Question

What advantage did the
Viking longship have over
earlier vessels?

Answer 1

The addition of oars and sails gave Viking boats an advantage over all other watercraft of their day in speed, shallow draft, weight, capacity, maneuverability, and seaworthiness. Viking boats were designed to be dragged across long portages as well as to withstand fierce ocean storms.

Step-by-step explanation:

Answer 2

Step-by-step explanation: The viking longship is surely one of the greatest ships ever. It was fast, maneuverable, and beautifully made which meant the Vikings could go pretty much anywhere they wanted to. The longship could reach a top speed of about 15 knots which was faster than anything else on sea at the time and they couldn't have achieved this without the longships. The awesome design of the Viking longship meant they could travel in just three feet of water. No shoreline was safe from a Viking attack. Another feature of the longship was that it had no front or rear which meant it could run up the beach, Vikings could just jump out and do battle, hop back in, and sail back out to sea. Many of the ships had sails which made far less manual effort but if there was no wind, the boats could be controlled by oars if needed. These ships were incredibly well-designed. The principles used to build these ships were employed for hundreds of years after the end of the Viking era which meant they were way ahead of their time.