Middle-earth Watercraft

[Greg]

A question on our minds since near the beginning of our endeavors has been "How would the various cultures of Middle-earth approach watercraft?" Apart from the Elves in Lorien and the Numenoreans at the height of their seafaring, few concrete references are given. As in many cases, the best option is to experiment within the confines of history, and see what works.

So...we did!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bcuV-1wlxE

[Taylor Steiner]

Amazing!

[Peter Remling]

Very well done, Gentlemen!

[Elleth]

That is fantastic!!

I assume Udwin made his craft - were the other two your own respective work, or simply very fortuitous finds? I'd not thought about a cloth-covered hull for Gondorians, but come to think of it... with the amount of sailcloth that must be around Gondor and Dol Amroth, it's a compelling choice. Neat!

And the video was just amazing. Thank you guys for the inspiration.

[Greg]

Udwin made his, yes. Odigan found an old craft that needed to be largely rebuilt, so he took the wooden framework and started over, stripping it and re-skinning the whole thing. I found mine...it was built by a local historical pottery craftsman.