Wave Runner

It’s hard enough to keep animal cages and stalls clean under normal conditions. Think about the extra work a few thousand seasick animals would make! So, how do you avoid getting seasick in a rudderless ship tossed upon violent seas?

The dimensions of Noah’s Ark—about 510-feet long, 81-feet wide, and 50-feet high—produced a very stable craft. Yet in spite of nearly ideal proportions, the Ark still had to ride up the crests of mighty waves and plunge down into deep troughs on the other side. This sort of roller-coaster sailing is not something you want to do broadside. Seamen know that the safest way to ride out monster waves is to steer around them. But Noah’s Ark had no motor, and without forward movement, a rudder would be useless. The only other safe approach for a motorized vessel is bow-first at low speeds (John Rousmaniere, The Annapolis Book of Seamanship [Simon and Schuster, 1983], p. 288).

How might Noah have designed a ship that would minimize side-to-side motion and keep its nose pointed in the right direction?

One way would be to construct a tall sail at the bow (the front), which would aid in pointing the Ark in the direction of the wind. Another way might be to construct an elongated stern, like a long fin sticking out the back. Taken together, these two passive devices would help keep the Ark’s bow—and not its side—pointed away from the waves.

You’re invited to see both of these features and many other fascinating applications on our full-size Noah’s Ark replica at Ark Encounter. Fundraising continues for the all-wood, evangelistic Ark to be built in Williamstown, Kentucky.

Help us build a full-scale Noah’s Ark! AiG’s part in the Ark Encounter project is raising $24.5 million in donations for an all-wood Ark, the centerpiece and first phase of the whole multi-attraction complex! A finished Ark will be a great testimony to the historicity of the Bible and will proclaim the gospel. For an explanation of the funding of the entire Ark Encounter, go to ArkEncounter.com.