Faering Explained

A faering is an open boat with two pairs of oars, commonly found in most boat-building traditions in western and northern Scandinavia.^[1]

History

Faerings are clinker-built, with planks overlapped and riveted together to form the hull. This type of boat has a history dating back to Viking-era Scandinavia. The small boats found with the 9th century Gokstad ship resemble those still used in Western and Northern Norway, and testify to a long tradition of boat building. Faerings may carry a small sail, traditionally a square sail, in addition to oars. The only significant difference being a conversion from a side-mounted rudder to stern-mounted. They are used as small fishing vessels in areas of modern Norway, and occasionally raced.^{[2] [3]}

Etymology

The word faering comes from the Norwegian word færing (Old Norse feræringr), literally meaning "four-oaring".

See also

• Knarr
• Spritsail
• Oselvar
• Nordland

Other sources

• Greenhill, Basil (1976) Archaeology of the Boat (London: Adam and Charles Black Publishers Ltd)
• Leather, John (1990) Clinker Boatbuilding (Adlard Coles)

Notes and References

1. http://home.online.no/~joeolavl/viking/norse_faering.htm What is a norse færing? (Vikingskip.com)
2. Web site: The clinker built boat types of Norway after the medieval age (Vikingskip.com) . 2011-02-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110222230607/http://home.online.no/~joeolavl/viking/trebaater_norge.htm . 2011-02-22 . dead.
3. Web site: Viking" - Gokstadkopien fra 1893 (Vikingskip.com) . 2011-02-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110302165613/http://home.online.no/~joeolavl/viking/viking-kopi-gokstadskipet.htm . 2011-03-02 . dead.