Beach, Florida, Viking Yachts’ Bill and Bob Healey were recognized by their peers and inducted into the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) Hall of Fame for their selfless contributions to the recreational marine industry.

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Viking Yacht Company Celebrates 60 Years of Boatbuilding

• By Peter Frederiksen
• October 31, 2023

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On April 1, 2024, the Viking Yacht Company will celebrate its 60th year in boatbuilding. From humble beginnings on the banks of the Bass River in New Gretna, New Jersey, Viking has become the largest manufacturer of luxury fiberglass sport-fishing yachts in the world, with more than 5,500 boats delivered. Armed with a constant influx of new models that define the company mantra of building a better boat every day, Viking shows no signs of slowing down heading into its seventh decade. But the story of this family-owned and -operated company actually began well before its opening on April 1, 1964.

The Early Days

In 1961, the Healey brothers—Bill, an ironworker at his father’s steel company, and Bob, an attorney with real estate expertise—built a marina on the Bass River. The Healeys soon realized that for the marina to be profitable, it would need to sell boats, marine supplies and equipment, as well as provide repairs and winter storage. The pair struck a deal with Carl Peterson, a cottage-size local builder whose brand was flagged Peterson-Viking. Peterson produced a dozen or so boats per year, and the Healeys were able to sell half or more of the builder’s yearly inventory.

The well-built mahogany-planked Peterson-Viking boats were handsome, seaworthy and compared favorably with the South Jersey competition. Although Carl Peterson was a good builder, his company soon developed financial problems. A bank approached the Healey brothers about buying Peterson-Viking, an idea they liked. The Healeys decided to sell their marina and set up shop constructing boats in a large but unheated building in an undeveloped area behind the marina, where the Viking Yacht Company is today.

The brothers dropped the Peterson name, and the Viking Yacht Company began with Bill the boatbuilder and Bob the money man. Bill may have started out with his father, Patrick, in the steel-erection business, but his genius was soon apparent. He was born to be a boatbuilder, and together with his brother’s financial and legal acumen, the Healeys began their unstoppable quest. Bob knew that his brother would never compromise the quality of the boats, and his philosophy and commitment were obvious to every employee. His service in the United States Marine Corps also helped employees to understand from their first day that it was Bill’s way or the highway.

The first wooden Vikings sported lots of varnish, teak cockpits, and artfully hand-painted hulls. Popular styles in those days featured sedan layouts with flybridges, but Viking’s first real milestone came in 1971 when the first all-fiberglass 33-footer was launched. In fall 1972, the company made its industry mark with the 40 Sedan Convertible, which remained in ­production for 16 years. More than 600 were sold both as the original 40 and an updated 41-foot version. By 1979, the fleet had expanded to include a 35 Convertible and a 43 Double Cabin. A 46 Convertible was added in 1981.

As Viking was gaining attention from its major ­competitors, Bertram and Hatteras, a growing number of customers began to recognize that the well-built and smartly styled Vikings were formidable industry players. The lineup expanded further in 1987 when Viking bought Gulfstar, a St. Petersburg, Florida, yachtbuilder, and its factory. Viking now had established a stable of desirable tournament-ready sport-fishing yachts and a luxurious lineup of motoryachts from 50 to 63 feet.

Rolling With the Punches

A recession reared its ugly head in summer 1990, but it was the federal luxury tax that passed in November of that year that crushed the boating industry. The tax added a 10 percent upcharge to boats and other luxury items that sold above $100,000. On January 1, 1991, the tax went into effect, and the result was the equivalent of running aground at 35 knots. The brain-dead government felt that wealthy folks could afford the added expense, but they figuratively missed the boat in not realizing that the tax also affected the tens of thousands of workers throughout the marine industry. In 1990, Viking sold 90 boats. When the tax went into effect, sales dwindled to 32. A year later, it sold 12 boats, three of which were heading overseas. Both the dealers and Viking were stuck with inventory, so Viking closed the St. Petersburg plant and shipped the molds and other equipment back to New Gretna. Between Florida and New Jersey, Viking had more than 1,500 employees before the luxury tax; just 64 remained by 1993.

Using their personal resources, including their retirement plans, the Healey brothers sold their real estate holdings to keep the doors open and fought with the banks to arrange a workable loan-payment schedule. Bob Healey also took the fight to Washington with busloads of unemployed craftsmen and raised national attention by burning a boat on a barge in Narragansett Bay. The government did not understand that the issue was about the working people and their families who were losing their jobs and homes, not just the wealthy.

On August 10, 1993, President Bill Clinton finally repealed the luxury tax. When Bob Healey told the story about the IRS telling him that the luxury tax cost the government more in unemployment benefits than it took in with the tax, it was further proof that the tax was foolish and ill-conceived. Soundings , a popular boating publication, wrote, “On a national level, no one battled the luxury tax harder than Robert Healey.” When the Healeys were inducted into the National Marine Manufacturers Association Hall of Fame in 2003, many in attendance remembered the grit and dedication that the Healeys provided through those horrible years.

Silver Linings

During those troubled times, an interesting benefit and asset emerged. Bill’s son, Pat Healey , who is now president and CEO, became a full-time employee in 1976 and was working his way up in the sales department. Every week, he’d hit the road to visit Viking dealers. He was after input; he wanted to hear what the customers were saying, and then he would take those ideas back to the team in New Gretna. It was time to shake out the “if you build it, they will come” theory, and building what the customers wanted would revive sales and grow the company in a post-luxury-tax world. Pat sought out dealers who shared his company’s mission. He insisted on total commitment to work through the remaining inventory and to be ready when customers returned to the market.

Viking survived the luxury tax—barely keeping its doors open—but the company continued to innovate and tool up new models. So when the tax was lifted, Viking was well-positioned to leapfrog the competition.

Once the inventory and dealer supply were under control, it was time to start bringing back Viking’s workforce—but not without another glitch: Nearby Atlantic City was eating up all the electrical, mechanical and carpentry labor. So, Bob Healey enhanced the pay program, including profit sharing, and instilled a four-day workweek. New models were coming, and the existing lineup, especially the 50 and 53 Convertibles, were branded with new interiors and other upgrades. There was a powerful energy among the employees, and when Bill stood at the door every night wishing them—each one by their first name—a good evening, smiles were everywhere.

By 1995, the company was about to launch its ­largest convertible: a 72-footer. A 54 Sports Yacht enhanced its motoryacht line, followed by a 58 enclosed-bridge model and a 60-foot Cockpit Sports Yacht that was Boating magazine’s Boat of the Year.

As Bob Healey recognized the importance of healthy fish stocks to keep customers interested in new offshore-­fishing boats, he founded the Recreational Fishing Alliance in 1996. That same year, Viking formed a strategic alliance with Marine Projects, a British ­yachtbuilder of highly regarded motoryachts from 40 to 72 feet. The British-built yachts were ­manufactured to Viking’s specifications for the American market and named Viking Sport Cruisers. It was an ­immediate hit that every Viking dealer embraced to expand the ­company’s footprint.

Meanwhile, Pat had been drilling his father with ideas for a better convertible. With Bill’s go-ahead, what followed was the Viking 55, a convertible loaded with custom features built on a production schedule. It set the standard as the ultimate sport-fishing yacht of the era and established Viking as a worldwide industry leader. Before it debuted at the Fort Lauderdale show in 1997, Viking had already sold 20 boats. The company eventually sold 115 during its five-year run in the tournament spotlight. It was so popular that when the next Viking, the 65 Convertible, was announced in 1998, it also sold 20 boats before the first one launched. The same year, Viking gained more acclaim from Ernst & Young as the New Jersey Manufacturer Entrepreneur of the Year. And in 1999, the beloved 61 appeared on the scene.

Expansion, Renovation and Innovation

In 2000, Bill orchestrated a $10 million plant expansion to improve factory efficiencies because the company was constantly introducing new models. The Healeys were obsessed with offering their owners value, and in February 2002, they opened the Viking Yacht Service Center in Riviera Beach, Florida. In December, they bought back the Bass River Marina and reflagged it as the Viking Yachting Center. Pat saw another opportunity to provide Viking owners with more value when Atlantic Marine Electronics and Palm Beach Towers were created. The subsidiaries enabled Viking to offer turnkey delivery with every new Viking. Since their establishment two decades ago, both have become ­leaders in their respective industries.

In 2004, Viking launched its 74 Convertible, the ­largest boat in its 40-year history. Bill upgraded the plant again by purchasing a $1 million five-axis CNC machine, which carved foam plugs used to produce new molds for hulls, decks, cockpits and other large parts. It shortened the time it would take to build new models, becoming so useful that Viking bought a second five-axis machine to build myriad smaller fiberglass parts. Viking was on a roll, introducing one to three new models every year. At the 2005 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, a 68 Convertible and a 74 Enclosed Bridge Convertible were showcased, along with announcements of a 52 Open and a 64 Convertible under construction.

Now in the zone, the ideas kept coming: Viking ­sponsored the Riviera Beach Maritime School in 2006 and displayed the first 68-foot enclosed-bridge model. Bill designed and built a wastewater-treatment plant for the New Gretna facility, triggering an effort to explore alternative-energy options, including the installation of 798 solar panels on the roof of Building 5A to provide power for it and Building 5. In January 2012, Bill’s most ambitious project got underway: a tri-generation power plant using natural gas to power six microturbines. The power plant reduced heat, electrical and cooling costs.

Despite the Great Recession, which began in December 2007, Viking continued to introduce fresh new models, with its largest-ever yacht debuting in 2009: the Viking 82. Several other boats were also introduced, such as the Viking 76. Other milestone yachts would follow, including the 70 Convertible in 2010 and the 66 the following year.

The innovation was nonstop, and Viking’s industry-­leading boat-show displays—with upwards of 16 boats in the water—were dominating. At the 2014 Fort Lauderdale show, the world was wowed again as Viking celebrated its 50th anniversary with the premiere of its game-changing 92 Enclosed Bridge Convertible and the 75 Motor Yacht.

The success of the Florida Service Center had made it so popular that Viking built another yard a few blocks north—Viking International Yacht Center—which also became home to Atlantic Marine Electronics and Palm Beach Towers. Also in celebration of its 50th anniversary, the company held its first Viking Key West Challenge—a family fishing tournament that became a fixture in the Conch Republic.

The following year, the company launched the 80 Convertible. In 2016, Pat Healey announced that Viking had purchased the Ocean Yachts property on the nearby Mullica River to build its smaller models and provide more space for the larger Vikings in New Gretna. The groundbreaking 93 Motor Yacht began construction that summer.

Three new models arrived in 2018, including a 68 and a 44 Convertible in Miami, with a September sneak peek of the new 58 Convertible. No other company has built as many new boats as Viking, but this is a company that simply does not rest on its laurels. For proof, Pat made an announcement at the 2019 VIP event in February that stunned all 800 people in attendance: Viking would introduce three outboard-powered Valhalla Boatworks center-consoles—the V-33, V-37 and V-41—in September, and the Valhallas would be built at the Mullica plant. These 2020 models were joined by two new boats—the 38 Billfish Open and the 46 Billfish—which set a record of sorts at the Fort Lauderdale show with five new-boat introductions.

The momentum continued in 2021 with a new Valhalla 46 and Viking 54 Convertible; followed in 2022 by the Viking 64 Convertible and 54 Open; and at the 2023 Miami International Boat Show, two new flagships—the Viking 90 and Valhalla V-55—made their world premiere.

Bill Healey still visits his company and has always been fond of the Fleetwood Mac song “Don’t Stop,” with the familiar, recurring line: “Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow.” No words better describe the harmony and heartbeat that drives Viking to build a better boat every day. Sixty years later, it never gets old. Viking Yachts is privately owned, vertically integrated, and comprised of three generations, producing 90 percent of ­everything that goes into the vessels in order to ­control and ­maintain quality.

Bob Healey passed away in 2021, with Viking, the boating and fishing community, and the media recognizing his tremendous impact on the marine industry. His son, Bob Healey Jr., has taken the reins from his father as chairman, working with his cousin Pat as Viking charges into the future. The company now includes the third generation of the Healey family. Pat’s children—Sean, Justin and Kaitlyn—are now fully involved with the company in sales and marketing roles, while also representing Viking at boat shows, ­tournaments, and other events.

Read Next: Get to know Viking president and CEO (and passionate billfisherman) Pat Healey in our exclusive interview .

The hundreds of components that make a Viking are derived from the sweat equity of the company’s proud boatbuilders. Pat Healey smiles when he says, “We’re not smarter than our competition; we just work harder,” which is proved by the overwhelming feeling visitors get when touring the company’s 880,000-square-foot factory in New Gretna, where some 1,500 shipwrights produce the Viking product. And no matter where you turn in the Viking dimension, the people you see never stop ­thinking about the boat they will build tomorrow.

• More: Boat Building , Boats , Nov-Dec 2023 , Viking Yacht Company

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Viking Ship Technology: Daring and Dangerous Innovations

Norse longship technology allowed the Vikings to dominate their neighbors for 300 years. But how was Viking ship design different and what were the benefits?

The Vikings were one of the most dominant forces in Western Europe from the 9th until the 11th centuries. They were able to dominate their neighbors in large part due to the superior technology of their longships. They were able to move fast, sail in shallow waters, and even take their ships over land, giving them a strategic advantage. But at the same time, their unusual ship design makes it almost unbelievable that they were able to safely sail to the Americas and back.

How exactly were Viking ships designed, how were they different from ship designs elsewhere in Europe, and what were the benefits and disadvantages of their unique approach to seafaring?

Not Just Warships

While we mostly talk about Viking longships, this was only one of the many types of vessels built by the Vikings. They made everything from tiny fishing boats to barge ferries, to transport goods and livestock.

Heavy freight-carrying merchant ships were called Knarr . They were wide, deep, and slow. They could carry up to 40 tons of goods. These were probably used exclusively to transport goods up and down the Scandinavian coast and to colonies in the North Sea. Traders sailing Russian rivers and the Caspian Sea, on the other hand, used lighter Byrding vessels.

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But longships stand out because these were what transported Viking raiders to terrorize their Christian neighbors. This was also the type of ship used for Viking ship burials for wealthy and important individuals.

Longship design was different in different regions and across the Viking period. For example, the earliest Viking longships were made from oak, which is strong and excellent for sailing. It would have taken about three oak trunks to make just one ship. Consequently, by the 10th century, while the Danes were still using oak, the Norwegians and Swedes had switched to more available pine.

Nevertheless, most Viking longships share a few distinct features. Despite this consistency, there is no evidence that the Vikings used written diagrams or plans. The art was probably passed down personally from master craftsman to apprentice, usually a son, over years of working together.

Viking Longship Design

The main characteristic of Viking longships was that they were long and narrow. Exactly how long depended on the number of rowing benches as indicated by holes on each side that allowed for oars to be easily deployed and returned. However, many boats did not have actual benches for the rowers. To save space, rowers would sit on their sea chests.

The smallest surviving longships had only six benches on each side. To be useful in war, a longship needed at least 20 banks. This would mean that it could carry a crew of 41: 40 rowers and the steering cox. These boats, called Snekkja , are the most common surviving ships, measuring an average of 55 feet long and 8 feet wide.

There were also larger ships called Skeid which had 30 rowing benches on each side. The longest of these so far discovered is known as Roskilde 6 and it is one of five ships discovered in Roskilde Fjord in the 1960s. It seems to have been intentionally sunk to form a blockade across the fjord in the early 11th century. The ship was 121 feet long. There are stories in the sagas of even bigger longships, but none have yet been found in the archeological record.

As well as being long, Viking longships were shallow. Most had a maximum draught (the depth a boat sinks under the water) of 0.5-1 meter. This meant that they could sail into shallows and down rivers considered unnavigable by other Europeans. This is how the Vikings arrived at the gates of Paris and how they surprised cities that did not believe they needed river defenses.

The ships were also very lightweight, which meant that the crew could carry them across land between sailable bodies of water. There is also good evidence that they turned their ships upside down and used them as shelters when on land.

According to Norse mythology, the god Freyr owned a ship called Skidlbladnir , which was big enough to carry all the gods and their steeds in full armor, but then folded down like a piece of paper to fit in the god’s pocket. Clearly, a dream vessel.

The boats were made from long planks of timber, usually oak, that were laid overlapping and nailed together. They were made watertight by filling the spaces between the planks of wood with wool, moss, or animal hair mixed with tar or tallow. This type of construction is known as clinker or lapstrake construction.

Three-inch iron rivets and round iron washers were used as fasteners. Wooden treenails that swelled up when wet were also used. A treenail was essentially a wooden dowel crafted to fit a bored hole like a bolt. The strakes were attached to ribs that were in turn attached to a narrow keel running fore and aft down the centerline of the hull. The strakes of the ship were much thinner than most people realize, often only 0.78-1.18 inches thick (almost paper thin).

Some Viking longships were decorated to look like a dragon or a sea snake, with a vicious head carved at the front of the ship. These were called Drakkar and must have been a fearsome sight on the horizon.

How to Sail

Viking longships had wind sails. Most used one large, square sail made from wool that was crisscrossed with leather strips so that it would retain its shape when wet. When there was no wind, the Vikings would take to the oars. And no, slaves weren’t normally used as there simply wasn’t space.

Oars weren’t all the same length. On one ship, oars were found to range from 17-19 feet in length. This was to accommodate the slight bulge in the middle of the ship.

It is also true that the Vikings hung their shields on the side of the boat next to their rowing stations. They could act as protection against arrows while rowing up to a conflict. It was probably also a useful place to store them.

In addition to not leaving behind any ship designs, there is also no evidence that the Vikings used navigational tools such as astrolabes, sextants, or star charts known in other parts of the world. If the sagas are to be believed, Leif Erikson was told how to reach North America by another Viking who had been there, over a mug of ale.

In the early days, the Vikings probably sailed close to the shore and used the physical terrain, the depth of the ocean, and the presence of birds and other sea creatures to determine their location. But this would not have been effective when sailing to England and Ireland, let alone further afield to Iceland, Greenland, and the Americas .

Nevertheless, the sagas indicate that the Vikings used the sun for navigation, as there are several mentions of sunstones. These devices allowed sailors to locate the sun on overcast days. In one famous story, King Olaf of Norway asks the hero Sigurd to determine the position of the sun behind dark clouds with no instrumentation. Sigurd does so, and the king uses a sunstone to determine if he is correct. No examples of sunstones survive in the archeological record.

If the Vikings did use the sun to navigate, then they probably used a sun compass. This is a simple vertical pointer on a horizontal surface that is engraved with a curved line. The shadow cast by the pointer is different at different latitudes, but also at different times of year. This is why other European sailors who used sextants, which functioned in a similar way, also had a nautical almanac to interpret their readings on different days of the year.

But the Vikings had a sailing season, usually the summer, and they would have been aware of where the sun was supposed to be during those months. The Vikings were known to raid year-round, but in the colder months, they would have attacked nearby targets.

Excavations of a Viking age farm in Greenland have revealed the remains of part of a circular disk with carvings, which could have been a sun compass. On the Faroe Islands, people used to use an instrument called the Solskyggafjol , which is very similar to the sun compass. This may have been a technology that the locals adopted from the Vikings that settled there.

Built for Raiding

But how exactly were Viking longships different from the ships sailed by other Europeans at the time?

While there were many different ship designs across the continent, most other Europeans were making ships with bluff bows. This means that the bottom of the ship looked like a barn door curved into a semicircle. This made for much slower ships, since the bluff bow resists the water, rather than cutting through it, like Viking ships and modern ships.

Other European ships also tended to be tall, with superstructures ascending from the stern and bow. Having so much hull above the waterline meant that there was a lot of windage to be battered around.

When it comes to draught, the portion of the ship below the water, other European ships had deep holds and round bilges, and extended far beneath the water. This prevented these ships from entering the same shallow waters as the Vikings.

Why was their design so different? These slower ships had a lot more space, were much safer, and were less likely to be inundated by waves during a storm. Viking ships were vulnerable to flooding during storms, and while they could navigate shallower waters, it took an expert to avoid underwater hazards that could damage the ship’s hull.

In addition, the design of Viking ships meant that they had minimal storage and no protected places to sleep. The evidence suggests that when sailing close to the shore, the Vikings parked up and camped on land. When they couldn’t go ashore, they had to sleep exposed on the deck under animal skins. This makes the fact that the Vikings sailed between Greenland and North America even more impressive. It would have meant between two and six weeks on the open sea.

The Vikings, of course, knew about other European ship technology because they had seen it. Yet they seem to have preferred their faster and more versatile ships, even if they were more dangerous.

A Viking Armada

At the start of the Viking Age, most Viking ships were owned by coastal farmers who used them to transport goods. But when local military leaders called their loyal men to fight, they would bring their boats to contribute to the force. As time passed, wealthy Viking leaders could also construct fleets for themselves, but these would always be augmented by boats owned by their allies.

If the sources are to be believed, the Vikings did manage to gather together some rather large fleets. We are told that when the Vikings attacked the Franks in 845, they sailed up the Seine with 129 ships. It is reported that Canute the Great had 1,200 ships when he was fighting in Norway in 1028. That is a significant armada, even by modern standards.

In many ways, Viking longships reflected Viking society and values. They prioritized the potential for victory and success over safety and security.

Viking Burial Goods: 10 Exotic Items the Vikings Took to Valhalla

By Jessica Suess MPhil Ancient History, BA Hons History/Archaeology Jessica holds a BA Hons in History and Archaeology from the University of Queensland and an MPhil in Ancient History from the University of Oxford, where she researched the worship of the Roman emperors. She worked for Oxford University Museums for 10 years before relocating to Brazil. She is mad about the Romans, the Egyptians, the Vikings, the history of esoteric religions, and folk magic and gets excited about the latest archaeological finds.

Frequently Read Together

Ragnar Lodbrok: The Legendary Viking Who Besieged Paris

How Were Viking Ships Built and Buried?

The Vikings in England (Or were they Danes?)

The Ages of Exploration

Viking ships.

Quick Facts:

The Viking ship was a strong durable ship that allowed the Norsemen of Scandinavia sail long distances and raid far away kingdoms.

Date : 700-1100AD

Floki Vilgerdarsson

Floki Vilgerdarsson Viking ship {{PD-Art}}

• Additional Resources

Viking ships were very versatile. Both of their two main styles of ships fared well against the dangers of open sea travel as well as on the narrow rivers of the foreign lands they were raiding. This versatility allowed the Vikings to explore lands as far west as Canada, as far east as Russia, and as far south as Africa!

Legends about the Viking Age present Vikings as ruthless invaders, but their culture and history were far more complex. In the 6 th Century BCE the Vikings did begin to raid the monasteries on the coasts of England and, after finding their campaigns to be successful fundraisers, they continued their pillaging in France and Russia. In the 9 th century, the Vikings began to sail farther west, eventually coming to the land they named Vinland, which is now known as Newfoundland in Canada. There is even archaeological evidence of trade between the Vikings in Scandinavia and the inhabitants of Africa and Asia! The Vikings’ marine success was due, in large part, to the seaworthiness of their ships. These ships were very versatile, allowing the Vikings to sail on the open sea as well as the narrow rivers of the European mainland. The Vikings were the best ship designers of their time, and much like the Phoenicians they were master navigators and sailors.

The Vikings used two main types of ships for these expeditions. The first was known as a drakkar , or “longship,” designed for carrying raiding parties. The longship had a single sail and mast, which were removable for storage, and carried oars that the crew used to propel the ship forward. The hull also assisted in the smooth sailing of a drakkar . It was designed to be flexible, so that it would move with the waves instead of against them. The head of a dragon, horse, or swan was usually sculpted onto the bow. The Vikings also mounted their shields along the side of the vessel to have them ready in the event of an attack. These ships were likely the ones used in the raids in England and France.

The second kind of ship was known as the knörr , meaning “halfship”. The halfship was a merchant ship used for carrying cargo such as cattle, wool, timber and wheat. It was a bulkier vessel, with a wider and deeper hull than the longship, holding between 70 and 100 people. Ornate decorations signifying different aspects of Viking culture and the Norse religion and mythology were typically carved into the sides of these ships. Unlike the longship, the knörr carried fewer oars, and these were used for docking only. The mast on a knörr was a permanent part of the ship and could not be removed. These types of Viking ships were probably close to the ship on which Leif Eriksson traveled to North America.

Vikings used their ships with care. They followed the seasons, venturing out to sea in the spring and returning to the safety of home at the end of autumn. They put a lot into creating strong durable ships and became the masters of the Northern Atlantic.

Waldman, Carl, and Alan Wexler. Encyclopedia of Exploration, Vol. 1-2. New York: Facts On File, 2004.

Weaver, Stewart A. Exploration: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015.

Sawyer, P.H. Kings and Vikings: Scandinavia and Europe AD 700-1100. London: Routledge, 1984.

Villiers, Capt. Alan. “Vikings and Longships, Scourge of Northern Seas,” in Men, SHips and the Sea. Washington DC: National Geographic Society, 1962.

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