The History of the Viking Boat

The Viking Boats used in Eric the Red are known in Finland as “kirkkovene”, traditionally used to carry people long distances to Church on Sundays. The model used to construct these boats was based off of the boats used by the Scandinavian Vikings. During the Reformation in the seventeenth century, church boats were used almost everywhere in Finland.

Boat Ownership

The Viking Boats were owned by company consisting of household peasants who divided expenses required for building and maintaining boats equally and who owned a single or pair of oars. The chairman of the company was the oldest partner, having the privilege to steer the boat as a coxswain. The landless peasants could redeem a seat at the boat by participating the boat maintenance, doing small favours for householders or by paying for the seat with money, berries, butter or fish.

Building the Boat

The timber for the church boat was carefully chosen as soon as in January or February. Pines and spruce trees were cut into boards by hand, and the arches were made of juniper or ash. The building process took place in spring, led by a boat company’s hired boat-building expert accommodated by each partner at a time. Upon completion, the boats were treated with multiple layers of tar then painted. The largest boats constructed were approximately 40 meters long and 3 meters wide held 60 rowers and up to eight people sharing a single bench.