Kodiok Island Kayak, IMS 



KoDiAK Island Kayak, 1885, in U.S. National Museum (USNM 76285). The 

 identification of tiiis kayak has been questioned by Henry B. Collins and John 

 Heath, but it may represent an old form out of use in the twentieth century. 



of 1885, shown above, represents one type used in 

 this area and that from Unalaska, shown below, 

 the other. The Kodiak boat is rather short and 

 wide, measuring 15 feet 1 inch in length, 29 inches 

 beam and 14 inches depth to ridge batten of the 

 deck just forward of the manhole. The boat has the 

 humped sheer found in many Alaskan kayaks and 

 is intended for use in stormy waters. Its large 

 manhole, also a feature of the Nunivak Island 

 kayak, permits two persons to be carried, one facing 

 forward to paddle and the passenger facing aft, 

 or the space can be used to carry cargo. The drawing 

 shows the construction and requires no detailed 

 explanation. Kayaks from the Aleutian Islands 

 eastward to Kodiak use rod battens; only the 

 gunwales and keelson are rectangular in section. 

 The frames are thin flat strips bent in one piece 

 from gunwale to gunwale. The ridge-batten of the 



deck is laminated, in two pieces. The deck beams 

 and thwarts are notched into the ridge-batten and 

 lashed. The bow piece is carved from a block, 

 and the longitudinals are lashed to it, each in a 

 carefully fitted notch. The sternpost is formed of 

 a plank. The skin cover passes over the manhole 

 rim and a line passed outside the rim holds the skin 

 down enough to form a breakwater. The skin 

 cover is sewn to the inside lower edge of the rim, 

 thus covering it almost completely. 



The Unalaska kayak of 1894 (below) is a better 

 known type. This design is used throughout the 

 Aleutians and on the adjacent mainland as far east 

 as Prince William .Sound. It was also employed in 

 the Pribilof Islands and at St. Matthew, having been 

 used by Aleuts engaged in sealing expeditions there. 

 All kayaks of this type do not have the same bow and 

 stern profiles as the example; some have the bifid 



C*i^u2^ 



Aleutian Kayak, Unalaska, 1894, in U.S. National Museum (USNM 76282). 



196 



