RE: [Paddlewise] West Greenland Hull Design

If the Vikings actually "Discovered" the new world around 1000 they probably
would have interacted with the locals along the way. I'm sure a boat load of
Vikings would have impressed the indigenous peoples and there may have been
some influence on the future design of their boats. Just a thought.
 
cu

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
[mailto:owner-paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net]On Behalf Of richard
Sent: Tuesday, January 05, 1999 1:01 AM
To: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
Subject: [Paddlewise] West Greenland Hull Design


Bob,
   Not having seen the Viking boat you mentioned I can't make a comparison.
According to what I have read and heard from different reliable sources, the
kayak migrated eastward from Alaska with the nomadic hunters about 1000 AD
and reached Greenland a few hundred years later. The kayaks that came from
Alaska at that time are thought to have evolved from some type of decked
canoe. East of Greenland, only the Irish were known to have seagoing skin
boats. It's not impossible that other ancient cultures with similar needs in
similar circumstances 
could have evolved a craft similar to the Greenland kayak.
   The true hallmark of a West Greenland Style kayak is it's hard chine,
slab sided, low shear construction. I've noticed that more and more
manufacturers are coming out with " Greenland style " kayaks, but if they
don't have these features (at least full length hard chines) they are not
true Greenland design. The decks of Greenland kayaks vary in design, but the
hull designs pretty much always exhibit these three features.
 
Richard Malarich

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