A Dutch construction company owner Johan Huibers is a happy man today. Twenty years ago, he had been plagued by a troublesome nightmare in which he saw his beloved homeland being wrecked by a massive flood of Biblical proportions. From that day, he wanted to build a Noah-style ark. And now two decades later, he has finally completed the ambitious project.
The first ark that Huibers completed was about half the size of the one prescribed in the Bible and was chartered through Holland’s canals at $7 per person to collect enough funds for the real deal. Work on the new ark began way back in ’08 which has recently been finished and ended up costing just over $1 million. This new ark has been built to full-scale Noah specs using cubits measurements which is the length from one’s elbow to fingertips. This measures 450 feet in length and weighs around 3,000 tons.
The ark is crafted out of pine wood to keep up Biblical tradition. Although, a steel hull has been added to make sure the ride’s structure can endure a possible outing. The boat has been designed to accommodate 1,500 passengers “including two live chickens and a few pair of fiberglass animals” which may not be what the Lord asked the original Noah to carry onboard!
But the Dutchman is not the only Bible-loving boat builder out there. There are several other arks in existence already including one in Hong Kong that serves as a theme hotel. While there is an ark on Mount Ararat in Turkey which was built by Greenpeace to help bring attention to global climate change.
The Dutchman is currently in negotiations with the London Olympics organizers about the possibility of riding his ark down the Thames during the event. Although, with it being the year 2012 (end of all time according to the Mayan calendar) and Noah’s Ark not really being a symbol of happy times, we don’t see Mr. Huibers getting a permit for the joyride.
Via: The Scuttlefish/ Gizmodo