Inuit kayaks.....how do they sew them ?

[Toddy]

bb07's links on another thread this morning brought a conversation to mind.
I had a discussion with a friend a fortnight ago about Inuit kayaks and the skins they used to cover them.
Tim Severin's Brendan came up too, but he used oak tanned skins and he double saddle stitched the oxhides. Inuit skins aren't tannin tanned and I'm pretty sure the stitching is different too.
How do the Inuit stitch their kayak skins together ? what stitching? and do they seal the seam afterwards or does the stitching method create a waterproof seam ?

cheers,
Toddy

 

[boatman]

See Johnstone Sea-craft of Prehistory for a non-penetrating stitch.

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=...1AXOzoAo&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=seam&f=false

 

[Toddy]

Yess!

Thank you much appreciated

cheers,
M

 

[Tengu]

Its in Petersens `Skinboats of greenland`...I think

 

[Toddy]

Thank you Tengu
It's appreciated

atb,
M

 

[Tengu]

It must be 18 years since I read it, mind.

 

[jungle_re]

I have quite a few good photos of the kayaks from when I was in Greenland. I'd have to email them once back in the UK I have limited internet in Equatorial Guinea they should give a decent idea photo wise to compliment any written instructions.

Will

 

[Toddy]

Will, that would be excellent and brilliant to see
If you can manage it then it would be much appreciated

atb,
Mary

 

[Tengu]

Jungle re, you must tell us about your time there.

 

[oldtimer]

The Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge has an Inuit kayak on display. I expect that they would be a good source of information.

 

[Tengu]

There are several really old ones in various museums.

John Sakenoses is in Edinburgh museum. (He was a guy from Labrador who came over on a Whaler to study art. He later acted as a translator on several expeditions.)

 

[boatman]

Can anyone believe that a certain museum had a, presumably, Greenland kayak from the 19th Century, change of collections policy and it was given to a local kayak club who used it as a play boat in the surf until, I believe, it was no more?

However, read Seal-folk and Ocean Paddlers: Sliochd Nan Ron by John Macaulay for the possibility of Sea Sami kayakers or even ones local to Scotland as well as sad kidnapped Inuit. Then there is the possibility of a kayak type boat in Scotland in the Bronze Age at least that we tried a reconstruction of.