XUNIVAK IsLAiNU Krt 



painted along gunwale. (Photo by Henry B. Collins.) 



ih picluic ul iiiylliological w.tlii uiwiislcr I'.driayuk 



such decorations from Alaskan kayaks. Whereas the 

 Kodiak kayak has eleven battens (including the 

 keelson) in its frame, the Nunivak kayak has nine, 

 and all the longitudinals in it are rectangular in 

 section. Differences in dimensions of Nunivak and 

 Kodiak kayaks are remarkably slight, the greatest 

 length reported for either type is about l.") feet 9 inches 

 and the greatest beam is about 32 inches. Both 

 types have a large manhole and carry a passenger 

 back-to-back with the paddler. The single-bladed 

 paddle is used. The kayak is sometimes transported 

 over ice by means of a short sledge, by one man, but 

 it is otherwise rather heavy to portage. Highly re- 

 garded by all who have had contact with it, this is 

 generally considered one of the safest and most 

 useful of the Alaskan kayaks. 



King Island, at the entrance to Bering Strait, is 

 the home of the kayak shown on page 198 (fig. 181). 

 The King Islanders are noted as skillful kayakers and 



their kayak generally follows the Nunivak pattern, 

 but is narrower and more V-shaped in cross section, 

 and the stem and stern are also distinctly different. 

 The King Island craft has a bold upturned stem 

 ending in a small birdlike head, with a small hole 

 through it to represent eyes and to serve for a lifting 

 grip; the stern is low and without the projections 

 seen in the Nunivak type. The fitting of the cockpit 

 rim of the U.S. National Museum kayak is unusual; 

 the rim is not supported by thwarts but rather is 

 made part of the skin cover and therefore can be 

 moved. This seemed to be intentional, for there is 

 no evidence of broken or missing members, but 

 John Heath considers this not typical. A water- 

 tight jacket with the skirt laced to the manhole rim 

 is worn by the kayaker to prevent swamping. This 

 practice was common among Eskimo working in 

 stormy waters. A warm-weather alternate was a 

 wide waist-band, with its top supported by straps 



Nunivak Island Kayak in U.S. National Museum (USNM 76283) with cover 

 partly removed to show framework. Collected by Ivan Petroff, March 30, 



199 



