A Brief History of Human Powered Transportation

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The design of the longship gave it both a shallow draft and wide beam that were an advantage when the boat needed to be beached for landing invading groups, or in the peaceful pursuit of commerce. With boats of this type the Vikings controlled large regions of northern Europe and extended their activities into the western Mediterranean. As the picture shows, human power was augmented by square sails rigged on masts close to the center of the longboat. This location permitted the boats to sail at an angle to the wind.

From: Scientific American, February 1998, pp 56 - 63