In December 2021, the United Nations’ cultural agency, UNESCO, inscribed the Nordic “clinker boats” to its Heritage List.
Highlights:
For thousands of years, wooden sailboats have allowed northern Europeans to spread influence, trade, and even conflict across continents and seas.
The UNESCO designation was requested jointly by Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Sweden, and Norway.
The term “clinker” is said to refer to the way the building’s wooden boards were attached.
The use of overlapping longitudinal hardwood hull planks distinguishes wooden clinker boats.
These planks are held together by stitched or riveted seams. Internally, boats are fortified with additional wooden components, particularly tall oak trees.
Gaps are filled with a mixture of tar or tallow, animal hair, moss, and wool.