The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America 53

The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America 53

The kayak used on the northeast coast of Labrador, shown in figure

198, differs slightly from that of Hudson Strait. The northeast-coast

kayak has a very slight ~V~-bottom and a strong concave sheer with

relatively great rocker in the bottom. While the craft trims by the

bow afloat, the rocker probably makes it more maneuverable than the

Hudson Strait kayak, though less easily paddled against strong winds.

The ~V~-bottom is formed by using a keelson that is heavier and deeper

than the chines. The latter are thin, wide battens, on the flat. The

V-bottom appears to help the boat run straight under paddle and may be

said to counteract, to some extent at least, the effect of the strongly

rockered bottom.

 

The Polar coast of Greenland is the home of sharpie-model kayaks having

flat bottoms and flaring sides; the kayaks in figures 199 and 200 are

representative of those used in the extreme north. These have "clipper"

bows, with sterns of varying depth and shape, concave sheer and varying

degrees of rocker in the bottom. Most have their greatest beam well

aft and draw more water forward, as do the Labrador and Baffin Island

types. The chief characteristic of the construction of this type is

that the transverse frames are in three parts, somewhat as in the

umiak. However, these kayaks depart from umiak construction in having

the frame heads rigidly tenoned into the gunwales. This is done to give

the structure a measure of transverse rigidity which would otherwise

be lacking, since light battens are used for the keelson, stem, and

chines. Figure 199 shows the details of the construction used.

 

These kayaks are highly developed craft--stable, fast, and

seaworthy--and the construction is light yet strong enough to withstand

the severe abuse sometimes given them. The cap on the fore part of

the manhole is a paddle holder, for resting the paddle across the

deck. Some Eskimos used this as a thole, and when tired, "rowed" the

kayak with the paddle, to maintain control. It will be noted that

oval or circular manholes are seldom found in the eastern types of

kayaks already described; ~U~-shaped manholes, or bent-rim manholes

approaching this form, appear in those very stable types which do not

require to be righted at sea by the paddler and in which the watertight

paddling jacket or waistband is not used.

 

Farther south, on the northern coast of Greenland, and apparently also

on the opposite coast of Baffin Island, a modified design of kayak is

used. This type, illustrated in figure 205, shows relationship to both

the flat-bottom kayak of northern Greenland and to the northeastern

Labrador type. In this model the "clipper" bow is retained but the

stern and cross section resemble those of the Labrador kayaks. The

construction, however, is fundamentally that employed in northern

Greenland. As in the Labrador type, the deadrise in the bottom is

formed by using in the keelson members that are deeper than those in

the chine. The gunwales do not flare as in the Greenland model, but

stand vertical in the side flaring slightly at bow and extreme stern.

The frame heads are rather loosely tenoned and are commonly secured

to the gunwales with lashings. Transverse stiffness is obtained in

this model by employing a rather heavy, rigid keelson fixed to the

stern block, and by a tripod arrangement forward consisting of the

stem batten and a pair of transverse frames placed at the junction of

stem and keelson with their heads firmly lashed and tenoned into the

gunwales. The construction, though strong, is rather rough compared

to that of other Greenland types. The manhole rim in this type is

not bent, but is made up of short straight pieces, as shown in the

drawing; and the double-bladed paddle shown resembles that used in

Labrador. This is a rather heavy kayak of very good qualities but not

as maneuverable as some of the flat-bottom kayaks found farther north.

 

[Illustration: Figure 197

 

KAYAK FROM NORTH LABRADOR, Canada, in the Museum of the American

Indian, Heye Foundation.]

 

[Illustration: Figure 198

 

LABRADOR KAYAK, Canada, in the U.S. National Museum (USNM 251693).]

 

[Illustration: Figure 199

 

NORTH GREENLAND KAYAK, in the Museum of the American Indian, Heye

Foundation.]

 

[Illustration: Figure 200

 

NORTH GREENLAND KAYAK, in the Peabody Museum, Salem, Mass. Taken off by

the late Norman L. Skene, 1921.]

 

[Illustration: Figure 201

 

PROFILE OF GREENLAND KAYAK from Disko Bay, in the National Museum (USNM

72564). Collected by Maj. Wm. M. Beebe, Jr., 1882. (_Smithsonian photo

15726-D._)]

 

Ross found that the Greenland Eskimos north of Cape York had ceased to

use kayaks in 1818. Not until about 1860 was the kayak reintroduced

here, by Eskimos from Pond Inlet, north Baffin Island, who walked over

the sea ice. This fact probably accounts for the various sharpie and

modified sharpie forms used along the northern and Polar coasts of

Greenland.

 

[Illustration: Figure 202

 

DECK OF GREENLAND KAYAK from Disko Bay (USNM 72564). (_Smithsonian

photo 15726-C._)]

 

The model of the kayak used on much of the central and southern coasts

of Greenland has changed rather extensively since 1883, and this

change has apparently affected the kayaks used on the east coast as

well. In this part of the Arctic, the Eskimo are notable kayakers and

the boat is not only well designed but also carries highly developed

equipment and weapons for its work. The basic model used is a graceful

~V~-bottom one, with raking ends and rather strong sheer. In the old

boats represented by the drawings of figures 206 and 207, the sheer

is strong at bow and stern, but this form has been gradually going

out of favor. The kayaks are narrow but their shape gives them much

stability. Pegged to the bow and stern are plates of bone to protect

them from ice; in rare cases these bone stem bands, or bang plates, are

lashed in place. The first drawing shows the construction used: light

strong gunwales and a 3-batten longitudinal system with bent transverse

frames. The keelson and chines--light, rectangular in section and

placed on edge--are shaped slightly to fair the sealskin covering. The

cover passes under the manhole rim. Bow and stern are made of plank

on edge, shaped to the required profile. The gunwales are strongly

tapered in depth fore and aft. Eight to twelve thwarts, or deck beams,

are used in addition to the two heavy thwarts supporting the manhole;

usually there is one more forward of the manhole than there is aft,

and all are very light scantlings. The thwart forward of the manhole

stands slightly inside the cockpit and is strongly arched; the after

one is clear of the cockpit opening and has very little arch. Two

light, short battens, or carlins, 24 to 36 inches long support the

deck, where it sweeps up to the raked manhole, and usually there are

two abaft the manhole as well. Lashings are used as fastenings except

at the ends of the hull, where pegs secure the keelson to the stem and

stern; at this point, on some kayaks examined, sinew lashings are also

found. The whole framework is strong, light, and neatly made. In a few

instances the gunwales do not flare with the sides the whole length

and, thus, near the stern, a knuckle is formed in the skin cover, as

in figure 207, opposite. The exact amount of flare and deadrise varies

village to village. The old kayaks used in eastern Greenland had more

rake in the bow than the examples illustrated, and also were marked

by a sheer almost straight from the bow to within a foot or so of the

stern, where it turned up sharply to a high stern, as in the drawing

(fig. 191, p. 203.) These kayaks also had less flare and deadrise than

most of the southwestern Greenland models. The amount of rocker in the

keelson varies a good deal, that shown in figure 206, opposite, appears

to have been about the maximum; a straight keelson does not seem

ever to have been used. The manholes are fitted to allow use of the

watertight paddling jacket; the projecting rim shown at the after-side

of the manhole in the drawing is primarily to strengthen the manhole

rim, but may also serve to prevent the drawstring holding the skirt

of the jacket to the rim from slipping over the top. This old form of

Greenland kayak, which has been widely described and much admired,

was a fast and handy hunting boat; but it has become obsolete in most

areas, and seems to have gone out of use more rapidly on the east coast

than the west, where the type represented in the drawing was built as

late as 1959 at Umanak Fjord.

 

[Illustration: Figure 203

 

COCKPIT of Greenland kayak from Disko Bay. (USNM 72564). (_Smithsonian

photo 15726._)]

 

[Illustration: Figure 204

 

BOW VIEW of Greenland kayak from Disko Bay (USNM 72564). (_Smithsonian

photo 15726-A._)]

 

[Illustration: Figure 205

 

NORTHWESTERN GREENLAND KAYAK, in the U.S. National Museum (USNM

160388).]

 

[Illustration: Figure 206

 

SOUTHWESTERN GREENLAND KAYAK, 1883, in the U.S. National Museum (USNM

160328).]

 

[Illustration: Figure 207

 

SOUTHWESTERN GREENLAND KAYAK, in the Peabody Museum, Salem, Mass. Taken

off by the late Norman L. Skene, 1921.]

 

[Illustration: Figure 208

 

SOUTH GREENLAND KAYAK, in the American Museum of Natural History.]

 

Since the 1880's it has been gradually replaced by the type shown

above. The modern version has the same construction as the old but,

as can be seen, the model has undergone much alteration. The rake of

the bow and stern have become much greater; the sheer is now almost

straight. The flare of the sides has been increased and the deadrise

in the bottom has been reduced. The new model is undoubtedly an

improvement over the old type, being faster (particularly against a

headwind) and quicker turning. However, it would probably be found

to be somewhat harder than the old model to right when capsized. And

although the new model is more stable than the old, it is not suited

for unskilled users; a few American soldiers drowned during World War

II through rashly venturing into rough water before becoming practiced in the use of these kayaks.