Let the wary stranger who seeks refreshment
keep silent with sharpened hearing;
with his ears let him listen, and look with his eyes;
thus each wise man spies out the way.
Håvamål 7
Wisdom for Wanderers and Counsel to Guests
Picture Gallery
- Building the Boat Shed
- Lofting, Plans and Templates
- Building the Keel
- Keel Raising Ceremony
- Hull Planks
- Building the Hull
- Unveiling Ceremony
- Launching Ceremony
- Sailing "Munin"
- Building the Oars
- Building the Shields
- Promoting the Project
- "Munin" Haulout May 2009
Other "Munin" Pictures
- "Munin's" Own Site
- Viking Art
- Flickr - Munin Search
- Flickr - Foxtongue
- Flickr - Russel Dock
- Venture Vancouver 1
- Venture Vancouver 2
About
"Not reft of all is he who is ill,
for some are blest in their bairns,
some in their kin and some in their wealth,
and some in working well."
Håvamål 69
Wisdom for Wanderers and Counsel to Guests
The British Columbia Viking Ship Project
Introduction
The Scandinavian Cultural Centre Society (SCCS) in Burnaby, BC, Canada completed a project in 2001 to build and launch a 40 foot (half-size) working replica of the famous Viking Ship known as the Gokstad Ship.
SCCS is housed in its own building in Burnaby outside of Vancouver on Canada's West Coast. SCCS has members from all the Scandinavian countries. Each country is organized into a House Society. Thus we have the Danish House Society, the Finnish House Society, the Norwegian House Society and the Swedish House Society. Iceland is an associate member.
The initiative to start the project came from members of the Norwegian House Society, but the project committee was represented across all four houses and this very much became an initiative of the whole Scandinavian community although the project as such formally reported to the Norwegian House Society for a number of boring bureaucratic—yet necessary—reasons.
Project launch, March 2000
The project was officially launched Saturday March 11, 2000 during the Norwegian House fund raising auction aptly named "Take a Liking to a Viking".
We had two professional boat builders on the team, so we were in good shape in that department. Our first priority was to find a location to build the ship, but that was soon resolved: We ended up building our "Munin" right at the Scandinavian Centre beside the soccer field.
We had access to some free lumber for hull planking and worked actively to obtain the rest. Fund raising was another challenge as we are a non-profit organization entirely dependent upon volunteers and fund raising efforts by the members.
A formal project plan was put in place so that we would have something solid to show prospective donors and volunteers alike. Besides, there were simply a lot of details to keep track of and a plan is a must in situations like that.
About the Gokstad Ship
The Gokstad Ship is about 80 feet in length and several full-sized and scaled replicas have been built. The Gokstad Ship was found in a burial mound in South-eastern Norway and was remarkably well preserved. It is on display in the Viking Ship museum in Oslo, Norway.
About Building Viking Ship replicas
Over the years, quite a few Viking Ship replicas have been built. Some were built as closely as possible (in this day and age) to the original ways. Even tools were recreated in some cases.
Obviously, this must have been a wonderful experience for the builders. But it is clear that these projects took a long time to complete. Time was often a secondary consideration because the builders were typically enthusiasts motivated to try something different.
Besides, they usually worked on extremely stretched budgets and making things themselves rather than buying made a lot of sense.
In some cases, the work had a explicit scientific purpose to test our understanding of old construction methods and Viking Ship design. Some projects were marine archeological projects with an academic agenda and funding to go with it.
Other replicas were built using modern tools and equipment with sawn timber rather than hand split logs and so on. Many of these projects approached the Viking Ship building more as a community event.
While perhaps not building in a historically 'correct' manner, these replicas did capture the spirit of the old ships. They allow the users to experience something of what it was like to row and sail a Viking Ship. That is in itself an important contribution.
This appealed to us and we named the approach 'Capturing the spirit of the Viking Ships' and made it the 'guiding principle' for the BC viking Ship Project.
Our approach
The British Columbia Viking Ship Project decided to build its Viking Ship as close to the original as possible in all significant details, but allowing some compromises. We used modern tools and equipment for preparing, shaping and dressing the wood.
We built a half-scale replica in order to make the ship more easily transportable as a 40 foot clinker built boat is comparatively light and can be trailered.
Our goal was to create a Living Ship that will be used and cared for by its builders and other enthusiastic members of the Scandinavian community.
The Viking Ship would be an important and exciting cultural asset that would inspire and motivate people to explore their cultural roots and get engaged in community affairs.
In addition, we thought a Viking Ship would add a dramatic and exciting touch to the Vancouver waterfront.
Viking Ship building as a community event
The building activities formed the centre piece and acted as the unifying theme for the project. However, the fact is there is only a limited amount of room for helping hands during the actual construction phase of projects like this.
It is also easy to over-focus on this aspect of the project and forget about the other vital aspects of a successful effort. Like fund raising: without the material at hand, the building stops!
And not everyone is interested in bashing wood and bending nails. For that reason, we partitioned the project into several related and parallel sub-projects.
We identified the following project groups:
- Hull construction
- Sails, spars and rigging
- Oars and shields
- Carving (e.g., dragon head and tail piece)
- Costumes (for crew and anyone else interested in dressing the part)
- Fund raising and promotion (including cultural events)
Viking-themed events were put on to engage the community and as focal points for fund raising activities.
While the work load looked like a challenge—and it was, we aimed to have fun doing it. Otherwise, why bother?
And, yes, we did have a lot of fun. Everyone came away with many great memories and stories of their own which I'm sure are growing in the telling every year!
Breaking ground for the ship building site, July 2000
Ground was broken for the 24'x64' boat shed in July of 2000. That kept us pretty busy for awhile. We had to clear the ground and level out the worst bumps. Then we laid down the floor with recycled 2'x4' lumber.
Some recycled and donated sheets of plywood became flooring. then onto framing and roof trusses using more recycled 2'x4's. Finally, we went out and purchased a white poly tarp made to the size of the boat shed roof.
And presto! We had a place to work that would keep us dry. Keeping warm was a different issue: no heater so best to keep moving and stay busy in the winter months.
Raising the keel, September, 2000
In September of 2000, we reached our first real milestone: The raising of the keel. We really felt we had something to be proud of and a lot of people came out to share the excitement.
"Munin" unveiled for the first time, June 2001
"Munin" was rolled out of the boat shed for the first time and revealed to the public at the Unveiling Ceremony during the Scandinavian Midsummer Raising on June 23, 2001 at the Scandinavian Center.
The launch of "Munin", July 2001
The Viking Ship "Munin" was launched July 7, 2001 in Vanier Park close by the Vancouver Maritime Museum. The Viking Ship was then rowed to the Vancouver Maritime Museum where it was be moored over the summer. Indeed, this is where "Munin" has been moored every summer since the launch.
Here is a truly great picture from the launch of "Munin". Lots of people, lots of fun, a great ship and a happy crew!
This was an amazing day and the culmination of a year of hard work and many challenges. Besides the obvious building work and fund raising work, we ran a naming contest for our ship and the name "Munin" was announced on the launch date.
We have been getting lots of publicity. The Province, a large BC newspaper, ran an article about our project. Global TV, a local broadcaster, showed TV-spots for the naming contest. Four TV crews were on site for the launch and we made the 6 o'clock news again that day.
The launch was a big event with enthusiasts coming from as far away as Victoria, BC and Seattle, WA, USA!
Here's a great shot of "Munin" at sea being rowed after the Launching Ceremony on July 7, 2001.
We surely had by far the best and most variedly dressed crew of any Viking Ship ever. On board were ambassadors and consuls in dark business suits with team members ranging from full Viking regalia including chain mail to jeans and t-shirts.
The oars were the great equalizer, though. Either you got the rhythm or you didn't. "Munin" mercilessly punished any error by sweeping the hapless oarsman (or oarswomen) right off the thwart and into the lap of the person behind.
Eventually, everyone got the hang of it and our ship then started moving along right smartly.
While the full commissioning was still a month or so away from the launch date, we were all very eager to get the mast and rigging in place.
This picture shows "Munin" sailing in a fresh wind outside of Vancouver, BC, Canada. Quite a stately sight. I particularly like the great contrast provided by modern day tankers and grain carriers in the back ground.
Vancouver is a busy port and there's always a lot of ships swinging at moorage. It's fun to go for a sail among these behemoths and show off the ancestry of these enormous steel structures.
And Yes! We have more pictures!
Check out the Digital Norseman's BCVSP picture gallery with lots and lots of pictures and see for yourself why everyone was so excited.
And make sure to scoot on over to "Munin's" own site and check out more great pictures of "Munin" under sail.
Our very own viking artist, Olaf Oden, has some great pictures on his site www.vikingart.com. Olaf designed the BC Viking Ship Project logo and the t-shirts.
Then there's always Flickr. Try this link and then play with your own search terms.
Viking Ship enthusiasts needed!
Ah yes, there is room for more willing and able hands to have fun with the ship.
Make sure you visit "Munin's" great site with more pictures and lots of information about sailing schedules.
Don't be shy, check it out and get involved by sending an email to vikingship.ca@gmail.com.
Let's grow the community of Viking Ship enthusiasts
Are you or someone you know involved in Viking related projects? Great! We are interested in keeping in touch with like minded groups in other parts of the world to exchange ideas, experiences and so on.
Pass the word and a link to this page. Send us an email to let us know what you are doing.
If you link to this site, or "Munin's" very own site, thank you in advance.
