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 kayak of lower Baffin Island, in figure 196, is flat-bottomed,
long, and rather heavy. The gunwale members are very deep and the
keelson and chine battens are quite heavy. This type has a slight
side-batten between chine and gunwale--in all, five longitudinal
members besides the gunwales--hence this example is the sole exception
to the 3-batten construction that may be said to mark the eastern
kayaks. The Baffin Island kayak is rather roughly built and the
two examples found had many frames cracked at the chines. However,
this kayak has many excellent features, being easily paddled, very
stable, and seaworthy. The double-blade paddle used is like that of
the Labrador kayak, very long with narrow blades. When the paddler
is seated, these kayaks, like many of their eastern sisters, draw
more water forward than the illustration would indicate (it should be
remembered that the trim of the kayaks in the water is not indicated by
the base lines used in the plans). The deeper draft at the bow, which
allows the kayak to hold her course into the wind and to come head
to the wind when at rest, gives a long easy run in the bottom toward
the stern. The slight rocker in the bottom shown in the drawing is
thus misleading. The stem is formed by the extension of the keelson,
producing the "clipper-bow" seen in many eastern boats. The stern is
shaped by a stern block of simple form into which the gunwales, keelson
and chines are notched. The batten between chine and gunwale stops a
little short of both bow and stern.
[Illustration: Figure 195
OLD KAYAK FROM VICINITY OF SOUTHAMPTON ISLAND, Canada. Plan made from a
much damaged kayak, now destroyed, once privately owned.]
A somewhat similar kayak is used on the Labrador side of Hudson Strait
but, as shown in figure 197 on page 207, the appearance of the craft is
distinctive. The kayak is flat-bottomed, with the snied-off chines seen
in the Baffin Island boat, giving a cross section form like that of
many Japanese sampans. The 3-batten system is used in construction, and
the gunwales are very heavy and deep, standing vertical in the sides
of the boat. The sheer is slightly reversed and there is little rocker
in the bottom. One of the most obvious features of the Labrador kayak
is the long "grab" bow, which is formed by a batten attached to the
end of the keelson. The stern is formed with a very small block inside
the gunwales, and to this the keelson is laced or pegged. It will be
noticed that the rake of the manhole is very moderate. These kayaks are
heavy and strong, paddle well, particularly so against wind and sea.
Shown in the drawing is the type of long-and narrow-bladed paddle used.
[Illustration: Figure 196
BAFFIN ISLAND KAYAK, from Cape Dorset, Canada, in the Museum of the
American Indian, Heye Foundation.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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