Viking ProjectHealth and Safety:

Before we started this project we went through health and safety procedures to insure there won’t be any accidents throughout this project. We acquired all of the PPE that we would need for the project:

Gloves Goggles Overalls Ear pro Steel toe cap boots Face mask

This was to stop us getting injured when using machinery, mixing and handling chemicals and for building techniques like steaming. It was also important for us to acquire COSHH sheets for all the substances we used like epoxy resin and Sikaflex.

In November we started a project to build a Gokstad Faering for the Falmouth Museum.

The task was to build it to the same fashion as the Vikings did using lines drawings, offsets and pictures of a Faering that was dug up in a Viking burial.

These are the offsets and lines drawings that I lofted out onto a large plywood board which we used to get the frames.

At the same time I was lofting out the stations others where carving the keel out of one piece of Oak and also the Stem cut from one block and axed into the shape. A man from Denmark called Soren came to show us how to do it properly by eye and an axe.

The next step was horning in the stations allong the keel at the right place and perfectly level.

Once the Stations where set up the next step was to make the garboard planks the right length and width and make sure it fit nicley into the rabbet and the scarfs at each end. To do this we steamed the planks which were rough cut into place around the stations and and held it together with clamps.

Once they fit nicely then we used Sika Flex as water tight filler and riveted the planks together. They would have used a mixture of tar and wool but it was easier, less messy, lasts longer and more reliable than their method.

The next step

was to make some ores using draw knives, spoke shaves and planes all done by eye and finished off with an oiling of linseed oil.

Pictures of finished project: