Faroese boats placed on special UNESCO list

Boat builders, boat societies and museums from across the Nordic region have for years been working towards inclusion of the Nordic clinker boat in the UNESCO list, and yesterday these efforts paid off.

With this inclusion, the traditional Faroese clinker boat has now been given international recognition.

This means that the Faroese boat, along with Faroese boat building, use of the boat as well as traditions and know-how relating to the boat will be preserved and passed on to future generations.

Design dates back to 17th century

The Faroese boat design as we know it today is believed to date back to the mid-17th century.

UNESCO writes that Nordic clinker boats are built using the same basic techniques: thin planks are fastened to a backbone of the keel and stems, and the overlapping planks are fastened together with metal rivets, treenails or rope. The shell of the boat is strengthened with frames.

This basic boat-building technique has been used across the Nordic for at least 2,000 years.

The large Viking ships were also built in the clinker style.

Read the Faroese version of this article here.

More Faroese News in English.