Inuit Kayak Building

These boats are alive!

There are no steel screws or fasteners–all joints are floating and tied. They are very light-weight and extremely fast.

I first learned this skill from my good friend Steve Conty. Steve once ran a workshop in Pelly Bay, Nunavut–a eco-tourism business that is still in operation. Since then I have made boats with Steve in Ottawa and Edmonton; and on my own with students in the arctic.  I look forward to joining Steve to be a part of his wonderful boat class.  There are many regional differences in the Arctic Kayak–the photo below is the Aleutian Eskimo design. However, boats can vary between builders.There are two options for this course: (A) Join with others in building a kayak that you do not take home; or, (B) Build your own qajaq and keep it. The latter costing more money.  

Traditional Self-Bow Building

Bow making is contagious!

You will not want to stop at making just one bow. This course covers everything from finding the right wood/tree to the finished product. These bows are ‘self-bows’, in other words, there is no glue, fibreglass or other material besides the carved wood (and string). The draw weight varies depending on desired weight (45-55) but can be very high.

At this point in history, there is a large resurgence in traditional bow making. In light of this, a fast growing amount of knowledge is being discovered and re-discovered. Designs from Ishi ( the last nomadic Native out of California in the early 1900s), to the IceMan (glacial melt discovery), to various bows discovered in bogs and in shipwrecks are finding their homes in the hands of modern day archers. New woods are being experimented with and bow designs have the beginner now able to make a working bow on their first attempt(s). Each step of bow making is covered: from the tree to the stave, to the string and arrows.