* This belongs
to the collection of David & Helga Zimmerly.
Norton Sound Kayak
Lowie Museum, University of California,
Berkeley, LM 2/1674 (see
Lines drawing in
PDF)
Photograph taken by Ray B. Dame, July 1938 in
Unalakleet on Norton Sound, courtesy of the Anchorage Museum of
History and Art.
Length - 17' 1.8"
Beam - 28.3"
Depth to Sheer - 15.7"
Weight - 89.1 lbs.
Loaded kayak stable to 45 degrees
Like all south Alaskan types, the Norton Sound kayak is lashed from
rib to rib rather than stringer to stringer. It is similar in
construction and cross section to the Hooper Bay and Nunivak kayaks, but
can be distinguished by the straight line of its ridged deck. It's
characteristic hand grips are formed by extensions of the fore and aft
deck stringers. A passenger can be carried back-to-back with the paddler
in this high-volume craft. Traditionally a stable hunting craft, it was
also used for freight, often with two kayaks lashed together with a
platform tied to paddles lashed fore and aft. This kayak was usually
paddled with
a single-bladed paddle.
Photograph taken by Ray B. Dame, July 1938 in
Unalakleet on Norton Sound, courtesy of the Anchorage Museum of
History and Art.
