MURDOCH.] KAIAKS. 329 
ing at the stem and stern, gradually tapered up on the lower edge at 
eachend. Theribs, of which there are at least forty-three, are bent into 
nearly a half-cirele, thus making a U-shaped midship section, and are 
3-inch wide by 4-inch thick, flat on the outer side and round on the inner. 
Their ends are mortised into the lower edge of the gunwale and fas- 
tened with wooden treenails. They are set in about 3 inches apart and 
decrease gradually in size fore and aft. Outside of these are seven 
equidistant streaks running fore and afc, ? inch to 1 inch wide and finch 
Fic. 338.—Kaiak. 
thick, of which the upper on each side reaches neither stem nor stern. 
These are lashed to the ribs with a strip of whalebone, which makes a 
round turn about one rib, above the streak, going under the rib first, 
and a similar turn round the next rib below the streak (Fig. 339). 
There is a stout keelson, hemi-elliptical in section, under the cockpit 
only. This is 4$ feet long, about 2 inches deep, and 14 inches wide, and 
is fastened in the middle and about 1 foot 
from each end by a strip of whalebone, which 
passes through a transverse hole in the keel- 
son, round the rib on one side, back through 
the keelson, and round the rib on the other 
side twice. The end is wrapped spirally 
round the turns on one side and tucked into !% Oe tii ols 
the hole in the keelson. The deck beams 
are not quite so stout as the ribs and are mortised into the upper edge 
of the gunwales a little below the level of the deck. The ends are 
secured by lashings or stitches of some material which are concealed 
by the skin cover. They are about as far apart as the ribs, but neither 
exactly correspond nor break joints with the latter. 
At the after end of the cockpit is an extra stout beam or thwart to 
support the back, 1? inches wide and three-quarters inch thick, with 
rounded edges, the ends of which are apparently lashed with thong. 
The first beam forward of the cockpit is rounded, and appears to be 
a natural crook forming a U-shaped arch, and is followed by seven 
V-shaped knees, thickest in the middle and enlarged a little at the 
ends, successively decreasing in height to the seventh, which is almost 
straight. This makes the rise in the deck forward of the cockpit. 
