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Aerial view of Second Raven from the Agate Pass bridge
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Second Raven from the stern
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Second Raven from the port side
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Vi blessing the canoe
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“TSUB Q'UAQw WITL”
Second Raven Canoe
This canoe is my latest project, completed July 3, 2002. It was commissioned by the Suquamish Raven Canoe Society. It is 34 ft in length with a 5 ft beam. In style it is essentially a Salish canoe, meaning that historically its geographical range was from southern Puget Sound in the state of Washington to around the area of Duncan, British Columbia.
Traditionally canoes of this type were carved from a solid Western Red Cedar log. At this time, because of the difficulty and expense in obtaining cedar of the quality and dimensions required, it has become necessary to either cast the canoe in fiberglass from an existing example, or build one using wood strips over a frame. I built this canoe using this strip method.
I first made a set of drawings at 1/8th scale showing top and side views and cross sections at each station. From this I contructed frames from 2” lumber, which I mounted on a strong-back of 2” x 12” fir with a 2” rocker cut into it. The stern and prow were made from solid stock red cedar. The planking was 1” x 2” clear cedar glued and nailed edge-to-edge with 8d galvanized nails and fastened to the frames with stainless steel screws.
When the hull was completed, sanded, and sealed with epoxy resin, it was covered with fiberglass and painted. A representation of Raven is painted on the bow and stern. Second Raven's first voyage was with the “Tribal Journey” beginning July 27, 2002. This event involves canoes of many tribes from Washington and British Columbia, including two that came from as far away as Alaska. The destination was Taholah, Washington on the Quinault reservation.
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Framework from stern
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Last Strip:
Attaching the last strip
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Planking Complete:
View from the stern showing the completed hull from the inside.
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Inside Stern:
The helmsman seat before painting.
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In 1996, with canoe logs becoming very scarce and expensive, I decided that several canoes could be made from one log by milling it into strips and using these to form the canoes with no compromise to the lines. So, as an experiment I carved a scale model Makah style canoe from which I made working drawings for an eighteen footer. After painting it was virtually impossible to tell that the canoe was made from strips. It has nice lines and performs well
This canoe can be seen in the western film “Dead Man” starring Johnny Depp. In the final scene he is laid to rest in the bottom of the canoe which is sent seaward by the Indians to float away into the sunset on the outgoing tide. As a result of the success of this strip canoe, a friend of mine and a member of the Makah tribe at Neah Bay has built two superb whaling style canoes from strips. The first from a set of drawings I made for him and the second from an improved variation of his own.
Making canoes from strips, can be done without compromising the integrity of the traditional Northwest Coast Native canoe forms. Actually as watercraft they are stronger and don’t have the potential for checking which is typical of canoes from logs. The process is also less wasteful and friendlier to the environment.
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My first attempt at canoe carving was in 1972. I had allowed myself a six week sabbatical from a schedule of other carving commitments to carve a thirty foot canoe in the “northern” style. I soon found out that there was a lot I didn’t know about about making a canoe. I didn’t anticipate the changes that occur in the hull during the spreading process. After spreading, the canoes width had gone from 32” to 42”. This is narrow for this length of canoe. This, combined with other factors, made the craft a little tippy. I learned a lot from my mistakes and over the next years did more research, carving several working scale models. |
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I was better qualified in 1983, when the Seattle Science Center commissioned me to do a five-week canoe carving demonstration. At the end of the allotted time, a twenty-foot-long Northern style canoe was ready for spreading. It went from 27” across the gunwales to 46” and was a success in every way. It’s a wonderful craft and performs well in the most severe conditions, having seen many miles of travel over the waters of Puget Sound, The San Juans, and the West coast of Vancouver Island. |
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In 1989 I was approached by Jake Jones, the tribal council chairman of the Port Gamble S’klallam tribe, to carve a 34 foot Salish style canoe for the “Paddle to Seattle” as part of the Washington State Centennial celebration. As a training project, we first carved two 16-foot versions. I then made a set of working drawings, from which I and several volunteers from on and off the reservation worked for five weeks. By that time the hull was completed and spread from 32” to 56-1/2”. This canoe , manned with tribal members is featured on the 1989 fall issue of “Native People” magazine. The S’klallam tribe is very proud of this canoe and use it continuously on trips around Washington and British Columbia. |
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The 1993 “Paddle to Bella Bella”, was a four hundred mile journey in which several Washington tribes participated. I was asked by the Jamestown S’klallam tribe to design and consult in the construction of a 36 foot Salish style canoe for the occasion. I was concerned that the log they had obtained was a little narrow, so I made a scale model and spread it, followed by a set of working drawings. Working part time, Rick Hoskins completed the hull in a year. This was the first time I had worked on a canoe project for which there was ample room to allow for a fire on two sides for heating the rocks used in the steaming process. The heat from the fires dried the surface of the canoe allowing it to practically spread itself, without the need to force it with spreaders. The gunwales were spread from 24” to 60”. This may be a record for degree of spread in modern times, although I’m sure it was done in the past.
"Canoe in Progress" |
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In 1994 Tacoma City Light, in conjunction with the Cowlitz tribe commissioned me to carve a twenty-six-foot “shovelnose” canoe. I was never very interested in this style canoe, but after carving a scale model, followed by the full sized version, which was spread from 27” to 42”, I gained a respect for the subtle lines of this rivercraft. It manouvered beautifully and was very stable in the current of the Cowlitz river, even when loaded with novices.
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Ed Carrier of the Suquamish tribe asked me to design and consult on two Salish style canoes. I made Ed a set of drawings for each, from which he made scale models, followed by the full sized versions: an eighteen footer, which we spread from 22” to 34”, and a twenty five footer, spread from 24” to 46”. In both of these we were able to put fires on both sides of the canoe and the spreading process was made very easy.
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