Customer Reviews

Eastern Arctic Kayaks: History, Design, Technique

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The Arctic regions covered are the coastal areas of Greenland, Hudson's Bay, Baffin Island, and Labrador. Swedish kayaks are also examined for similarities in construction and for historical comparisons. The authors also went to museums in western and northern European countries to study kayaks at these. The authors--both with in-depth backgrounds on the subject--do a sound, detailed study on historical, present-day, and recreational kayaks. Heath especially was interested in the value of design elements and kayaking techniques of the oldest kayaks for today's recreational kayakers. For three decades, Arima has been an ethnohistorian with Parks Canada focusing on the Arctic and northwest coast of North America. Text, photographs, and detailed design drawings of kayaks work together in relating unique information on the different aspects of kayaks. While the material covers a broad geographical area and hundreds of years of kayak-making and use in hunting and transportation, one is struck by the remarkable ingenuity of the design of early kayaks; which has stood the test of time to be the basis for modern-day kayaks.

The collaborative work of the late John Heath (1923-2003) who was an acknowledged expert in kayaks, and the Canadian ethnologist E. Arima, Eastern Arctic Kayaks: History, Design, Technique combines informed and informative analyses of form and function with historical background and illustrations of kayaking techniques that will be of immense interest to recreational users of kayaks, as well as academics with an interest in Inuit and Canadian Arctic aboriginal culture. The reader is provided with a comprehensive overview of the evolution and construction of Greenland kayaks, supplemented with an illustrated series of rolling and sculling techniques. The definitive text includes woodworking tools, construction techniques, and the treatment of skins for the kayak cover. Superbly illustrated with historic photographs and expert drawings, Eastern Arctic Kayaks is especially recommended for readers with an interest in the history of watercraft and northern native material culture.

This book is a wonderful collection of history, technique and lore about the Inuit qajaq found in Greenland and Canad's eastern Arctic. Anyone interested in these boats either as a historian, a builder or a paddler needs a copy on their shelf! The contributors are genuine experts both from the past as well as those involved in the revival of these very special boats.