Note Mid-ships with iron keel — Chapter I

Page 7. Mid-ships with iron keel. The Norse boats had neither "iron keel" nor "ribs of steel." Keel and ribs were made of oak, and no evidence has been found of metallic sheathing. The size of these ships is usually underestimated. They were larger, stronger, and more seaworthy than those of Columbus. There is one in the museum at Christiania seventy-eight feet long, seventeen feet beam, and nearly six feet in depth. She carried a crew of at least thirty-five men. Henry Hudson's Half Moon carried a crew of only sixteen.