“and they were master boat builders using only axes.”
All they needed for the trip up river is those tools to build boats/canoes, and their weapons. Canoes would have been easier and once there, they would have built the shipping vessels there, while all the mining tools would have been made on site. If they took canvas/material for sails, then the canvas could have been the coverings for the canoes. Of course oars would have been made on site.
The funny thing here is..they were but 40 to 50 miles from the largest deposit of iron ore in North America and did not know it. All they were after was the copper.
“The funny thing here is..they were but 40 to 50 miles from the largest deposit of iron ore in North America and did not know it.”
Because... Despite what the “impossible” narrative says... It was during the Bronze age before the Iron age. The Vikings were “floating” long before even the Bronze age, So were the Jomon in Japan, and the Oceanic peoples. Man first “Floated” across the Wallace line to Australia around 50,000 years ago. :)
Here is something you might find interesting about traces of Vikings in the northwest passage and even the west coast, Whole bunch of links about Vikings about half way down the page in the the “Last Viking” story:
http://www.spirasolaris.ca/index.html
But you are absolutely right, all they needed were axes and weapons to make and do anything they wanted. And I don’t even think sail canvas would have been needed, they had Native labor to row and furs in abundance. Everything they needed but the few tools were all there already. :)