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Back in 1993, Johan Huibers was reading a bedtime story to his children about Noah’s Ark, which gave him a crazy idea – to build his own replica of the Ark. His wife laughed at him, saying that when he finishes it, they “can all go on vacation to the moon.” But Johan did not give up and finished his first version of the ship in 2006. However, he was not completely satisfied with it, as it was “only half the size of the one in the Bible,” and Huibers was determined to go further.
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In 2008, Johan Huibers, joined by amateur carpenters, started to build a life-sized replica of Noah’s Ark
Image credits: Ark Of Noah
It was completed and opened to the public in 2012. The Biblical boat cost nearly $1.6 million to build. Huibers later admitted “We’re not professional boatmakers. A lot of stuff here is a bit crooked.”
Image credits: Ark Of Noah
It is hard not to be amazed by the size of the ship and its beautiful details. The Ark is complete with wooden animal models, including gorillas, elephants and rhinos – just like in the Bible. The life-sized interpretation of Noah’s Ark was a popular attraction in Dordrecht, Netherlands, but unfortunately it’s been closed to visitors due to disagreements between Huibers and town officials.
Image credits: Ark Of Noah
The builder constructed the vessel in accordance with specifications laid out in the Hebrew Bible. The life-sized replica of the Biblical ship has a steel frame, and was built with American cedar and pine wood.
Image credits: Ark Of Noah
The height of the vessel is similar to that of a five-story building (75 feet). The ark is 95 feet wide, 410 feet long, weighs 2,500 tons and can fit over 5,000 people at once. Originally, Huiber was planning to sail it to Brazil for the Rio 2016 Olympics, but due to safety concerns, the plan fell through and was placed on hold.
Image credits: Ark Of Noah
Now, he says that his “preferred destination for the ark is Israel,”This is a copy of God’s ship. It only makes sense to take it to God’s land,” he added. Huibers had planned to take the ship there soon after its completion, but wildfires in Israel forced him to postpone the journey.
Image credits: Ark Of Noah
At the moment Huibers is seeking donations from good Samaritans to help reach his goal of taking the vessel to Israel. As the ship has no motor, Huibers will need to rent tugboats in order to sail it, requiring approximately $1.3 million to complete the voyage.
Image credits: Ark Of Noah
Image credits: Ark Of Noah
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What do you think ?
Hayley Lightcap 6 years ago
I like to be supportive, I don't like to be that guy yknow. But what the f**k? You just wasted a million dollars on something you can't take care of!
Teresa 6 years ago
Yep that was what was said to noah.."ARE YOU CRAZY?" who the hell are all of you to tell this man how to spend HIS OWN MONEY...ya all didnt tell Hugh Hefner..."It will never work...to many gays in Calif ". I mean come on .. what an achievement..his own goal.. and he reached it.. YET here you all are ..the haters and miserable people of the internet. Sitting on your bums at home...Nothing better to do than tear someone down. For spending their own money to build something they were I aspires to try..typical of the world we now live in.. How sad ya all couldnt just simply praise him for meeting HIS OWN goals.. jerks
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Freya the Wanderer 6 years ago
There are so many ways that Noah's ark wouldn't work. First, four Bronze Age men couldn't build a ship that big without advanced knowledge that wouldn't come along until millennia later. Second, there is no way they could fit two of every species on that vessel, even if they took only representative "kinds" (whatever the hell that means). Third, how did they cross thousands of kilometers, including the barriers of oceans, deserts and mountains, to get to the ark? Fourth, how did those animals eat? Fifth, what about all the poo? Sixth, how could eight people take care of so many critters? Seventh, the ark would not have been seaworthy if it was made of only wood and pitch. Eighth, how did the animals know how to return to whence they came? Ninth, you can't restart a species with just two individuals, however fertile they may be. Tenth, there is not nearly enough water in and around this planet to submerge all of the land to above even the highest mountains. And that's just for starters.
Alexandru Bucur 6 years ago
Want to bet that the whole thing is based on a real event in the Bronze Age that got inflated in the telling? I bet there was an actual flood 3000 years ago somewhere around the middle east (the myth is common to the area and first appears in the Epic of Gilgamesh) and that some guys built a raft on which they escaped with their families and their two goats, three chickens and a cow for a couple of days until the flood subsided... Three thousand years later that becoma "all the animals on earth for forty days and forty nights"...
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Hayley Lightcap 6 years ago
I like to be supportive, I don't like to be that guy yknow. But what the f**k? You just wasted a million dollars on something you can't take care of!
Teresa 6 years ago
Yep that was what was said to noah.."ARE YOU CRAZY?" who the hell are all of you to tell this man how to spend HIS OWN MONEY...ya all didnt tell Hugh Hefner..."It will never work...to many gays in Calif ". I mean come on .. what an achievement..his own goal.. and he reached it.. YET here you all are ..the haters and miserable people of the internet. Sitting on your bums at home...Nothing better to do than tear someone down. For spending their own money to build something they were I aspires to try..typical of the world we now live in.. How sad ya all couldnt just simply praise him for meeting HIS OWN goals.. jerks
Load More Replies... Freya the Wanderer 6 years ago
There are so many ways that Noah's ark wouldn't work. First, four Bronze Age men couldn't build a ship that big without advanced knowledge that wouldn't come along until millennia later. Second, there is no way they could fit two of every species on that vessel, even if they took only representative "kinds" (whatever the hell that means). Third, how did they cross thousands of kilometers, including the barriers of oceans, deserts and mountains, to get to the ark? Fourth, how did those animals eat? Fifth, what about all the poo? Sixth, how could eight people take care of so many critters? Seventh, the ark would not have been seaworthy if it was made of only wood and pitch. Eighth, how did the animals know how to return to whence they came? Ninth, you can't restart a species with just two individuals, however fertile they may be. Tenth, there is not nearly enough water in and around this planet to submerge all of the land to above even the highest mountains. And that's just for starters.
Alexandru Bucur 6 years ago
Want to bet that the whole thing is based on a real event in the Bronze Age that got inflated in the telling? I bet there was an actual flood 3000 years ago somewhere around the middle east (the myth is common to the area and first appears in the Epic of Gilgamesh) and that some guys built a raft on which they escaped with their families and their two goats, three chickens and a cow for a couple of days until the flood subsided... Three thousand years later that becoma "all the animals on earth for forty days and forty nights"...
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