Great program with free admission on Friday. And who doesn’t like learning about Vikings? From the Center for Wood Boats:
Building of original Viking ships and modern-day construction of replica vessels will be the topic for our 3rd Friday speakers’ presentation at 7 pm April 17 in the South Lake Union Boathouse.
In this unique presentation, Jay Smith, professional lapstrake boat builder, and Jay Haavik, Viking age master carver, will show images and discuss Viking ship construction during the Viking age and the recent reconstruction of several Viking ships. Examples of the detailed carving work that goes into replica ships will be shown.
They will discuss how Viking ships were built and sailed, including the specifics of shipbuilding, tools used and techniques. The excavation of the famous Oseberg Viking ship and its finds, now in the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo, Norway, will be discussed, including the recent making of the Saga Oseberg, a replica of the Oseberg ship.
A long-time resident of Seattle, Jay Haavik has been a professional artist and woodcarver for many years. His initial work was with the art forms of the Northwest Coast Native peoples. Currently, most of his works are from the Viking age.
In 2003 he received a Norwegian Marshall Fund award to study at the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo. Three years later he worked at the Borgund Stave Church carving a replica of the Urnes Stave Church portal. In 2010 he was hired by New Oseberg Ship Foundation, in Tonsberg, Norway, to be the lead carver in the making of a replica of the famous Oseberg ship.
Over the past 35 years, Jay Smith has researched and built Nordic lapstrake boats, beginning in a small boatshop on a fjord in western Norway. A second apprenticeship in the Faroe Islands, sponsored by the Danmark-America Foundation, established a firm footing for future work and study.
Since then he has made a living building and repairing boats, specializing in lapstrake construction. Over the years he has shared these unique traditions through hands-on workshops, lectures and classes. He now works from his shop near Anacortes, on Fidalgo Island.
As always, the program is free (donations are welcome). Refreshments will be available.
