beaver
Birchbark CanoeingBuilder
This is a very short film made in 1920 of a man paddling the very unique and unusual sturgeon nose bark canoe.
http://picasaweb.google.com/beaverferd/Desktop#5477474364134451362
"The under part is made of the fine bark of Pinus canadensis (Pine) [sic] and about one ft from the gunwale of birch-bark, sewed with the roots of Thuya (Cedar) and the seams neatly gummed with resin from the pine. They are 10 to 14 ft long, terminating at both ends sharply and bent inwards so much at the mouth that a man of middle size has some difficulty in placing himself in them. One that will carry six persons and their provisions may be carried on the shoulder with little trouble."
They used two different canoes for fishing-a curved front canoe and a sturgeon nosed canoe. To build the canoes, long wooden poles were soaked in water until they were flexible. The “ribs”, made of cedar, would be lashed onto the long thin poles. The poles were gathered and tied together at the ends of the canoe. By this time the frame was almost finished, so the natives put one large piece of white pine bark over the canoe frame. Then the bark was trimmed along all edges . The bark was placed so that the inside of the bark was the outside of the canoe. Holes were then punched along the edges of the bark cover to allow the builder to lash the cover to the canoe frame. Finally, two sharpened wooden poles were lashed from bow to stern along the top edges of the canoe. A spreader bar was placed across the center of the canoe; this provided support and also allowed it to keep its proper shape. Very little sealing was needed as the cover was one continuous piece of bark. A small amount of pitch was used to seal the seams and any small holes found in the cover.
http://picasaweb.google.com/beaverferd/Desktop#5477474364134451362
"The under part is made of the fine bark of Pinus canadensis (Pine) [sic] and about one ft from the gunwale of birch-bark, sewed with the roots of Thuya (Cedar) and the seams neatly gummed with resin from the pine. They are 10 to 14 ft long, terminating at both ends sharply and bent inwards so much at the mouth that a man of middle size has some difficulty in placing himself in them. One that will carry six persons and their provisions may be carried on the shoulder with little trouble."
They used two different canoes for fishing-a curved front canoe and a sturgeon nosed canoe. To build the canoes, long wooden poles were soaked in water until they were flexible. The “ribs”, made of cedar, would be lashed onto the long thin poles. The poles were gathered and tied together at the ends of the canoe. By this time the frame was almost finished, so the natives put one large piece of white pine bark over the canoe frame. Then the bark was trimmed along all edges . The bark was placed so that the inside of the bark was the outside of the canoe. Holes were then punched along the edges of the bark cover to allow the builder to lash the cover to the canoe frame. Finally, two sharpened wooden poles were lashed from bow to stern along the top edges of the canoe. A spreader bar was placed across the center of the canoe; this provided support and also allowed it to keep its proper shape. Very little sealing was needed as the cover was one continuous piece of bark. A small amount of pitch was used to seal the seams and any small holes found in the cover.
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