East Arctic Kayak:
 Building a Reproduction

 David W. Zimmerly 

Preface
 

The following detailed, illustrated instructions will allow the amateur boat builder to construct an historic replica of an East Arctic kayak. 

 Traditionally, Arctic kayaks were built of driftwood or other salvaged wood and covered with animal hide, usually sealskin.  This replica uses a choice of lumber yard wood, ripped and worked with modern tools and covered with canvas.  Tradition is honored in the form and construction and the time-honored use of lashings to tie the frame together.  There is not a single nail or screw used.

 The result is a sturdy, yet sleek, comfortable touring kayak which is a joy to paddle.

    Figure  1.  Great Whale River pre 1921, photo by R. C. Harrison, courtesy Public Archives

Table of Contents

Map   2.  Baffin Island, Hudson Strait, east coast Hudson Bay and Labrador.   

Introduction

 The East Arctic kayak is flat-bottomed with flared sides, generous beam and length and a flat deck.  Traditionally, it was heavily built, with plank gunwales, and crude examples look boxy.  Its primary use was for sea mammal hunting, particularly seals.  It was also used for fishing and for general transport in moving from camp to camp. 

Although this kayak had no spray skirt, and had no capability for rolling, it was used in rough waters and for some distances.  For example the distance between the east coast of Hudson Bay and the Belcher Islands is over 60 miles.  Two or more kayaks could catamaran together to avoid capsize in rough weather or for sleeping at sea.  This type of kayak was used extensively along the east coast of Hudson Bay, from Ivuyivik south to Povungnituk and over to the Belcher Islands, both sides of Hudson Strait, the east coast of Baffin Island, and the coast of Labrador.  The long, flat decks were ideal for carrying sea mammal carcasses.  Parts could be stuffed inside.

This kayak, in a lighter, recreational version, is a pleasure to use – extremely stable, roomy, fast, and easy to paddle.  It tracks beautifully, and can carry a high volume of goods, either stuffed inside, or on deck.  If you have seen the classic documentary film, Nanook of the North, filmed by Robert Flaherty in 1919/20, you will remember the amusing scene where Nanook paddles ashore, and out of the kayak pulls his wife children and several dogs.  Nanook is paddling this type of East Arctic kayak, but the extraordinary cargo is, of course, faked, one scene being shot at a time and then compiled.

I did paddle my first East Arctic reproduction with several pre-teen children lying on the deck, fore and aft, with no problem and not too many complaints from the passengers. That kayak lasted through 14 years, two canvas covers, and many miles of paddling.  When my wife and I sailed our cruising boat, ERASMUS, to Cape Dorset on Baffin Island, on the first leg of a world voyage, I couldn’t part with it.   Strapped to a side deck, the kayak became a second tender, and proved invaluable.  Suitably, it’s skeleton remains in Cape Dorset.

That reproduction was made while I was Arctic Ethnologist at the National Museum of Man in Ottawa, now the Canadian Museum of Civilization (CMC).  My first attempt, a Caribou Eskimo type, proved disastrous.  To try to alter dimensions on that tippy style (initial stability unstable) was not wise.  I looked eastward.  The Museum storage provided some two dozen examples of the East Arctic kayak.

In addition, my predecessor, Eugene Arima, had done extensive studies of this type as part of his fieldwork in Arctic Quebec, and had built several reproductions.  He wrote two unpublished manuscripts ,“How to Build Kayaks of the Canadian Arctic”, (1975, No. 1005.23, pp. 100, and “How to Build an Eskimo Kayak”, (1973, No. 1005.20, pp. 79),  available in the archives of the Canadian Ethnology Service, Canadian Museum of Civilization, Ottawa ).  In building my reproduction, I used a combination of Arima’s measurements and my own modifications, with construction details coming from Arima’s 1973 manuscript and my own studies of examples in the collection of the CMC.  This reproduction is a hybrid, of the various East Arctic examples.

The result was to remain my favorite of a fleet of varied Arctic kayak types built subsequently.  I constructed that first East Arctic kayak in 1973.  In the fall of 1999, I began another, the one documented in the accompanying photos.  An enthusiastic neighbour, Bob Taylor, built one following the text and photos, allowing me to clarify many points.  My helpful wife, Helga, has done extensive editing.

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This is just a part of the complete 55 page manuscript
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The Completed East Arctic Kayak

Figure  105.  Finished kayak in water - David Zimmerly.

Expenses for 2 East Arctic Kayaks

1. Beaver Lumber 16’ - 1 x 6                                                                             34.78
2. Nixon Building Supplies 10’ – 5/4 x 6                                                       15.53
3. Beaver Lumber 48’ - 1 x 10                                                                            69.00
4. Beaver Lumber 64’ – 1 x 10 select                                                               239.20
5. Adams & Kennedy North Gower – cedar wood                                          
    4 – 16’ x 1” x 6”; 2 – 19’ x 1” x 6”                                                                  258.06
6. Home Hardware - paint brush                                                                        4.99
7. Ottawa Awning & Canvas 44’ - #10 x 72”                                                   305.15

                                    March 1, 2000                                     Sub-total              926.51
 

1. Decorating by Design – house paint Exterior Alkyd/Resin –
            1 gallon + 2 liters white & blue                                                               85.07
2. The Aero Mart  - 2 gal. clear butyrate dope  + 1 gal. Reducer                 237.64
3. Home Hardware  - brushes, etc.                                                                     40.26
4. Decorating by Design – house paint Exterior Alkyd/Resin – 1 liter.      19.54
5. Canadian Tire - fibre glass kit                                                                         13.79
6. Home Hardware - spar varnish – 1 liter.                                                       11.50
7. Decorating by Design – house paint Exterior Alkyd/Resin - 2 gal.          92.00

8. Nixon Building Supplies – 18’- 2 x 6 pine & 12’- 5/4 x 6 cedar –
            for paddles                                                                                                 50.82

                                    April 20, 2000                                      Sub-total             550.62

21 April 2000                                                                          Total                   1477.13 CDN

Cost for 1 kayak $492.00 US
Cost for 1 kayak $738.57 CDN

This is just a part of the complete 55 page manuscript

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