From: Guillemot@aol.com
Date: Thu, 2 Mar 1995 18:19:31 -0500
Message-Id: <950302181930_37399547@aol.com>
To: baidarka@imagelan.com
Subject: Traditional Kayak Designs
I have recently been looking at traditional kayak designs. Specifically I
have been reading Chappelle in _The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North
America_ and Zimmerly in _Qajaq_. I would like to generate some discussion
about the design decisions made by the Eskimos.
Some of the designs are very aesthetic. Others may not have the same
overall grace, yet they all have style. What I am curious about is: How much
were the design decisions of the original kayak builders influenced by
factors other than purely practical performance or construction requirements?
A kayak from Nunivak Island (in Zimmerly) has a 4+ inch perfectly round
hole through the bow. This provides a convenient place to lift the boat, but
does not appear to make much difference for in-the-water performance.
However, it really looks great.
A Caribou Eskimo kayak (in Chappelle) has a horn rising from the stern at
60 deg. angle that is about 20 inches long. The bow has a narrow forward
reaching prow that is over 1 foot long. These extensions are so narrow as to
have very little effect on performance. Other designs show exaggerated upward
sweeps in their stern that appear substantial enough to provide some
performance change. How much of this is purely performance motivated?
Other aspects are more easily recognized as artistic. An otter carved into
a stanchion, sea lion heads carved into ivory rests. These may serve a
practical purpose as talismans to protect the paddler, but are certainly done
with an artistic sense.
I bring up this discussion in response to two somewhat opposite, but
somehow similar modes of thought about Eskimos that I have encountered. To
generalize, these notions are:
1. Eskimo the Primitive: Eskimos were too involved in survival to waste any
time with artistic expression in their kayaks.
or,
2. Eskimo the Engineer: Eskimos evolved the kayak to such an extent that
every aspect of their kayak design was a highly developed performance
enhancement.
I like the concept of "Eskimo the Motorhead". Like modern-day bikers and
lowriders this guy wants a kayak that will out-perform all his buddies and
make him look good doing it. He may even sacrifice a little top end
performance as long as he can look cool. Sure, he is not going to threaten
his own survival, but his boat isn't merely a tool for living. Like a car
today, it is a symbol of who he is and a source of pride.
One implication of this idea is that some design characteristic of Eskimo
kayaks may be the moral equivalent of tail fins on a car. They look cool but
serve no performance purpose.
Nick Schade