However, before the official launch, we wanted to test the boat without spectators. In the days before, we flooded the boat with water to seal it.
On Saturday, May 29, 1999 at 8 am, we rolled it down to Dyvig. The boat weighed just over 500 kg, so 20 men could carry it out into the water using ten old fire hoses as carrying straps.
Photo: H.P. Rasmussen.
Hardly an eye was dry as the boat floated in the waters of Dyvig.
Photo: H.P. Rasmussen.
A plastic boat has been erased in the background in order to create a picture that evokes times gone by.
After the launch, we were pleased to see that the boat was lying straight in the water, a sign of the care taken by the construction team. The boat was towed to the rowing club's floating bridge where it was moored.
Water seeped into the boat from numerous leaks, especially from poorly sealed sewing holes. We had brought ox tallow, and while some people scooped, others went through the boat and squeezed in ox tallow where there were leaks.
Twenty men walked or rather crawled on board, as the boat seemed very unstable. The steering oar was lashed on the starboard side to the stern thwart, where it protruded above the rail.
At the command “Paddle away”, the 18 men sitting on thwarts 2-10 went into action. The skipper sat on the port bow and the helmsman on the starboard bow. The boat quickly picked up speed and didn't seem unstable at all during the voyage. We paddled back and forth along the eastern shore of the bay a few times, trying out different maneuvers.
We found that it was difficult to steer the boat with the position of the steering oar we had chosen. It was also obvious that paddling in time was not mastered, even though the skipper counted one - two, one - two.
Along the way, the paddlers at thwart 5 (amidships) had to scoop, partly with the replica of the scoop that was part of the find, and partly with a dog's water bowl. After half an hour of sailing, we moored again at the bridge and carried the boat ashore, where it was placed on its cart. Everyone was relieved that the result of the work was satisfactory and that we were ready for the inauguration of the boat, which was scheduled for the following Saturday, June 5. The boat was then rolled up to and into the Linde shipyard.