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If this was interesting, and you're ever in eastern Norway, our oldest city Tønsberg have been building ships the old way for years now. They started with Saga

If this was interesting, and you're ever in eastern Norway, our oldest city Tønsberg have been building ships the old way for years now. They started with Saga Oseberg, a copy of the Oseberg ship, ten years ago (here's the launch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tigGYikk6A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tigGYikk6A) and have continued making others. You don't see any chainsaws in the building of these though; logs are split with axes, wedges and sledges, and even the nails are crafted on-site the old-fashioned way by blacksmiths. The worksite is open to the public and it's really worth a visit in the summer.

mc32 4y ago
Somewhat similarly the Mystic Seaport Museum[1] restores old ships using traditional methods. I believe they also offer classes on traditional shipbuilding methods. It focuses on whaling history but have lots of other ships on exhibit and in the summer months have many shipbuilding related activities on site (figurehead carving, blacksmithing, etc) in addition to ship repair. [1] https://www.mysticseaport.org/ https://www.mysticseaport.org/
fifilura 4y ago
But why did they make the mast of douglas fir? Seems like a bit of an odd decision for a very fine ship since it is not native in Scandinavia.
- JoeAltmaier 4y ago
  They get very tall. As tall as a mast.
  - fifilura 4y ago
    Taller than the masts of the era it tries to replicate then I guess.
    - NegativeLatency 4y ago
      Probably would’ve been ample old growth trees of that size to pick from back in the day, but a Doug fir is going to be cheaper and actually available
      - fifilura 4y ago
        From the looks of it this mast is 24m tall. I can see that douglas firs can become 120m, but that is hardly what you need. More like 35m maybe? That is not a very uncommon tree in Scandinavia. I am also guessing lots of landowners would be proud of gifting a tree for such a noble cause. I think there are douglas firs in Scandinavia, but the question is if they were planted already 60-80 years ago to be able to take from here? Otherwise I guess it is a pretty long delivery from west coast US to Norway. I guess my conclusion is that the douglas fir has better properties (weight/strength) than a scandinavian spruce or pine.
- tokai 4y ago
  Its a recreation not a reconstruction. If you are use modern tools you have already left the historical correct reconstruction behind. Better then to save money, time, etc.
  - fifilura 4y ago
    It is ok. I don't know if you have every been to Scandinavia, but I can assure we have lots of firs or pines to choose from. So it is not meant to be snarky. It is a curious question.
    - tokai 4y ago
      I'm sorry? I just answered your question. They use a non native tree because its cheap and have good capabilities. Using a native tree doesn't make much sense when the project isn't historical correct to high precision. Douglas figs is a very popular tree in modern Scandinavian forestry.
      - fifilura 4y ago
        Apologies for being edgy in my answer. Dont know where that came from.

mc32 4y ago

Somewhat similarly the Mystic Seaport Museum[1] restores old ships using traditional methods. I believe they also offer classes on traditional shipbuilding methods. It focuses on whaling history but have lots of other ships on exhibit and in the summer months have many shipbuilding related activities on site (figurehead carving, blacksmithing, etc) in addition to ship repair. [1] https://www.mysticseaport.org/ https://www.mysticseaport.org/

fifilura 4y ago

But why did they make the mast of douglas fir? Seems like a bit of an odd decision for a very fine ship since it is not native in Scandinavia.

JoeAltmaier 4y ago
They get very tall. As tall as a mast.
- fifilura 4y ago
  Taller than the masts of the era it tries to replicate then I guess.
  - NegativeLatency 4y ago
    Probably would’ve been ample old growth trees of that size to pick from back in the day, but a Doug fir is going to be cheaper and actually available
    - fifilura 4y ago
      From the looks of it this mast is 24m tall. I can see that douglas firs can become 120m, but that is hardly what you need. More like 35m maybe? That is not a very uncommon tree in Scandinavia. I am also guessing lots of landowners would be proud of gifting a tree for such a noble cause. I think there are douglas firs in Scandinavia, but the question is if they were planted already 60-80 years ago to be able to take from here? Otherwise I guess it is a pretty long delivery from west coast US to Norway. I guess my conclusion is that the douglas fir has better properties (weight/strength) than a scandinavian spruce or pine.
tokai 4y ago
Its a recreation not a reconstruction. If you are use modern tools you have already left the historical correct reconstruction behind. Better then to save money, time, etc.
- fifilura 4y ago
  It is ok. I don't know if you have every been to Scandinavia, but I can assure we have lots of firs or pines to choose from. So it is not meant to be snarky. It is a curious question.
  - tokai 4y ago
    I'm sorry? I just answered your question. They use a non native tree because its cheap and have good capabilities. Using a native tree doesn't make much sense when the project isn't historical correct to high precision. Douglas figs is a very popular tree in modern Scandinavian forestry.
    - fifilura 4y ago
      Apologies for being edgy in my answer. Dont know where that came from.