Editing Longship (section)

===Rudder===
Early long boats used some form of steering oar but by the tenth century the side rudder (called a steerboard, the source for the etymology for the word [[Port and starboard|starboard]] itself) was well established. It consisted of a length of timber about {{convert|2.4|m|ft|abbr=in}} long. The upper section was rounded to a diameter of about {{convert|150|mm|abbr=in|0}}. The lower blade was about {{convert|1.8|x|0.4|m|ft|abbr=in}}. The steerboard on the [[Gokstad ship]] in the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo, Norway, is about {{convert|8|in|cm|abbr=in|order=flip}} wide, completely flat inboard and with about a {{convert|3|in|cm|abbr=in|order=flip}} maximum width at the center of the foil. The head of the rudder shaft had two square holes about {{convert|200|-|300|mm|abbr=in|0}} apart. When the rudder was in its normal position the tiller was inserted in the upper hole so that the tiller faced athwartwise. The shaft was attached to the gunwale by a U-shaped joint. Near the stern, about halfway down the starboard topsides, was a rounded wooden block about {{convert|150|mm|abbr=in|0}} in diameter and {{convert|100|mm|abbr=in|0}} high, with a central hole for a rope. This corresponded to a hole in the midsection of the rudder blade. From the outside the rope ran through the blade, through the round block and topsides and was fastened inside the hull. The flexibility of the hemp rope allowed the blade to pivot. When beached or in shallow water the tiller was moved to the lower hole, the blade rope was slackened and the rudder head pulled up so the rudder could operate in shallow waters. Modern facsimiles are reported to steer quite well but require a very large amount of physical effort compared to the modern fore and aft tiller.