When Johan Huibers was reading a bedtime story to his children about Noah’s Ark in 1993, the experience inspired him to come up with a wacky plan: to construct his own version of the ark. His wife made fun of him and said that once he finished it, they “can all go on vacation to the moon.” He shrugged it off. Nevertheless, Johan would not give up and in 2006 he completed the first iteration of the ship. Nevertheless, he was not entirely content with it because, according to Huibers, it was “only half the size of the one in the Bible,” and he was intent on going much further.
In 2008, Johan Huibers, joined by amateur carpenters, started to build a life-sized replica of Noah’s Ark
It was finished in 2012 and presented to the public at that time. The construction of the boat described in the Bible was roughly $1.6 million dollars. After some time, Huibers came clean and said, “We’re not professional boatmakers.” There is a good deal of crookedness in this place.
It is difficult to maintain composure in the face of the immense size of the ship and the exquisite craftsmanship that went into it. In accordance with the account in the Bible, the ark is stocked with wooden replicas of various animals, including as gorillas, elephants, and rhinos. Unfortunately, due to arguments between Huibers and town officials, the life-sized depiction of Noah’s Ark, which was a famous attraction in Dordrecht, Netherlands, has been closed to the public. This was a shame because it was a popular attraction.
The vessel was created by the craftsman in accordance with the guidelines that were outlined in the Hebrew Bible. The full-scale reproduction of the biblical ship features a steel skeleton and is crafted from pine and cedar sourced from the United States.
The height of the vessel is comparable to that of a structure consisting of five stories (75 feet). The ark has a width of 95 feet, a length of 410 feet, a weight of 2,500 tons, and can simultaneously house more than 5,000 people. Initially, Huiber intended to sail it to Brazil in time for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro; however, the plan did not work out and was postponed because of safety concerns.
Now, he claims that his “preferred destination for the ark is Israel,” and that this vessel is a replica of the ship that God used. It is only logical to bring it to the area where God resides,” he continued. Huibers had intended to transport the ship there shortly after its completion, but he was compelled to postpone the expedition due to the wildfires that were occurring in Israel.
Huibers is currently trying to get funds from charitable individuals in the hopes of achieving his long-term objective of transporting the boat to Israel. Because the ship does not have a motor, Huibers will need to rent tugboats in order to navigate it, which will result in an additional cost of around $1.3 million to finish the journey.
