Skin covered canoes

[troy]

Have been wondering for a while if it is possible to build a canoe using rawhide - I have found some referances to it (where seal skin is used), but i am just wondering if any body else has explored the possibilities.
If it were possible to use deer skins by maybe coating it in yacht varnish, then this could be a project worth trying.

[tomtom]

maybe.. seal skins were used because they are waterproof to begin with whats the point in useing rawhide if you are going to use modarn yatch varnih to waterproof it.. you may aswell just use canvas or get a resin canoe!?

[Roving Rich]

Errrr Rawhide has a habit of stretching when it gets wet, and its not particularly water tight either.
No we reckon that lino would make a perfect birch bark substitute - if you want a project....
Cheers
Rich

[troy]

Ye I know the disadvantages rawhide and alternatives that could do better, but I guess its something I just have to try. I just won't test it in deep water.

[Toddy]

What kind of skin are you thinking of using? If you de-hair a skin, to a large extent you also de-grease it. If you regrease it, there will be some waterproofing and elasticity restored to the hide. Braintanning or masses of lanolin will certainly help. Otherwise all you'll have is rotting bits of dead animal. I know someone who used sailcloth that he proofed with linseed oil for a coracle....bit like lino really

Cheers,
Toddy

[ChrisKavanaugh]

Irish coracles and the Inuit Umiaks are skin boats. There was a book published many years ago about a recreated voyage of Brendan the Voyager using a skin boat. A retired saddler made the covering and it was coated in some thick nasty animal fat, in all probability using my great grandmother's recipe for treacle

[anthonyyy]

irish Currachs were traditionally skinned with ox hides before the advent of canvas.
http://www.castletown.com/brendan.htm < this is a link about the crossing of the Atlantic in such a boat.

[troy]

I don't usually watch Rays programs (I get thrustrated seeing the things I would like to do but can't, not always any how) but yesterdays program, I did not want to miss and the most profound moment I found was the launching, like the first fire I made from nothing or the first bow, I would include the first skin I bucked - but I remember that being more of a relief that it was finally over!

I did have some romantic vision of making my frame from willow but Ray mentioned Sweet Chestnut. Does that have similar splitting qualities as the wood they used in the program? Pity pine would'nt work, I can just pick that up from off the roads around here.

[Roving Rich]

Willow would certainly be flexible enough, but is prone to rotting really quickly. The best UK wood to use would be green ash, and should last quite a while.
I am toying with the idea of a split hazel frame with a lino covering for a quick build low budget canoe, not sure how i'd do the ends tho......

Cheers
Rich

[troy]

referance the ends - would'nt the method they use to make the birch bark canoe work, using maybe pine sap and deer fat - to be honest, the complete structure is slightly a mystery to me.

I am planning to make a miniture model first - first to please the kids and second to clear up structural details I do not want to mess up on the real thing. Atleast then it will just be an action man that gets soaked and not me.

[joeldelorme]

Have been wondering for a while if it is possible to build a canoe using rawhide - I have found some referances to it (where seal skin is used), but i am just wondering if any body else has explored the possibilities.
If it were possible to use deer skins by maybe coating it in yacht varnish, then this could be a project worth trying.

Hi there Troy. I stumbled on this website and found your thread so joined in! I am interested in boats in general and canoes in particular, particularly Native American bark and skin canoes and kayaks. I have built a few canoes, following plans I found . As I can't find birch bark in B&Q I have made these out of strip planking and i also built skin on frame kayaks and a canoes, not with rawhide but using canvas and polyester cloth, I wont do it again in polyester, I feel it difeats the purpose. Canvas is a good, much more natural. I am unsure of how rawhide would fare as a skin material, coming from a domestic animal as opposed to wild animal, rawhide streches when you wet it, it absorbs water almost like a sponge , so you would need to wet it first before you fix it to the frame, and let it dry when you have finished sawing it on. now the big problem would be that it woud shrink, and if it was too taut to start with it could easily crush the frame, so experiments would be necessary. The other problem is waterproofing it, Native people used fish oil, if I remember correctly, so it problably would need the same sort of treatment, although I dont think you'll find fish oil readily at tesco! Possibly some vegetable oil would work, or possibly using lard which has been heated to melt it so it gets absorbed by the skin. I think I probably would work, but the oiling would need to be done regularly, letting the boat dry between use, away from dogs and mice who like the rawhide!!!

[Wilfhound]

Have been wondering for a while if it is possible to build a canoe using rawhide - I have found some referances to it (where seal skin is used), but i am just wondering if any body else has explored the possibilities.
If it were possible to use deer skins by maybe coating it in yacht varnish, then this could be a project worth trying.

I have been involved in building cow-hide covered coracles using alum tanned hides. Alum tawing (tanning) is water soluble so you basically end up with rawhide following long immersion in water unless you protect the hide with an oil or fat. I have always used a coat of sheep's lanolin (wool grease) applied warmed by heating over a pan of boiling water and brushing on to the coracle. It is initially terribly sticky but it does sink into the hide over time. You used to be able to get lanolin from British Wool Mills at Bradford.
The frame of your canoe will probably need to be quite strong as hides shrink to quite a surprising degree on drying.
Good luck!