МАЭ № 536-24

Three-hatched kayak

Kodiak Eskimos

Russian circumnavigations and half round-the-world sea expeditions

sealskin, sinew, wood, baleen, glass beads

length 810 cm, width 80 cm, height 45 cm, height of the nose 54 cm, diameter of the front hatch 54 cm, diameter of the middle hatch 58 cm, diameter of the rear hatch 50 cm

Yu. F. Lisianskii wrote: “One must give the Kodiak Alutiit credit for inventing kayaks which they build from thin stakes which they faster to ribs or, to put it better, to hoops. They are wrapped so well with sewn harbor seal skins that not a drop of water ever penetrates them. At present there are three types in use: three-hatched, dual-hatched and single-hatched . . . All of these boats are powered by small paddles and are not only especially easy to travel in, but are also very safe at sea even in strong waves. One only needs to have tie lines to secure the hatch and draw it up over one’s chest while seated in the boat. I myself traveled in a three-hatched kayak for 400 versts (425 kilometers) and can say that I have never had a better rowing trip. In a kayak one must sit still, for if the rowers make sudden movements they may tip over. Although the Kodiak Alutiits are not in general very agile, they are especially skilled at maneuvering these boats which they ride through storms and sail more than a thousand versts without incident. It is true that this occurs primarily along the coastline, but sometimes in good weather they travel up to 70 versts (around 75 kilometers) without a rest. . . When they encounter storms in the open sea along the way they lash several kayaks together and drift quietly until the weather changes. In these circumstances each paddler must have a kamleika sewn from strong intestines, tied at the sleeves and the hood with sinew, because waves often wash over the kayak during a storm” (Lisianskii 1947: 188-190).

Ethnography of America