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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 7 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 7 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 7 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 7 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"...
Load More Replies...
Gerry Higgins 7 years ago
What a colossal waste of money. Let's to a reproduction of something that never existed!
Random Panda 7 years ago (edited)
So he wasted that much money on this useless "ship" and now has the gall to ask for donations to move it to "God's land". First of all that should be somewhere in Iraq, not Israel...and anyway, if God created the Earth isn't all of it his land? That $1.3 he's asking for would be better spent on charity to actually help people.
Charlotte 7 years ago
I admire the dedication and the beauty of the boat, wow! And even though I do think this man is a lunatic I would have loved to visit this piece of art.
Full Name 7 years ago
Thank you! At least one other person gets it. I admire it for what it is. It's spectacular.
Load More Replies...
Tiny Dynamine 7 years ago
Ask the evangelists to pay for your dismal failure. They should have enough money, for some reason...
Roberto Durante 7 years ago
whatever one, his hobby is to collect post stamps, another is to build the arch of noa
Jack Urquhart 7 years ago
Why does he need to ship it? It's a ship. You can go by ocean for most of the way (just kidding)
Virgil Blue 7 years ago
Builds a ship that barely floats. Needs a bigger ship to get it across the ocean. Just brilliant.
Load More Replies...
malov alovi 4 years ago
HI My name is Jonathan Demme, am from France i will brief you more oncei hear from you as soon as possible i will like to discuss with you,but not here in boredpanda email me to (dj76354641@gmail.com) With Regards Jonathan Demme
Rebekah Getz 7 years ago
Here's the thing: it's a work of art. There are millions of structures built for "things that don't exist". Harry Potter land, for example. I'm not pissed that people spent money to build Hogwarts. I don't go around offended by life-size statues of superheros. All of which are also not helpful to the world and used funds that could've gone to organizations that needed them. Despite being non-religious, why should I be offended by a realistic interpretation of Noah's Ark? Not my circus, not my monkey. I'm also not a judgmental a*****e who feels the need to mock other people based on their religion.
James Johns 7 years ago
And cue the angry atheists with nothing better to do than tear others down, especially Christians. Get a life losers.
Wil Vanderheijden 7 years ago
After having read all available documentation I have come to the conclusion that this is just a scam to persuade people to donate to a project that isn't viable, serves no purpose, is built on hollow promises and has just one goal: "To collect as much money as possible for the organisers before the ark sinks."
Octavia Hansen 7 years ago
Like most misquoted bible passages . . . animals did not go 2 X 2; it was 7 of the clean animals and only 2 of the dirty. And there was an encounter at sea where a boat of humans was turned away. Noah didn't think enough of his own species to save them . . .
Renita McAfee 7 years ago (edited)
Weren't there only about6 to 8 people on it? Why so many chairs?
Grumble O'Pug 7 years ago
Back in the early 80's in Amsterdam there was this huge boat thing moored somewhere easily accessible. It was full of bands, music, things to do, and generally a party place. I think that would be a better application than some museum of defunct mythos.
Jochen Cavallo 7 years ago
Must have missed the part in the bible where god tells noah about the steel frame
Stannous Flouride 7 years ago
Wouldn't a more appropriate destination be Mount Ararat in Armenian Turkey? It is 555.6 km from the nearest sea but if you've already wasted a couple of million dollars, what's a few million more?
Stannous Flouride 7 years ago
After a bit more research I found that the best estimate of where the Ark was constructed was Surupak in what is now Iraq. I'm sure if they go there instead their Bronze Age sky-god will protect them.
Load More Replies...
Sarah Hartness 7 years ago (edited)
Maybe God is real and everything we've read in the bible actually happened, like they keep proving year after year. everyone that doesn't believe is always so quick to judge and say it's fake. yet, people believe we were made out nothing, or that we were made from a giant fireball, and that's ok and true right? why can't non believers have an actual open mind about Christianity and try to understand, is it because people are afraid of being wrong? I guess I look at it this way... I may be spending my whole life believing in something that may not be true (i think it is true) but guess what. It didn't hurt me, it helped me. It helped be a kinder, gentler person. I have morals and values (not saying non Christians don't, lets not get carried away here) It's gives me something to look forward too after death. It helps me in times of struggle because EVERY person I know has let me down, but God has not. So there's a short sermon for ya. Hopefully you'll understand what I just said and not attack me for my beliefs, as I don't attack you for yours.
Margo Knegjes 7 years ago
It looks very impressive from the outside but inside it looks really very poor and amateurish. I’ve been inside, I live in Dordrecht. We’ve seen it being built. An enormous parking was made where the Arc was, and it was almost empty when we came to take a look. So I don’t think it draw a lot of visitors. I have no idea where it is now.
Load More Replies...
Kjorn 7 years ago
the money he use for that he could've use it on people in need. this is just a waste
Elizabeth 7 years ago
Only a Christian would build this, I like the think that Jesus is probably not pleased. How many starving children could the money spent on this have fed for how long? A lot! for a LONG time!
Sanne H. 7 years ago
Life is not only about feeding the hungry, but also to challenge yourself and to inspire others. This boat is quite well known in The Netherlands, and it has been visited by about 280.000 people in 4 years time.
Load More Replies...
Virgil Blue 7 years ago
All people who have rebuilt the ark (with modern tech) turned out to be a bunch of grifters so he fits right in.
Load More Replies... Hayley Lightcap 7 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 7 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 7 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 7 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"...
Load More Replies... Gerry Higgins 7 years ago
What a colossal waste of money. Let's to a reproduction of something that never existed!
Random Panda 7 years ago (edited)
So he wasted that much money on this useless "ship" and now has the gall to ask for donations to move it to "God's land". First of all that should be somewhere in Iraq, not Israel...and anyway, if God created the Earth isn't all of it his land? That $1.3 he's asking for would be better spent on charity to actually help people.
Charlotte 7 years ago
I admire the dedication and the beauty of the boat, wow! And even though I do think this man is a lunatic I would have loved to visit this piece of art.
Full Name 7 years ago
Thank you! At least one other person gets it. I admire it for what it is. It's spectacular.
Load More Replies... Tiny Dynamine 7 years ago
Ask the evangelists to pay for your dismal failure. They should have enough money, for some reason...
Roberto Durante 7 years ago
whatever one, his hobby is to collect post stamps, another is to build the arch of noa
Jack Urquhart 7 years ago
Why does he need to ship it? It's a ship. You can go by ocean for most of the way (just kidding)
Virgil Blue 7 years ago
Builds a ship that barely floats. Needs a bigger ship to get it across the ocean. Just brilliant.
Load More Replies... malov alovi 4 years ago
HI My name is Jonathan Demme, am from France i will brief you more oncei hear from you as soon as possible i will like to discuss with you,but not here in boredpanda email me to (dj76354641@gmail.com) With Regards Jonathan Demme
Rebekah Getz 7 years ago
Here's the thing: it's a work of art. There are millions of structures built for "things that don't exist". Harry Potter land, for example. I'm not pissed that people spent money to build Hogwarts. I don't go around offended by life-size statues of superheros. All of which are also not helpful to the world and used funds that could've gone to organizations that needed them. Despite being non-religious, why should I be offended by a realistic interpretation of Noah's Ark? Not my circus, not my monkey. I'm also not a judgmental a*****e who feels the need to mock other people based on their religion.
James Johns 7 years ago
And cue the angry atheists with nothing better to do than tear others down, especially Christians. Get a life losers.
Wil Vanderheijden 7 years ago
After having read all available documentation I have come to the conclusion that this is just a scam to persuade people to donate to a project that isn't viable, serves no purpose, is built on hollow promises and has just one goal: "To collect as much money as possible for the organisers before the ark sinks."
Octavia Hansen 7 years ago
Like most misquoted bible passages . . . animals did not go 2 X 2; it was 7 of the clean animals and only 2 of the dirty. And there was an encounter at sea where a boat of humans was turned away. Noah didn't think enough of his own species to save them . . .
Renita McAfee 7 years ago (edited)
Weren't there only about6 to 8 people on it? Why so many chairs?
Grumble O'Pug 7 years ago
Back in the early 80's in Amsterdam there was this huge boat thing moored somewhere easily accessible. It was full of bands, music, things to do, and generally a party place. I think that would be a better application than some museum of defunct mythos.
Jochen Cavallo 7 years ago
Must have missed the part in the bible where god tells noah about the steel frame
Stannous Flouride 7 years ago
Wouldn't a more appropriate destination be Mount Ararat in Armenian Turkey? It is 555.6 km from the nearest sea but if you've already wasted a couple of million dollars, what's a few million more?
Stannous Flouride 7 years ago
After a bit more research I found that the best estimate of where the Ark was constructed was Surupak in what is now Iraq. I'm sure if they go there instead their Bronze Age sky-god will protect them.
Load More Replies... Sarah Hartness 7 years ago (edited)
Maybe God is real and everything we've read in the bible actually happened, like they keep proving year after year. everyone that doesn't believe is always so quick to judge and say it's fake. yet, people believe we were made out nothing, or that we were made from a giant fireball, and that's ok and true right? why can't non believers have an actual open mind about Christianity and try to understand, is it because people are afraid of being wrong? I guess I look at it this way... I may be spending my whole life believing in something that may not be true (i think it is true) but guess what. It didn't hurt me, it helped me. It helped be a kinder, gentler person. I have morals and values (not saying non Christians don't, lets not get carried away here) It's gives me something to look forward too after death. It helps me in times of struggle because EVERY person I know has let me down, but God has not. So there's a short sermon for ya. Hopefully you'll understand what I just said and not attack me for my beliefs, as I don't attack you for yours.
Margo Knegjes 7 years ago
It looks very impressive from the outside but inside it looks really very poor and amateurish. I’ve been inside, I live in Dordrecht. We’ve seen it being built. An enormous parking was made where the Arc was, and it was almost empty when we came to take a look. So I don’t think it draw a lot of visitors. I have no idea where it is now.
Load More Replies... Kjorn 7 years ago
the money he use for that he could've use it on people in need. this is just a waste
Elizabeth 7 years ago
Only a Christian would build this, I like the think that Jesus is probably not pleased. How many starving children could the money spent on this have fed for how long? A lot! for a LONG time!
Sanne H. 7 years ago
Life is not only about feeding the hungry, but also to challenge yourself and to inspire others. This boat is quite well known in The Netherlands, and it has been visited by about 280.000 people in 4 years time.
Load More Replies... Virgil Blue 7 years ago
All people who have rebuilt the ark (with modern tech) turned out to be a bunch of grifters so he fits right in.
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