This ship built of pine was the smallest of the five in the Skuldelev blockage in the Roskilde Fjord, where it was sunk as part of its second phase. It was neither a warship nor a cargo carrier, but more likely a fishing vessel. Like the Skuldelev 1 ship - which was also built of pine - the Skuldelev 6 was built in Norway. The Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde has launched the replica "Kraka Fyr" as its third remake of the Skuldelev ships.
The planking was all pine and consisted of seven strakes. The first four were only about 25 cm wide and 2.8 cm thick, while the upper strakes were up to 40 cm wide and 4 cm thick. Several clues points to the fact that the seventh strake was added to the hull some time after the ship had been built. The sixth strake had holes drilled for trenails that were not used. These have probably been for fastening the rowlocks that could have run on the inside of the gunwale, and fitted between the tops of the bite-knees. At some point the rowlocks were removed, and the seventh strake added. The keelson was very small and had only been 1.32 m long, which means that it only fitted over the midship floor timber and did not reach the floors at frames 1 A or 1F.
Framing in this small ship was very simple. It only consisted of floor timbers, bites, and bite-knees. The floor timbers were about 8 cm square in section, and did not narrow over the keel as seen in the other Skuldelev ships. They spanned the first three strakes, and the bite-knees covered strakes 4-6. The bites were fashioned in one piece with one of their knees, while the one in the other side were neatly fitted into a triangular mortise in the bite. Both timbers were of considerable scantlings; the bites were 20 cm wide and 4 cm thick in the center of the ship, while the knees were 8 cm wide and 6.5 cm thick. The bites were inserted with the loose knees alternating in port and starboard side of the ship.
The function of this small ship or large boat is not certain, but its heavy framing shows that it was meant to carry heavy loads. It might have been a fishing vessel or even built for whaling. After the addition of the seventh strake the ship would have lost most of its rowing stations, and would have to rely on other means of propulsion. This could of course be its single square sail, but it might also have been towed by another ship as a barge. Whatever was the cause for the conversion, it was carried out in Norway before the ship was brought to Denmark where it ended its life in fairly good condition as part of the Skuldelev blockage.