The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North AmericaChapelle, Howard Irving
History
The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America
Chapelle, Howard Irving
Canoes and canoeing -- North America; Indians of North America -- Boats; Skin boats -- North America
The St. Francis canoe of the last half of the 19th century had
high-peaked ends, with a quick upsweep of the sheer at bow and stern.
The end profile was almost vertical, with a short radius where it
faired into the bottom. The rocker of the bottom took place in the last
18 or 24 inches of the ends, the remaining portion of the bottom being
usually straight. The amount of rocker varied a good deal; apparently
some canoes had only an inch or so while others had as much as four or
five. A few canoes had a projecting "chin" end-profile; the top portion
where it met the sheer was usually a straight line.
The midsection was slightly wall-sided, with a rather quick turn of the
bilge. The bottom was nearly flat across, with very slight rounding
until close to the bilges. The end sections were a ~U~-shape that
approached the ~V~ owing to the very quick turn at the centerline. The
ends of the canoe were very sharp, coming in practically straight at
the gunwale and at level lines below it. The gunwales were longer than
the bottom and so the St. Francis canoes were commonly built with a
building-frame which was nearly as wide amidships as the gunwales but
shorter in length.
At least one St. Francis canoe, built on Lake Memphremagog, was
constructed with a tumble-home amidships the same as that of some
Malecite canoes. The rocker of the bottom at each end started at the
first thwart on each side of the middle and gradually increased toward
the ends, which faired into the bottom without any break in the curves.
The end profiles projected with a chin that was full and round up to
the peaked stem heads. The sheer swept up sharply near the ends to the
stem heads. This particular canoe represented a hybrid design not
developed for sale to sportsmen, and the sole example, a full-size
canoe formerly in The American Museum of Natural History at New York
and measured by Adney in 1890, is now missing and probably has been
broken up.
[Illustration: Figure 80
ST. FRANCIS 2-FATHOM CANOE OF ABOUT 1865, with upright stems. Built for
forest travel, this form ranged in size from 12 feet 6 inches overall
and 26½-inch beam, to 16 feet overall and 34-inch beam.]
The St. Francis canoes were usually small, being commonly between
12 and 16 feet overall; the 15-foot length usually was preferred by
sportsmen. The width amidships was from 32 to 35 inches and the depth
12 to 14 inches. The 14-foot canoe usually had a beam of about 32
inches and was nearly 14 inches deep; if built for portaging the ends
were somewhat lower than if the canoe was to be used in open waters.
Canoes built for hunting might be as short as 10 or 11 feet and of
only 26 to 28 inches beam; these were the true woods canoes of the St.
Francis.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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