Did Viking shipbuilders steam-bend their planks?

Did Viking shipbuilders use steam bending, or did they simply heat planks over an open fire?

They may have used a rudimentary steam process in a simple enclosed structure, but the evidence does not support imagining a modern steam box.

The classification depends on whether heating wet timber over fire counts as steam bending or more general heat bending. A rudimentary steam process is plausible, although it would not resemble a modern metal oven with controlled fittings. A temporary tent-like enclosure or purpose-built wooden hut could hold planks while fires heated water and the surrounding air. A simple preindustrial apparatus could therefore exploit steam to shape hull timber, but the precise Viking method remains uncertain.