Like many things, a ship is started with a strong framework. Yesterday we started building the first Viking ship for Motiongate in Dubai. The ship will sit on the bottom of the shallow pool so the first step was to lay the flat mounting plates on the floor and then start welding the uprights. The deck of the ship will be built on top of this structure, coming apart to allow it to fit inside the shipping containers. As the framework came together it quickly became apparent just how big the ships are going to be. They will measure almost forty feet long and seventeen feet tall at the top of the figureheads (twenty-five feet at the mast). Look close in the picture and you can see Peter at the back of the ship getting ready to lay a weld.