THE CARIBBEAN AREA 



used since the slender lines and low freeboard render these quite unsuitable, except with 

 the wind abaft the beam. If they do use sails, these are made of very light cotton. The 

 shellboats are most usually rowed by two men each handling a pair of oars with a third man 

 watching the lines. 



Few, if any, dugouts are found in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, or Antigua. They 

 first appear at Dominica and southward. At St. Lucia the bottom section is formed from a 

 single log of "gommier" wood. The upper bulwarks are made of planking in one broad strake 

 which is lapped over the dugout section cuid strapped to it. The dug-out solid section hag 

 a long projecting, square-shaped bow resembling an ice-breaker or ram and this is shod with 

 strap iron. The upper strakes terminate in a pointed bow some distance aft of the project- 

 ing "ram". An average size dugout would be from 20 to 27 feet in length, about 3 feet wide, 

 and about 2 l/2 feet in total depth. Ribs of local wood are placed to strengthen the shell 

 and to hold the top strakes. The stem almost approaches a point but in reality has a square 

 transom about 6 inches wide. Ihe rudder is outboard and slung on pintles and gudgeons. Or.e 

 or two, usually two, mast steps are provided, the forward one being smaller than the after 

 one. The sail is almost always a spritsail and the only spar is a sprit pole running from 

 the peak of the sail to the foot of the mast. The size of the larger sail is about 8 by 10 

 feet and the smaller, b by A feet. These are usually made of flour-sacking material, 

 these craft are very fast with favorable breezes but since they have ixjund bottoms and 

 carry no ballast they are cranky and require expert handling. 



Dugouts have almost been replaced by other types in Venezuela but scane small ones are 

 used as tenders and for lagoon and sheltered-bay fisiiing, especially around Maracaibo, 

 Large dugouts are used in Colombia and these are employed in the lagoons or "cienagas". 

 They are usually poled or paddled. In Cartagena, these craft are double-ended and have 

 rounded sections throughout. Each end is raised considerably and the general fonr. is that 

 of an American Indian birchbark canoe. They are 15 to 18 feet in length and 4 to 5 feet 

 wide. A mast is stepped forward and the sail is of sprit type. Thwarts are arranged for 

 seating. The immediate region of both ends is decked over. These boats are used almost 

 entirely in inside waters. 



At Las Palmas, Panama, small dugouts ranging from 12 to 25 feet are used. The smaller 

 ones are double-ended with considerable rake. Larger ones have square stems and are equipp- 

 ed with outboaird tillers. Paddles are used for the small ones and sails with the larger 

 ones. Each has a keel at the stem and aft sections but the remaining sections are rounded. 



On the Central American Caribbean coast, dugout canoes are about the only kind of local 

 boat used for fishing. Two types appear — both made by the Indians. The "dori" or keeled 

 canoe is used to navigate the sea and lagoons, wliile the "pitpan", or flat-bottomed canoe is 

 employed on the rivers. The sea canoes are fast sailers, but someirtiat cranky. Both types 

 are hollowed out by means of the adzej the largest, cut out of the solid tree, without any 

 additions, may reach a size of 5 feet beam and AO feet length. Pitpans are long and narrow 

 and have flat bottoms, and they are particularly adaptable for use in the shallow creeks of 

 the interior. They glide noiselessly over the water and are easily handled but they are 

 cranky and easily upset, Pitpans have a square projecting bow and stem, like a small pul- 

 pit, large enough for one person to stand on. A hole is made in the bow through which a 

 pole is thrust perpendicularly into the ground, to moor at river banks or at shoals. They 

 are thick-bottomed and can sustain rough treatment. 



The dori boats are keeled, double-enders and are not built up as described previously 

 in other sections, Ihe Indians on this coast were acquainted with the manner of cutting 

 trees and hollowing them out long before the arrival of the Spaniards. They made a ring 

 with a stone axe through the bark and base of the tree, thus causing it to dry. Then fire 

 was applied, and the wood was cut away as it charred. This was continued until finally 

 the tree was felled. The hollowing-out process was effected by alternately applying fire 

 and the stone axe. The width of the dugout was enlarged after it had been filled with 

 water for a number of days by stretching and widening by inserting sticks. 



The trees used in canoe making are several. Host commoTily used is the mahogany 

 (Swletenla macrophvlla ). Canoes made of this wood are very durable but rather heavy and 

 they are susceptible to attacks from boring worms. Cedar ( Cedrela sp.) is not subject to 



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