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Kayak and Canoe Design Bulletin Board
Re: Inuit rules for kayak design.
Posted By: Nick Schade In Response To: Inuit rules for kayak design. (Christer Samuelsson)
Date: Wednesday, 20 October 1999, at 10:26 a.m.
An interesting article. I can't agree with it completely. I do think believe that the developers of the kayak were keen observers of their environment and their boats and those observations likely lead to consious innovations in design. There is no reason to expect that a "primative" people are any different from us in this respect. However, their metric for measuring success was different from ours. A kayak was successful if it brought the hunter back alive. A "better" design was one that helped the hunter survive more successfully. This could be by defensive means, i.e. it kept him safer, or by offensive means, i.e. he was able to kill more game. The "best" kayak was the one that balanced those needs most successfully.
The author states: : "...And they were a family of vessels, not just a unique design copied : endlessly. Some forty different types have been classified, of two basic : kinds. Inland kayaks were used on rivers and lakes to pursue swimming : caribou. Speed was a prime consideration; caribou can swim at a rate of : five nautical miles an hour. That meant the desirable craft was long, : because a longer waterline makes for greater speed. In practice, Caribou : Eskimo kayaks were up to 30 feet long. They also had narrow rounded : bottoms, to reduce drag and increase maneuverability."
The fact that there were a lot of different kayak types does not indicate anything about how or why those different kayaks were developed. There are many different kayaks today. Are each of todays designs developed for completely different purposes or are some just stylistic differences. Different groups of kayakers have different styles of doing things, have different ideas about what looks nice, and want to set them selves apart in different ways. That does not mean that those difference are "scientific", they may just be different.
A 30 foot kayak is almost certainly slower than a 22' kayak. If the goal was speed they would not have made it so long. The goal must have been something else. A round bottomed kayak is usually less maneuverable than a flat bottomed one. If the goal was increased maneuverability, they would have done something else.
We don't know the exact goals of the original kayakers so any speculation as to their reasons for making kayaks the way they did will always be speculation. It is fun to speculate, but it will only get you so far.
Through a variety of large innovations and subtle modifications, the original kayak builders developed an excellant class of boat. With a variety of large innovations and subtle modifications we can further develop the boats to better fit our needs.
> I am sorry, should have been back in mid july but this is a tricky topic.
> I would like to start off with a question to Nick Schade, who in the
> answer to me in June wrote " We really do not know what criteria the
> Inuits were seeking to optimize when they built their boats." Have a
> look at the linked site, what do You think false or truth? It sure makes a
> lot of sense to me.> Chris
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