Longship (Civ3)/Civilopedia

Heavy reliance on waterborne travel and transport naturally led to the Vikings becoming skillful shipwrights and
excellent sailors. The most fearsome warship the Vikings had was the longship, their standard vessel. The longship
was the most advanced warship of its time, and the craftsmanship employed in constructing one is a source of
wonderment even today. It was clinker built; that is its hull was made of overlapping planks (called strakes),
joined together with iron rivets and made watertight by caulking, usually with animal hair. The hull was built about
a long and deep keel that formed the backbone of this ship, and bore a mast that could be shipped and unshipped (put
up and taken down) while at sea. The stems and sterns were elegantly curved, and on the most important vessels the
prows ended in fearsome dragonheads. While the keel was deep, the ships had a very shallow draft, which allowed
these seagoing vessels the option of raiding up rivers, allowing the Vikings to strike deep inland from the sea.
Longships used both sails and oars for propulsion, relying on sails for most open-sea sailing and using their oars
only when extra speed or maneuverability was needed. When preparing for battle or landing, the mast was unshipped
and propulsion came only from the oars, freeing the crew from the capricious whims of the wind.