The Vikings, the guys who raided and pillaged much of Northern Europe, were successful because they are amazing shipbuilders. The Vikings invented the longship, a graceful, long and narrow, but lightweight wooden boat more often used for troop transports. The longships were very seaworthy ships, and it possessed a shallow draft enabling the ship to be sailed into rivers or beached into beaches so Viking troops can easily do amphibious landings on seaside towns or plunder more inland towns.