baidarka Archaeological Survey of Canada - Oracles - Arctic Kayaks

Subject: baidarka Archaeological Survey of Canada - Oracles - Arctic Kayaks
From: SIMPSON THOMAS (thomas-simpson@home.com)
Date: Mon Jul 24 2000 - 16:55:14 EDT

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An interesting Picture of two Mackenzie kayaks

http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/archeo/oracles/kayak/11.htm

[TABLE NOT SHOWN]
The purpose of this project is the documentation of the complete kayak
complexes that existed among all kayak-using peoples from Greenland to
Siberia. How were kayaks used in these areas? How did the different types
of kayaks develop in response to climatic and topographical conditions?
How do kayaks enter into the myths and songs of these people? These are
only a few of the questions to which answers are being sought In
addition, this kayak study may help to answer some archaeological
questions concerning the origins and migrations of different Arctic
peoples. Some techniques and methods of kayak onstruction are found only
in certain areas. Where these technical boundaries coincide with
linguistic and other cultural boundaries, it is an indication that the
people involved are related culturally and perhaps also genetically.
Thus, studies of construction techniques provide clues in trying to solve
the problems of origins and movements of people and offer additional
weight for the confirmation of existing hypotheses. Native terms for the
various parts of a kayak, its equipment and use are also part of this
study, as is the possible significance of the designs occasionally
painted on paddles or on the kayaks themselves. While we do not fully
understand the significance of these designs, we do know the major
functions of the kayak and of its associated equipment. As a highly
developed, complex hunting tool the kayak was used in the oceans to
harpoon seals, walrus and whales, relying on stealth rather than speed
for a close approach. Along lakes and rivers, kayakers lay in wait at
crossing places where caribou herds migrated in the fall. When the
animals reached midstream and could no longer turn back, the hunters
launched their kayaks and manoeuvred close enough to use their stabbing
lances just behind the animals rib cage. The object was to wound as many
caribou as possible -- the cold water and running current did the rest.
Floating carcasses were retrieved downstream by boys and old men
delegated to the task because they could not yet, or no longer, balance
the long, slender round-bottomed kayaks used for this type of hunting.

In some cases the kayak was used for fishing. However another more
important use was as a means of transportation both for goods and
passengers. Depending upon kayak style, passengers either rode on the
back deck, sat inside a large cockpit facing backwards or lay inside the
hull. When carrying large loads, or just for safety in a heavy sea, two
or three kayaks were often lashed together into a type of raft.

In winter, kayaks were stripped of their covering and stored upside down
on stone pillars out of the reach of marauding animals who tried to gnaw
off the sinew or skin lacings and ties. Before the next kayak season the
owner repaired any damage to the framework or made modifications to
improve performance. The women wet skins, sewed them together with double
waterproof seams and covered the kayak in one day before the skins could
dry out. The whole cover was then smeared with old seal oil to make it
more waterproof. Despite this treatment, a kayak in continual use became
waterlogged and required a thorough drying out and resmearing with oil.
The cover was replaced at least every other year but the framework, with
yearly repairs, could last ten or more years. During more recent times,
after contact was made with Europeans, what effect did steel tools and an
abundant supply of lumber have on these watercraft? It must be remembered
that kayak design was never static; it was continually being refined.
Minor changes and modifications made over time can only be discovered by
examining a large sample of specimen kayaks located in museums or
photographic collections. With this in mind, a world inventory of extant
kayaks is being compiled, cataloguing all known information on each
specimen and noting overall lengths, as well as beam and depth. Where
possible, and for specimens that best represent a certain type, the lines
are taken off full size on graph paper and the kayak photographed inside
and out in great detail. The lines are then drawn to scale and drawings
are made of assorted construction features (click here to see an
example).

>From the full-size drawings a detailed set of hull measurements is taken
and used as input for a computer program that calculates waterlines for
varying load conditions. in addition, calculations are made for
theoretical top speeds, displacements, wetted surface area, centers of
gravity, buoyancy and other parameters of naval architecture, including
righting arms and righting moments at different angles of heel. These
latter figures are very useful in comparing the stability of different
types of kayaks with varying hull cross-sections.

Although the computer study is not yet complete, interesting results have
already come to light. It is now possible to compare early explorer
reports of the speeds of kayakers with the top speeds possible for that
particular type of craft. Speeds in the range of four to six knots
enabled the kayakers to keep up with most sailing vessels of the day,
which reported four knots. Displacement figures have shown that certain
types, such as the Korkay, could not carry anything more than the paddler
without capsizing -- killed game would have had to be towed by these
kayaks.

The final part of the kayak project is a detailed study of construction
techniques through field studies and a program of building full- size
replicas of each kayak type. Actual use of the replicas is helpful for
comparing the handling characteristics of the different styles.
Construction of the replicas is accompanied by detailed photographs of
each step in the process (click here to see an example). Eventually, sets
of plans and instructions of each type will be published whereby the
average basement builder can duplicate a traditional kayak frame, cover
it with nontraditional canvas and paddle away on the nearest river, lake
or ocean, thus experiencing a small part of Eskimo, Aleut or Siberian
culture.

The first completed publication in this projected series is David W.
Zimmerly's Hooper Bay Kayak Construction (National Museum of Man,
Canadian Ethnology Service Mercury Series, Paper No. 53).