Penobscot Bark Canoe

Several months ago I had the pleasure to paddle a birchbark canoe in Augusta, which I reported here. Aside from the fact that canoe had been built at the Penobscot Marine Museum, I didn't have much detail about it at the time. But now that I work at the museum and have had a chance to rummage around, and can provide a bit more info., plus photos.

The boat, about 18' long, was built in 2006 under the direction of Aaron T. York. According to a press release from the museum, "York is a full time artist in the realm of Wabanaki traditional arts and a member of the Western Abenaki Nation. His primary occupation is the building and research of Wabanaki birch bark canoes and associated items that go with the use and creation of these vessels." He was assisted in the building by other members of the Penobscot Nation of Indian Island (near Bangor, in the Penobscot River).

The canoe was assembled on the grounds of the Penobscot Marine Museum, in Searsport, Maine. It was described as an "exact replica" of a "c.1850 ocean canoe of the Penobscot Wabanaki Nation," designed for use "in the bays and drainage basins of the Penobscot River and other regional waters."

Ain't she a beauty?

Construction photos are by Peter Lindquist. Photos of the finished canoe by Wayne Hamilton. All rights reserved -- not to be reproduced...please.

One Good Turn

Came across this fine blog recently: Maritime Compass is blogged by Heather Hernandez, who's a technical services librarian at the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park's J. Porter Shaw Library. Here's what it's about, in the blog's own words:

A review of current happenings in Maritime Studies, Maritime Compass includes information on Library and Museum events, Scholarly conferences or meetings, book reviews, news items, or just plain old interesting maritime facts.

Heather was kind enough to give Indigenous Boats a very nice plug, and I'm only too pleased to return the favor.

It's interesting stuff, and well worth subscribing to a feed, because she posts frequently and will likely announce something of interest to anyone who reads this blog. Her most recent is a fascinating discourse on how pulp fiction influences people's perception of maritime activities. Good point, too. Who has more influence on people's perception of sharks, for example: Cousteau, or Benchley?

Faux Junk

Bizarre little item here taken second-hand from the book Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA's Spytechs, from Communism to Al-Qaeda by Robert Wallace and H. Keith Melton, by way of Gizmodo.com. During the Vietnam War, the CIA used boats that looked somewhat like native coasting craft to deliver "assets," presumably to Communist-controlled areas. But should a purposeful-looking patrol boat appear, the spy-boat's crew would ditch the rig and superstructure, revealing the large speedboat beneath the disguise to make a quick getaway.

What won't those spooks think up next, huh? Well, as Gizmodo notes, the concept has roots in the Q-Ships of the Second World War, and pirates have been disguising their vessels to masquerade as innocent traders probably for millennia. But I'll bet that few such preceding Trojan sailing boats were so dead-giveaway-undercanvassed as the CIA boat appears to have been.