Logging

Work on the Gislinge Boat started back in the early spring 2015, when our boatbuilders took to the woods to find and fell the timber needed to reconstruct the small working boat from the early 12th century. The boat will be built almost entirely from oak, and for the keel, a tall, straight tree is chosen. The keel piece is then cut down using period tools, before it is transported to the boatyard to be shaped into the characteristic T-shape of the clinker-built boats.

The Gislinge Boat Project focuses on reconstructing the vessel as close to the original as possible, while using all the known authentic tools to do so. Therefore, our boatbuilders do not use saws (motorised or otherwise) to fell the tree.

When reconstructing a boat from early medieval times, timber of many different shapes and sizes is needed. The keel piece is only one of many. Other pieces are selected for the fore and after stems, planks, frames and knees. For the frames and knees, naturally crooked timbers where the fibres run along the lines of the hull are preferred to strengthen the construction. The rather large selection of wood is now located in the museum boatyard, where we began work on the keel in the middle of May, with the goal of finishing and launching the boat during the autumn.          

Written by Silas Tavs Ravn