Alexandra - Wavelength Paddling Magazine

Skin Boats in Transit
Greenland skin kayaks when built anthropometrically, can
be a very tight fit and seriously narrow by contemporary
standards. My
own construction
efforts have
resulted in boats
17 inches wide
which require a
bit of wiggling
to gain entry.
My most ambitious
skin boat
project to date is
building a
Greenland
kayak with fellow skin boater, Phil Soichuk. This boat is to fly
with me this winter to Asia, where I work as a kayak guide and
instructor, and be reassembled there.
In preparation, I have cut all longitudinal pieces (gunwales,
keelson and chine stringers) to produce scarf joints which will be
connected and aligned with dowels and glue. The rest of the 16.5
foot kayak will be lashed together and have replica joinery (mortise
and tenon).
The skin, a number ten duck canvas with a tight strong weave,
will be sewn on overseas with unwaxed dental floss. Several layers
of oil based house paint will be applied for waterproofing.
The number of pieces to transport comes to 54 not including
dowling and required tools.
While building at home with band saws and cordless drills,
my mind often conjures up images of generations of Greenlanders
using only traditional tools. Implements that we would define as
crude such as their Ulimaat (adze), savik (knife), Kaataq (hammer)
and the niggit (drill) were sometimes utilized in dreadful condi-
2001 FEBRUARY • MARCH WaveLength
Wendell’s latest jigsaw puzzle
Wendell Phillips
tions. As my wife Nancy graciously delivers hot chocolate and
biscuits to my heated wood shop, I have found it helpful to think
of the adversity and challenges they faced. ❏
Canadian Canoe Museum
Long before the arrival
of Europeans in the
Western Hemisphere, canoes
and kayaks were at
the centre of Aboriginal
life in what is now
Canada. The canoe was
the principal means of
trade and communication between First Nations. With almost
half the fresh water of the world and the world’s longest coastline,
it’s little wonder that paddling craft were so crucial in
the development of Canada.
The Canadian Canoe Museum, located in Peterborough, Ontario,
includes 600 craft, from a great ocean-going whaling
dugout of the Nootka people, to a folding kayak that fits in a
pack, to Inuit hunting kayaks.
The Museum has saved many historic Aboriginal craft from
oblivion and promotes canoe and kayak building with courses.
Peterborough has been one of the world’s foremost canoe
building centres for more than a century. Located within the
beautiful Kawartha Lakes region, it is close to major tourist
arteries that link Montreal, Toronto and the USA.
For more information on the Canadian Canoe Museum, call
705-748-9153, email info@canoemuseum.net or check out their
website at www.canoemuseum.net
To learn from the First Nations of the Kawartha Lakes, near
the Museum, contact Kawartha Lakes Tourism 800-461-6424
www.thekawarthas.net
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