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Aleut Baidarka

comments (0) July 15th, 2010 in Reader's Gallery

Midnite Midnite, member
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Aleut Baidarka strip built sea kayak.  Mahogany & Alaskan yellow cedar.
Lunch break on the Brooks Peninsula, west coast of Vancouver Island, BC.
Cindy & I off Thornton Island, west coast Vancouver Island, BC
The dunes & Baidarka on the mouth of the Umpqua river, Oregon.
Aleut Baidarka strip built sea kayak.  Mahogany & Alaskan yellow cedar. - CLICK TO ENLARGE

Aleut Baidarka strip built sea kayak.  Mahogany & Alaskan yellow cedar.

Photo: Cindy Hunter
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I saw an Aleutian style paddle & as a sea kayaker and woodworker decided to build one.  First time out I was stunned as to how quiet it was.  None of the annoying splash as with a spoon type paddle.  It does not catch the wind and by shifting my grip an inch or two to the left or right I was able to maintain an even course with ease.  Three or four months later it dawned on me the paddle was designed to be silent.  The Aleuts, as hunters, depended on stealth to eat and the bounty of the sea provided the materials for their existence.  I figured if the paddle was so well designed, their kayaks, the Baidarka, must be as well.  It is.


Design or Plan used: My own design - Tim Neun
posted in: Reader's Gallery, mahogany, varnish, alaskan yellow cedar, sea kayak, baidarka
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