From: Julio MacWilliams <juliom@cisco.com>
Message-Id: <199707162151.OAA04948@monarch.cisco.com>
Subject: Re: "Synthetic Sealskin"
To: baidarka@lists.intelenet.net
Date: Wed, 16 Jul 1997 14:51:14 -0700 (PDT)
In-Reply-To: <97Jul16.164837edt.14784-1@prufire1.prusec.com> from "carl_vonkleistiii" at Jul 15, 97 00:48:11 am
>
> The other side of this question is, would you really want a real skin
> baidarka? Maybe in the arctic where the temperature is more conducive to
> the preservation of animal tissue and fat, but south of about northern
> Indiana it might not be be a pleasant thing to have around in the summer.
> And you would have to replace the skin fairly frequently. Not a problem
> from a supply standpoint, but it would be very labor intensive on an
> annual or biennial basis.
George Dyson tells in his book "Baidarka" that "the company" (the russian
sea otter fur trading company that exploited the Aleuts to death) once
sent an expedition all the way to Hawaii, and others to south California.
The skin of the boats split apart and the sealant fat of the seams melted,
which made them unusable in warm climates.
It is my impression that the Netsilik use caribou skin for their kayaks,
do they not?
- Julio