Unn - a small viking age ship
Built 1997 - 1998

During spring 1997 Elisabeth Ekstam got the idea of building a small viking ship. The experienced viking ship builder Janne Mellring kindly agreed to supervise the work.

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Early september 1997, the bedding, which was made from 3,5 m long logs of fir. September 1997. In the woods looking for suitable oak trees. Jan is explaining the doīs and dontīs.
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October-November 1997, the keel and sternposts are the first things to make. Finding the right. self-grown pieces wasnīt an easy task. October-November 1997, hereīs a closeup, showing the profile of the keel. The keel should preferably be made from one single straight piece of oak.
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The oak boards had to be steamed and then quickly clamped into position. A simple way of keeping the boards symmetric.
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Working on the bottom boards. Traditional way of marking the distance between rivets.
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Recesses must be cut in the sternposts to allow the boards a tight fit. This is how she looked like by Christmas 1997
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January-March 1998. Continuing to add furhter boards. By the end of April 1998 the uppermost boards were mounted.
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Beginning of June 1998. Finally the ship was resonably finished and ready for launch. Traditional way of moving a ship over land. Logs were lubricated with a mix of sheeps tallow and tar.
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A rainy day, just after lanching in HelgeÅ, Kristianstad, Sweden. Yours truly, pounding away on the anchor. About as big a workpiece as you can manage on your own.
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June 22th, 6 am, Åhus, Sweden, prepairing for the maiden voyage. Three days later, a sunny afternoon in the Blekinge Archipelago.