 Viking Ship History: Nothing is as symbolic of the Vikings as the longship or drakkar. Also called a dragon ship by its enemies because of it's shape. The prow, or bow, was sometimes tipped with a very ornate carving of a snake or dragon head. Its sixty oarsmen could swiftly deliver as many as four hundred warriors to a battlefield along the coast or well inland via a river. In the last days of the Viking Age, three hundred of these longships were in the Viking fleet. Viking Ship Crew: The average longship owned by an earl or nobleman carried a crew of twenty to thirty oarsmen. They rowed the ship when the winds were slight or calm. Other crew members included a helmsmen, who steered the ship; a lookout who watched for rocks in shallow waters and a few spare men who took the place a tired oarsmen or replaced one lost overboard during a storm. The remaining men onboard were warriors, eager to do battle or to raid a community and rob it of its riches. Viking Ship Construction: Like all Viking ships, the long ship, was constructed using the clinker design. This means it was planked using two centimeter thick oak boards which were overlapped slightly and then nailed together with iron nails. The spaces between the planks were caulked with tarred wool or animal fur to make the ship watertight. The planks were also nailed to support-ribbing that ran from the gunwale to the keel. The keel, which ran the full length of the ship, was made of one solid piece of oak. It add stability and made the ship travel straight through the water. The longship was very sturdy, and yet flexible enough to withstand the waves of stormy seas and light enough to be dragged overland between two lakes or rivers. thus earning it the nickname "dragon ship". The prow ornament was removed while the ship was it sea. Replacing such a finely carved piece would be expensive and losing it might be a bad omen. | 
