The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America 52

The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America 52

Though the North Alaska type of kayak, as illustrated by the Point

Barrow model (fig. 187), may be said to represent the structural design

of kayaks to the eastward as far as Foxe Basin, the Mackenzie Delta

kayaks are on an entirely different model. Due to migration of numerous

groups of Eskimo to this area in the last seventy years, the design of

kayaks here has undergone a great change. In figure 188 appears the

plan of a modern Mackenzie Delta kayak.

 

[Illustration: Figure 186

 

KOTZEBUE SOUND KAYAK (Cape Krusenstern), Alaska, formerly in U.S.

National Museum, now in Mariner's Museum.]

 

[Illustration: Figure 187

 

POINT BARROW KAYAK, Alaska, 1888, in U.S. National Museum (USNM 57773).]

 

[Illustration: Figure 188

 

MACKENZIE DELTA KAYAK, in Museum of the American Indian, Heye

Foundation.] The design is marked by a very narrow flat bottom or a

wide keel combined with the ~V~-bottom. These boats are well-built

and are light and graceful. The wide keel is formed by a thick plank

keelson which narrows at bow and stern and is bent up to form the stem

and stern. The chine pieces run fore and aft and are lashed to the

stem and stern thus formed. The gunwales are about ¾ by 1⅛ inches. The

frames are about ¼ by ⅝ inch bent in a strongly ~U~-shaped form, with

their ends tenoned into the bottom of the gunwales. The keelson is

only about ⅜ inch thick and the chines are rather wide thin battens;

about ⁵⁄₁₆ by 1¼ inch. Some kayaks have an additional batten in the

sides above the chines. The deck is slightly ridged for nearly the

length of the boat. The stem and stern are carried up above the sheer

to form prominent posts; some builders carry them higher than shown.

The construction is neat and light and the boat is very easily paddled.

Its narrow beam makes it somewhat treacherous, however, in unskilled

hands. A double-bladed paddle is generally used with this kayak. While

the form appears to vary little among individuals of this class, the

construction varies, particularly in the number and dimensions of the

longitudinals. Frames are spaced rather consistently 5 to 6 inches

apart.

 

[Illustration: Figure 189

 

KAYAK FROM POINT BARROW, Alaska, in U.S. National Museum (USNM 57773).

Collected by Capt. M. A. Healy, U.S. Revenue Steamer _Bear_, 1888.

(_Smithsonian photo_ MNH-399-A.)]

 

[Illustration: Figure 190

 

COCKPIT OF KAYAK from Point Barrow (USNM 57773), showing method of

lashing skin cover to manhole. (_Smithsonian photo_ MNH-399.)]

 

[Illustration: Figure 191

 

KAYAK IN U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM (USNM 160325) cataloged as from Mackenzie

River area, 1885, but apparently an eastern kayak of unidentified

origin.]

 

[Illustration: Figure 192

 

CORONATION GULF KAYAK, Canada, partially reconstructed from a damaged

privately owned kayak (now destroyed).]

 

[Illustration: Figure 193

 

CARIBOU ESKIMO KAYAK, Canada, in American Museum of Natural History.]

 

[Illustration: Figure 194

 

NETSILIK ESKIMO KAYAK, King William Island, Canada, in the American

Museum of Natural History.]

 

The foregoing design differs greatly in every respect from the

example in figure 191, collected by the U.S. Fish Commission in 1885

and identified as a Mackenzie River kayak. It is a large heavy boat

compared to the one just described. The model of this old kayak,

and the construction too, is on the eastern pattern, such as is

used in Hudson Strait. The strongly upturned stern and less rising

bow resembles the old Greenland kayaks. The ~V~-bottom and 3-batten

construction combined with heavy deep gunwales is not to be found in

any of the known Alaskan kayaks. There is unfortunately no record of

the exact location where this kayak was found, nor any information

on the builders; if it is from the Mackenzie, the type now appears

to be wholly extinct and there has been nothing in recent times in

the vicinity faintly resembling it. The kayak is a well-built, safe,

strong boat; the high stern would aid it in coming head to sea and wind

when paddling stopped; and it resembles, more than most, the early

explorers' drawings of Arctic kayaks. The very high ends indicate that

it was not used where high winds are common, despite the otherwise

seaworthy design and construction, and regardless of the documentation,

it now seems certain that this kayak came from somewhere in the eastern

Arctic.

 

To the eastward of the Mackenzie, the kayaks are narrow, spindle-shaped

and very low sided, in the manner of the northern Alaskan boats.

The drawing of figure 192 was made from the remains of a kayak from

Coronation Gulf and to insure accuracy was compared with photographs

and measurements of some Copper Eskimo kayaks. This kayak is

characterized by a rather marked reverse sheer and a strongly raked

manhole rim. The deck forward of the manhole sweeps up very sharply,

but with a different profile than is seen on the north coast of Alaska;

the deck of these eastern kayaks sweeps up in a very short hollow

curve instead of the long convex sweep popular in Alaska. The ends of

the hull finish in small bone buttons; the skin cover passes under

the manhole rim, as in the Cape Krusenstern and Point Barrow types. A

two-bladed paddle is commonly used. The hull design is more stable than

that at Point Barrow and the ends are somewhat fuller, giving the boat

a rather parallel sided appearance; it has longitudinal battens from

the bottom of the hull, one the keelson; the gunwales are channelled

on the inside and are very light and neatly made. The frames are split

willows, round on the inside.

 

The Caribou Eskimo kayak preserved in the American Museum of Natural

History is the best example of the type found. The drawing of figure

193 shows the features of this particular type; the construction is

about the same as that of the Point Barrow kayak but is much lighter

and weaker. The peculiar projecting stem is formed of a stem block,

scarphed to the gunwales; to it the beak piece is attached with a

lashing. The sharply turned-up stern is formed in a similar manner by

two pieces joined together at the tip and lashed to the stern block;

this stern construction is similar to that of the eastern Arctic kayak

shown in figure 192. Both caribou hides and seal skins are used to

cover the Caribou Eskimo kayak. The seams are rubbed with fish oil and

ochre, a method also used extensively along the north coast of Alaska

to paint the framework of both kayaks and umiaks.

 

The Netsilik Eskimo kayak is related to the Caribou, but is less stable

and has different bow and stern profiles. The example shown in the

drawing of figure 194 requires little discussion; the cover is of seal

skin. These kayaks are used only in hunting caribou at stream crossings

and are not employed in sealing. The very narrow bottom and narrow beam

make this the most dangerous of all kayaks in the hands of a paddler

unaccustomed to such craft. Neither the Caribou nor the Netsilik

kayaks are very seaworthy and their construction is inferior. They are

characterized by rather heavy gunwales but the other members of their

structures are very slight.

 

No examples remain of the old kayaks once used on the Gulf of Boothia,

at Fury and Hecla Strait, and on the west side of Foxe Basin. Early

explorers in this area found kayaks, but the types used have been long

extinct. One kayak, supposed to have been built at Southampton Island,

had been preserved by a private collector, but when measured was in

a damaged state. Shown in figure 195, it does not conform with the

old description of kayaks from the Melville Peninsula but does agree

reasonably well with the Boas model of a kayak from Repulse Bay in the

U.S. National Museum (USNM 68126). On this basis it would appear that

in Boas' time this form of kayak was also used on the east side of the

Melville Peninsula. The design resembles to some extent the kayaks

from the southwest coast of Greenland, but the stern is like that

used in some Labrador craft. This old kayak was very light and sharp,

rather slightly built, but very graceful in model so far as could be

determined from the remains of the craft. The foredeck camber is ridged

and carried rather far forward. If the identification of this kayak

should be correct, it is apparent that the eastern model of the kayak

once extended as far west as the west side of Foxe Basin.

 

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.]

 

This example illustrates better than the Baffin Island kayak the

combination of deep forefoot and the greatest beam well abaft the

midlength that marks many eastern models. When paddled, the craft

always trims so that the kayak draws most water at the fore end of the

keelson and the bottom of the stern is usually just awash. This makes

the bottom sweep up from the forefoot in a very slight gradual curve

to the stern, when the boat is afloat. As a result, the kayak may be

said to be of the "double-wedge" form that has been popular in fast

low-powered motor boats, since having the beam far aft gives to the

bow a wedge shape in plan, while the deep forefoot and shallow stern

produce an opposite wedge in profile. It would appear that this form

had been found by trial and error to produce a fast, easily paddled

rough-water kayak in an otherwise heavy hull. The North Labrador kayaks

are the largest in the Arctic for a single person; some are reported as

long as 26 feet. The long-and narrow-bladed paddle may be explained by

the fact that the Eskimo never produced a "feathered" double paddle,

with blades set at right angles to one another. To paddle against

strong winds, he developed a blade that was very long and very narrow

for a double-paddle, and therefore offered less resistance to the wind,

yet could be dipped deep so that little propulsion effect was lost.