advertisement

Libertyville man successfully launches Viking-style wooden boat

Libertyville resident John Maack couldn't have looked happier Thursday as he took the replica Viking warship he built by hand for its maiden voyage.

Accompanied by his fiancee, his daughter and his daughter's boyfriend, Maack watched proudly as a forklift gingerly lowered the 20-foot-long wooden boat into Waukegan Harbor.

Then, after making sure the boat would float, Maack and his crew donned life jackets, climbed in, grabbed oars and headed out.

“This is the trial run,” said Maack, 62. “We'll find out what works and what doesn't.”

Fortunately, just about everything worked.

Although a decorative dragon's head fell off the prow of the boat as it was leaving the dock, the rest of the short voyage went well. The boat moved swiftly in the water, and only a few small leaks were discovered.

Maack called the effort a success.

“This is gonna be a lot of fun,” he said after returning to the dock.

Maack started construction last August, not long after moving to Illinois from Oregon. He used red oak for the hull and Douglas fir for the masts, which weren't installed Thursday.

Maack was inspired by a movie he loved as a child, 1958's “The Vikings,” which starred Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis.

“After that (movie), we all played Vikings in the neighborhood,” Maack recalled.

Named the Skagerrak after a Scandinavian waterway, the sailboat is a re-creation of the watercraft people from that region used about 1,100 years ago to traverse oceans and rivers.

It definitely stood out from the yachts and other modern boats at the harbor Thursday. Without the masts, the Skagerrak looked like a large, dark brown canoe.

A few other boat owners gathered at the pier to witness the anachronistic craft's debut.

“This is a lost art,” said Gary Rudd, a veteran sailor from Wilmette. “I think the guy did an incredible job.”

Maack said he plans to take the boat farther out onto Lake Michigan.

“It's possible you could sail across Lake Michigan and invade Indiana or something,” he joked. “(But) I'll probably do what the ancient Vikings did and sail along the coast.”

  John Maack of Libertyville pushes off from the dock at Waukegan Harbor as he takes the replica Viking warship he built by hand for its maiden voyage Thursday. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.