L d'Bonnie wrote in


Some of the leeboards look like they could be Viking Longships. The
old square sails replacesd by more efficient rigging which allows
better pointing into the wind. Are some of a design that that may
trace their origins to those ancient ships? Interesting to think that
a hull originally developed thousands of years ago is still in use
today. Says a lot for those shipbuilders.

LdB


Hi LdB,

I think the Viking Ships differ somewhat in hull-shape. Although the
shipbuilding knowledge gained in the Viking era, was probably used and
adapted to come up with new designs like the flat bottomed, lee board
designs. Given the specific circumstances of the Dutch coastal waters (and
english) I think the leeboard was one solution to overcome the draught
problem, without giving up (too much) upwind performance. I'm not sure
about the upwind performance of the Viking longships, but I remember some
of them fitted with oars aswell.

Regards,

Jeroen