The invasion fleet is now in full sail. They make their way across the English Channel. The crossing takes place on the night of the 27-28th September. The Drakkar or dragon-ship was the largest of the Viking longships. Of clinker built construction, the longship was a low, sturdy, long, narrow, open galley with high stems and sterns with up to 40 oarsmen per side. The longship was of shallow draft which allowed for beaching of the craft, had a single side rudder on the aft end starboard side, and a large decorated square-rigged sail. The overlapping strakes of the longship were constructed using iron nails and caulked using strips of tarred rope.