The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America 50

The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America 50

The timber used in the Eskimo kayak building is usually driftwood. Fir

and pine, spruce or willow are available in much of the Arctic for

longitudinals. Bent frames are commonly of willow. Scarphing in the

framework of kayaks was far less common than in umiaks; the scarphs

when found are only in the gunwales. All scarphs are of the hooked type

and are usually quite short (the hooked scarph is the best one when

the fastenings are lashings). Sinew is generally used in all lashings

and for sewing material. The heads of frames are commonly tenoned into

the underside of the gunwales and are then either lashed or pegged

with treenails of wood or bone to hold them in place. In the joining

of frames and longitudinals, the lashings are commonly individual,

but in some types of kayak continuous lashings (connections in series

using one length of sinew) are occasionally found. Where possible,

the lashings are turned in so that the turns cross right and left. In

some parts of the framework two pieces of timber are "sewn" together;

holes are bored along the edges to be joined and a lacing run in with

continuous over-and-over turns. These laced joints are common in the

stems of the Alaskan kayaks. Gunwales and battens are most commonly

lashed through holes bored in them and in the bow and stern members.

Care is taken that all lashings are flush on the outside, so that the

skin cover is smooth and chafing will be avoided. Bone knobs at stem

and stern heads are used in the Coronation Gulf kayaks in the west and

in many Greenland models. Bone stem bands are more widely employed,

however, being in use at Kodiak and Nunivak Islands, in the Aleutians,

at Norton Sound in Alaska, and in Greenland and Baffin Island in the

east. It is probable that these bands were once in wider use than thus

indicated. Strips of bone are also used to prevent chafing at gunwale

in paddling and for strengthening scarphs in the manhole rim.

 

[Illustration: Figure 175

 

FRAME OF KAYAK AT NUNIVAK ISLAND, Alaska, 1927. _Photo by Henry B.

Collins._]

 

It will be noted that all Eskimo skin boats have a complete framing

system, which is first erected and then fitted with the skin cover.

This is a method of construction very different from that of the

birch-bark canoes of the Indians living to the southward of the

American Eskimo. The birch-bark canoe is built by forcing a framing

system into an assembled cover and holding it in place there by a

rigid gunwale structure, to which the bark cover is lashed. This

basic structure is used even in the Alaskan area, where there are

birch-bark canoes that in hull form and proportions strongly resemble

the flat-bottom kayak. The basic difference between the two craft is

illustrated by the fact that whereas the removal of the skin cover of

the kayak leaves the frame intact, the removal of the bark cover of

the kayak-like birch-bark canoes would result in the collapse of the

framework, except for the gunwale-thwart structure or, in a few, the

chine-floor structure. Because of this basic difference the superficial

resemblance of some Indian bark canoes to kayaks has no meaningful

relationship to the possibility of the influence of the kayak on the

bark canoe, or vice-versa. Some Indian tribes have in fact built

skin-covered canoes, as will be seen in chapter 8, but the framework

and structural system used is always that of the bark canoe, never that

of the Eskimo skin boat. Nor is there evidence that the Eskimo ever

used the bark canoe frame-structure in their kayaks or umiaks. Hence,

in spite of contact between these peoples, the watercraft of each

remains basically different in structural design.

 

The almost universal method of constructing the kayak is first to shape

and fasten together the gunwales and thwarts, with stem and stern

pieces fitted as required, then to fit and place a few transverse

frames to control the shape of the craft. Next the longitudinals are

fitted and, finally, the remaining transverse frames are put in place.

In some types the manhole rim is now fitted but in others the manhole

rim is put on after the skin cover is in place, as some kayaks (the

Alaskan) have the skin cover placed over the manhole rim and others

have it passed under. The skin cover is stretched and sewn over the

frame and is rarely secured to it by lashings except at the manhole.

Due to the shape of bow and stern, in some types, difficult and tedious

sewing is required to stretch the skins over the ends of the hull.

Much of the sewing is completed after the skins are stretched over the

hull and held by temporary lacings. The blind seam is used but in many

kayaks the lap is very short, about ⅜ inch being common.

 

The covering most widely used in Alaskan kayaks was the bearded seal

skin and with the Aleuts the skin of the sea lion was the most popular.

Throughout the eastern Arctic seal skin was the preferred covering

though caribou skin was occasionally used by the caribou Eskimos in the

central Arctic. The heavy, thick hides were first piled and "sweated,"

until the hair became loose then the skins were scraped until they were

clean. They were thin and light and could be air dried and stored until

ready for use. The skins had to be well soaked before being stretched

over the frame of a kayak or umiak. When dried out on the boat frame

they were oiled in the usual manner. It is claimed by the Eskimos that

walrus skin, though strong, is not as good as the bearded seal or the

sea-lion skin for boat covers, as the latter two held the oil longer

and did not become water soaked as quickly as the walrus hide.

 

The paddler's seat in most kayaks consists of a portion of heavy skin

with fur attached. Sometimes this is supported by a few short, thin

battens laced loosely together. These, and the fur seat sometimes are

as long as the paddler's legs. No back rest is known to be used. The

seat, and any batten supports, are loosely fitted and are not part of

the permanent kayak structure.

 

The kayak is usually entered by floating the boat near a stone or low

bank and stepping into it with one foot, which has first been carefully

wiped. With the body steadied by placing the paddle upright on the

shore, or outside the kayak, the other foot is then wiped and placed

in the boat. The paddler then slides downward and works his legs under

the deck until he is seated with his hips jammed into the manhole rim.

Getting out of a kayak is almost the reverse of this process. Great

care is exercised to avoid getting dirt into a kayak, as it might chafe

the hide cover. Hence the care in wiping the feet before entering. The

practice of entering the boat ashore and throwing man and kayak into

the water, undoubtedly very rare, is said to have been practiced not

only at King Island but in some parts of Greenland. Both Alaskan and

Greenland hunters often lashed two kayaks together, in order to rest in

rough weather. Many kayakers using the narrow models laid the paddle

athwartships across the deck to help steady the kayak when resting or

throwing a weapon; this is basically the same as holding the sculls of

a racing shell in the water, to steady the boat. Lashing two kayaks

side by side, or parallel with spacing rods, was commonly done to

enable the craft to ferry persons or cargo across streams. Some Alaskan

Eskimo thus converted kayaks into catamarans and then fitted a mast and

sail, but such an arrangement was never used in rough water.

 

The methods used by a paddler to right a capsized kayak, without aid

and while he was still in the cockpit, have aroused the interest of

many canoeists. It was used by the King Islanders, some of the Aleuts,

and the Greenlanders, who at times, it is said, would deliberately

capsize their kayak to avoid the blow of a heavy breaking sea, then

right it when the sea had passed. The Eskimo are reported to be

gradually losing this skill, but in late years European and American

kayakers have learned this method, called the "kayak roll," of

righting a decked canoe with paddler in place. It follows in general

the Greenland method. In the Appendix (p. 223) is an illustrated

description of the kayak roll, supplied by John Heath.

 

Traditionally, the weapons used by kayakers were darts and harpoons,

the bow not being employed, since wetting would damage the weapon.

Various forms were used, and many were thrown with the "throwing-stick"

to increase the range and force. An inflated bladder or skin was

often carried to buoy the harpoon line and tire the game. Bolas and

knives were also carried. All eastern kayaks appear to have been

propelled with the double-blade paddle, but folklore suggests that the

single-blade kayak paddle may have once been used. Greenland kayaks

have been reported as carrying a small square sail, but this was

actually a hunting screen, or camouflage, to hide the paddler and cause

the seal to mistake the canoe for a cake of ice. It was a 19th-century

addition, as was a fin attached to the kayak to counteract the effect

of the screen in a beam wind. Any effect it had as a sail in a kayak

was unintentional, of course: it was dismounted in strong winds or when

not required for hunting.

 

[Illustration: Figure 176

 

KORYAK KAYAK, drawn from damaged kayak in the American Museum of

Natural History, 1948.]

 

Shown above is the plan of an Asiatic Koryak kayak. This type, used

in the Sea of Okhotsk and on the Siberian coast of Bering Sea, is the

only distinctive Asiatic type; the Chukchi of the Siberian side of

Bering Strait uses a kayak that is on the same model as the one found

at Norton Sound, in Alaska. The Chukchi kayak differs only in the ends,

which are wholly functional and without the handgrips that distinguish

the Alaskan type. There is also a crude Chukchi river kayak, covered

with reindeer skin, but its design is not represented in an American

museum.

 

The Koryak kayak is a hunting boat well designed for use in protected

waters, but is rather weakly built. In general form it is much like the

hunting and fowling skiffs formerly used in America. The plan idealizes

the kayak somewhat, for the boat is crude in finish. The only example

available for study, in the American Museum of Natural History, is in

poor condition. The hull is short, wide and shallow, rather ~V~ in

cross section, and there is a slight camber in the deck. The length

of the Koryak kayak rarely exceeds 10 feet, the beam is from 24 to 26

inches, and the depth between 8 and 9½ inches. The manhole rim is of

large diameter, high and without rake. The gunwales, although rather

slight, are the strength members. The keelson, a thin, flat batten,

forms the stem and stern posts; it is stiffened amidships by a short

batten lashed inside the frames. The chine battens are also slight

and do not reach the stem and stern. The frames are widely spaced

and are wide and thin, in one piece from gunwale to gunwale. There

are but two thwarts; these are strong and support the manhole rim,

showing inside the cockpit. Two thin longitudinal battens afore and

abaft the manhole, support the deck, in addition to a light centerline

ridge-batten. On the kayak illustrated the outboard battens appear to

have had additional support at one time from two pairs of stanchions

standing on frames at the chines, with their heads secured to the deck

battens; a pair being placed before and abaft the manhole. A small

plank seat appears to have been used and the boat was propelled by

two short one-hand paddles, secured to the manhole rim by lanyards

made of thongs; these would be only efficient in smooth water. The

cover is made from bearded seal skins and passes under the manhole

rim being sewn to the rim on the inside at the top, by coarse sewing

passed through holes bored in the manhole rim. There are two thong

lifting handles or loops, one at bow and stern. This kayak is the most

primitive of all types and the smallest as well. The Koryaks are not

daring canoemen and do not venture into rough water. Nevertheless, this

type of kayak is said to be fast and highly maneuverable.

 

Compared to the Koryak, the Alaskan kayak is tremendously advanced.

The Aleuts are daring and accomplished kayakers, and their craft are

among the finest in the Arctic. The Kodiak Island kayak of 1885, shown

above, represents one type used in this area and that from Unalaska,

shown below, the other. The Kodiak boat is rather short and wide,

measuring 15 feet 1 inch in length, 29 inches beam and 14 inches depth

to ridge batten of the deck just forward of the manhole. The boat has

the humped sheer found in many Alaskan kayaks and is intended for use

in stormy waters. Its large manhole, also a feature of the Nunivak

Island kayak, permits two persons to be carried, one facing forward to

paddle and the passenger facing aft, or the space can be used to carry

cargo. The drawing shows the construction and requires no detailed

explanation. Kayaks from the Aleutian Islands eastward to Kodiak use

rod battens; only the gunwales and keelson are rectangular in section.

The frames are thin flat strips bent in one piece from gunwale to

gunwale. The ridge-batten of the deck is laminated, in two pieces. The

deck beams and thwarts are notched into the ridge-batten and lashed.

The bow piece is carved from a block, and the longitudinals are lashed

to it, each in a carefully fitted notch. The sternpost is formed of a

plank. The skin cover passes over the manhole rim and a line passed

outside the rim holds the skin down enough to form a breakwater. The

skin cover is sewn to the inside lower edge of the rim, thus covering it almost completely.