The thwarts were of various designs; a common one had parallel sides in plan. The old canoes had thwarts much like those of the Têtes de Boule. The end lashings of these were usually passed through three holes in the thwart ends, but some had only two holes. Sheathing was laid somewhat as in the Têtes-de-Boule canoe, with overlapping edges and butts. The end sheathing was short and was laid first; the centerline strake was parallel-sided to a point near the sharp end of the canoe. The strakes on each side of it were tapered and were laid with their wide ends toward the middle of the canoe and with the sides and narrow end lapped. In the middle of the canoe the strakes were parallel-sided and their butts were on top of those of the strakes in the end of the canoe. The sheathing was carried up to within about three inches of the gunwales. The edges were not thinned or feathered as much as were those in the Têtes de Boule canoe. Ribs were of cedar from 2 to 3 inches wide, closely spaced and, as usual, without taper until near the ends, which were formed with a narrow chisel edge as in the Têtes-de-Boule canoe. The ribs were first roughly bent, using the building frame as a general guide for length, in order to obtain a somewhat dish-shaped cross section; by this means the width of the bottom could be established to the builder's satisfaction. The foregoing description of building methods and construction is based largely upon what is known of the old canoes. In later times the Algonkin copied the eastern canoes and their procedure altered. Not only did they copy extensively the appearance of the St. Francis and Malecite canoes, but they built some canoes much like those of the Têtes de Boule and Ojibway. As a result, it has become difficult to determine what their tribal practices were.