How Fast Were Viking Ships? | America's Lost Vikings

On a quest to find out how far Vikings explored into America, archaeologists Blue and Mike speed test the Polaris, the only replica of an original Viking ship in North America.
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[@raymondnybakk1311]

This is not a Viking ship, it is just a small “Viking boat”. In the Lofoten islands there is a replica of the Gokstad ship, it’s called Lofotr. It is 83 feet long and 20 metric tons. That is considered to be a medium sized Viking ship. Some years ago we pushed it up to 20 knots fore about 10 minutes, but then we thought it would be safer to put in an extra reef in the sail. It easily averages 10 knots over several hours. We where doing 14 knots several times. The big ships, like Draken, that is twice the size of the Gokstad ship should easily keep up a good speed due to the hull length.

[@stevenr2463]

You are absolutely right. This short docu is a load of bollucks. 4 knots bobbing up and down on the waves? Makes me laugh.

[@shanekonarson]

Awesome stuff thanks for sharing that experience

[@wisenber]

"Some years ago we pushed it up to 20 knots fore about 10 minutes" No. You didn't push an 83 ft vessel with a displacement hull to over 150 percent of it's hull speed with a square sail.

[@raymondnybakk1311]

@@wisenber Yes we did. The way the planks are overlapping makes like small channels along the underside of the hull. And the hull is wide, flat bottomed and shallow draft. This forces air bubbles under the hull at speeds. The hull kind of rolls on top of air bubbles, it makes a lot of noise. This seems to reduce the friction on the water, and it feels like it’s almost up on plane. But the shape of the stern doesn’t allow it to plane completely.

[@wisenber]

@@raymondnybakk1311 "Yes we did. " Sure you went 150% beyond hull speed on a wide displacement hull using square cotton sails. BTW, those ships certainly have a lot of rocker for "being flat bottomed". The museum appears to say your 83 ft boat is 78 ft and is 10 tonnes and not 20. Maybe the sagas were carrying your imagination away?

[@pusspussmckitten]

The original Norwegian Cruise Line

[@FrekeOne]

😆

[@KrazyX777]

Couldn't imagine sailing for hours even days and then when you hit land you had to raid shit.

[@nawttawn3043]

Thats life and i would love it SKØL

[@arminiusofgermania]

Just days? Imagine not seeing land for MONTHS and all the while making sure you stay on course. But you never have to deal with that. Lucky you.

[@ExternalInputs]

If you were poverty strickened and your family faced starvation, many would find that motivation enough.

[@custodianvrael6471]

@@ExternalInputs I would do that for fun, ever heard of endurance sailing?

[@CaptainAhorn]

“Had to?”

[@Norwegian733]

Thats a small viking ship. Doubt they used this size when the crossed the ocean. The Gokstad ship at display in Oslo show the size of the larger ones. Much larger than this rowboat.

[@thePyiott]

Longer ships are faster too.

[@user-fu9vj9ix3g]

I have no idea if they used 38ft boats for that type of voyage - but, they were certainly capable of making the passage from Scandi-to - Iceland - Greenland - and then to N. America. No problem at all at the right time of year. Even at the smaller end of scale, this boat would have been regarded as a ship, and would have been commonly seen crossing the Baltic, and all around the coasts of the British Isles as trade ships, owned by private families.

[@islandguy6928]

I'm a native from the Pacific islands.One seafarer to another I respect the Vikings!.

[@franklund8635]

13 knots of Wind Thats only 6 m/s Thats Nothing, the wiking ships could sail much faster then that.... Remember that the wind is the fuel for a sailship.... You can roughly estimate the speed in knots by measuring the length of the waterline in meters...

[@grinninggoat5369]

So what if some viking ships went faster. Did you factor in that there were several different types of viking ships for open sea, coastal and inland waters each that they sailed? Now, consider that they used an open sea ship with enough room for cargo space when traveling to a place where they had no clue of resources... it only stand to reason that they would not be in the fastes ship such as ones used for raiding between islands such as Norway and England or Ireland on their first attempt to explore but, more possible that it had a more substancial draft and thus, drag due the the best type of ship for task. Their speed would be slower. Much more plausible they were in more of an open water ship used for trade that wasn't the fastest theu could have chose from. Anyways, the last thing you need when far away from home in unknown waters looking for a safe place to make landfall along an unknown coastline is to be speeding like a bat out of hell just because you can when what you really want is something to carry provisions for the long 2 way journey into tue unknown that is more able to withstand being knocked about by unknown sea and coastlines.

[@franklund8635]

13 knots of wind for speed testing, isnt giving the Maximum speed for any Wessel, but its wery comfortable for the crew. The wikings werent afraid of a bit more wind Than that. I have sailed since i was a kid, and 13 knots of wind is nothing....

[@1888BW]

@@franklund8635 now that's a danish Viking

[@joshlower1]

They had oars too though

[@tomjah]

This must be a joke. It's like answering the question "how long is a rope"

[@tomjah]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/o5ywh6aEetypjpI here is one going faster... can se the instrument showing 10.5 knots.

[@OFKVT]

I know, there is no accuracy to anything. It can be very easily proven that Vinland was not in New England. And they only sailed in one weather condition, with one wind direction. So I’m taking this video with a massive grain of salt.

[@sandervanduren2779]

VThistory Sailing so what evidence do you have for Vinland not being the east coast of North America?

[@OFKVT]

Sander van Duren what I mean is that I don’t think Vinland was in the east coast of what is now the United States. I believe that it was in the area around Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick.

[@westerling8436]

I once did 82 knots with a viking ship

[@escrows]

"We've come to *GLOWWSTER* Massachusetts" LOL

[@Foxtrottangoabc]

Hell yeh

[@fredblonder7850]

The Longship Company’s ship, Sæ Hrafn, is about the same size as Polaris and has done six knots in a good wind, though four is probably more realistic. They give no reason to believe the Vikings sailed from the southern tip of Nova Scotia. Sailing from the southern tip of Newfoundland is more plausible. And where do they get the idea that Polaris is the only such ship in North America?

[@LasseHG1]

Newfoundland is probably more plausible due to the fact, there was a settlement on the northern tip of Newfoundland

[@Guy-ky9mc]

A real (full size) viking ship was capable of more than 20 knots.

[@tsmspace]

I think its fair to estimate vikings to be at the higher end of the speed such a boat could travel. These would have been experienced sailors who reached far outside of normal viking seafaring. They were master sailors before they ever embarked on their extreme journey,, whatever a viking could be imagined to do,, these would be the vikings who would be able to do it.

[@thePyiott]

They used longer ships. The longer the ship the faster it goes.

[@greywolf845]

If settlements were already made in the Quebec/ Nova-Scotia area, why would they explore south? To my understanding, there'd be too few people for there to be enough for an expedition party.

[@Erik-zd2oi]

What do you mean "too few"?

[@OFKVT]

That doesn’t make any sense. They were there too explore, and many of the people living in the settlements were the explorers. And sort agreeing with one of your points, While there is no reason why they wouldn’t go south, I don’t think that they did.

[@ryanhampson673]

Why didn't they stay? Pretty sure the Skraelings had something to say about that.

[@AdaKitten]

It was Norwegian/Icelandic vikings that discovered America, not Danes. Not a huge difference, but there might be different building techniques.

[@nicoleneniemandt4777]

So that's all fine, but the longships were MADE to go downwind, and yes length along the waterline gives you a good idea of the hull speed, but those puppies were built to surf, to get on a wave and ride it like a surfboard... How fast can you go then, she wonders...

[@FuddZoomer1864]

Just realized I personally know the guy who built this ship. He’s been a huge help to me on my own small 4 oared Viking boat. His current project is quite a bit larger than the Polaris.

[@mjdjoy]

I'd love to build one as well

[@frople]

Lost Vikings, that game was the best ❤️

[@jacash44]

They never tested in bad weather in which means it's not flawed

[@kenwebster5053]

Well, in those calm conditions, the boat was nowhere near it's top speed. Hull speed for a boat that size is close to 8 knots but I don't know LWL exactly so can't be more accurate. At full speed for 48 hours it could sail 380 NM. Unlikely to maintain full speed but just pointing out what a fools errand of unknown variables this is. If the viking boat was longer, it would be even faster.

[@neilbush9873]

Do you facter in the increase of hull speed with a longer ship and the drag caused by the cargo it carried and is the size of the boat known that the ancients used and what wind speed and direction did they have ? Sounds like you found some reasons to have an enjoyable sail ,i would do the same

[@michaelroos7944]

This would be an absolute dream for me

[@pollutingpenguin2146]

My history!

[@jeffdowell9829]

Nice

[@jarnodatema]

Where did they keep their plunder on such a small ship

[@spamplz8578]

Under the deck

[@OFKVT]

They wouldn’t on a ship that small

[@danabourgeois5439]

Glowster?

[@zachlittle1787]

Im from gloucestershire uk and hearing you pronounce that made me cringe and laugh love the show guys amazing

[@welshpete12]

I do not know if this is true or no. But I read some years ago that a steering oar . Used on a Viking ship would only work up to speeds of about 7 knots . And it was impossible to fit a modern rudder on them due to their design.

[@raymondnybakk1311]

A steering oar has no problem handling greater speeds. But it tends to vibrate when the speed gets above 11-12 knots. This puts strain on the hardware connecting it to the boat hull. So you need to constantly monitor, maintain, lubricate on tightening the two connection points to the hull.

[@zanderdev57]

​@Raymond Nybakk they have a dragging version of it that allows it to tilt upward when meeting too much resistance. With the hull shape and length the ship should maintain a straight heading relatively easy so a tilted steering oar shouldnt be too much of a problem, and they slow down when turning anyways

[@allenc9957]

There’s a ship in Florida

[@arminiusofgermania]

...and I just left. Well, sonovabich...

[@Theflash-ru4eu]

They used long boat nor Thad small fish boat. We know that because Leif Erickson the Viking who got to Vinland when from Norway to island, Greenland and the to America. They hade to us long boats for such a long an dangerous travel over the ocean💪🇳🇴🗡️⚓️⛵️

[@s.b.605]

Impossible to know what wind they had, which makes this flawed, but cool idea.

[@Pierre50mm]

The fastest ancient sailboats were probably the multihull pirogues from Polynesia, like today catamran and trimaran.

[@sylvainlavelle3783]

Sorry to dislike this video, but after watching half of it, it is clear that this is pseudo science. Testing conditions are random and most of video is about looking cool. Actual information is reduced to almost nothing.

[@rogerwilco2]

Yes, this video is arbitrary at best.

[@iReppoGames]

Pewdiepie in the thumbnail

[@Aengus42]

No! Please tell me you lot don't pronounce "Gloucester" like that? In medieval times it was Gleawecastre meaning bright and/or glowing fort. With the "cester" being s suffix used for Roman garrison towns (Hence Manchester ect.) and today it's pronounced Gloss-ter & it rhymes with foster.

[@ryanhampson673]

Crossed the North sea and Atlantic in a 38 foot boat.......What am I doing with my life???

[@chuckchungus4512]

Poor mike

[@JOESMITH-hb8vb]

I am the soul of RAGNAR LOTHBROK . I remember well my time in 860 AD when we wanted to conquer the world . but even we were limited in our power , for our epoch lasted only 250 years , then we perished or settled somewhere . people , it was a beautiful time that will never come again . our souls now live in vahalla with the gods who take good care of us . when we look at you here on earth , we wish never to come back to this world . you do not have beautiful times , and it hurts us to see what has become of humanity . no honour , no backbone . i wish you a beautiful life in spite of everything . your RACKNAR LOTHBROCK of valhalla

[@FPVREVIEWS]

You must have amazing Wi-Fi in Valhalla

[@dougreimer2912]

Talk about reaching!..desperate to assert some kind of Viking claim...more typical of Yankee hubris and nonsense. This is more pseudo archaeology than anything else. Vinland has always been identified as the Newfoundland or Nova Scotia region as interpreted from the Sagas. I guess the the next stop for these two is Minnesota...gotta find Vikings somewhere in America..don't you know.

[@rogerwilco2]

Yeah, this didn't make a lot of sense to me.

[@markdarley3825]

This is ridiculous. Wind direction is everything.

[@user-fu9vj9ix3g]

A typical "doc". I give that ship about 10 knots in a blow downwind - maybe a tad more. In a breeze, I'd say about 6-8knots on a reach, with considerable drift and lackluster upwind performance. All they had was a pronounced keel timber, but no actual foil. Tacking ion light air was probably assisted by rowing. They were fast compared to other ships of the day where they operated the most, but no better than the Meditterainian ships of the Italians or Arabs, which had more efficient sails that could pull a ship upwind. The Norse were not the only master shipwrights. I don't think anything in that era could have outrun a Chinese junk down wind. The ship/boat in this video is extremely strong and stiff. I wouldn't hesitate to sail her on a passage. She would only be limited by space for provisions. The larger the scale of this type of construction, the more flexible the hull. Big Norse ships would "slither" over large swells, leaking a lot of water as their plankings moved and pinched. Very likely there were men on duty 24/7 as bailers when needed. I would be very interested to hear from anyone who sailed the Drakken Harald Harfargre, that can either refute or corraborate this by mentioning the bilge pump activity on that crossing. Not sure how modern methods are relatable to 8th century ones.

[@hvermout4248]

But the Vikings were undoubtedly more professional sailors than these American amateurs. Going much faster! So Vinland was probably somewhere in Florida ...

[@PortmanRd]

Hardly deserves the label..,..Ship. It'd struggle to cross the English Channel let alone make it to America.

[@wisenber]

A full competent crew rowing could have exceeded 4.1 mph. Then again, why on earth did you need to take three speeds when your GPS would already give you an average. No wonder the captain was on the verge of giggling at the fabricated drama.

[@Spritsailor]

They actually named the land Vinland because it made it sound more inviting. It was the same thing they did by naming Greenland.

[@troelsandersen9654]

Propaganda, marketing and sales pitch. Nothing new on the face of the earth! :)

[@VikingNorway-pb5tm829]

Small boat..

[@captainslam]

I mean, which sagas are they drawing from? A lot of the sagas were written down later by Christians as a document of an oral history. So naturally, there is bias.

[@1888BW]

vin land = vine country

[@kingwacky184]

4 knots give me a break viking ships would easily get close to 15 knots.

[@jrgensenbo2999]

Wauw, look at that small boat. She ain't much more than a viking dinghy. The seagoing viking-longboats were far bigger than that.... here in Denmark the biggest ever found was more than 37meters - with a crew of perhaps 100 warriers. How many would fit into that boat ? Max 15, I guess How is this relevant. Yes it is, as you know ..... length = speed

[@wengweng5136]

I love You 😘😘😘

[@onjah6592]

K btw frist

[@kurkkobain]

WITH SQUARE SAILS THEY WOULD AHVE A PROBLEM IN COMING BACK TO ERUOPE AGAIN AND SAILA GAINST WIND AND CURRETNS. AND TELL THE TAIL- GROW UP PEOPLE..-

[@TrymYoutubeMainChannel]

danish vikings pfft NORWEGIAN Vikings is where it should be... and according to history I think it was the Norwegian vikings NOT the danish ones that discovered north america

[@John5209]

Sea sickness@ calling George , Geeeeeoooooorrrrggggeeee , puke contest to feed the fishes.

[@thePyiott]

Longer ships are faster.

[@loser3829]

Good morning 😃, don't forget to tell Jesus you love him today.

[@TheTwitchybird]

cringe

[@loser3829]

@@TheTwitchybird it's not too late, it's never too late.