Hei!
In the summer of 2017 I started to build my own dugout canoe. Here is a short (and picture-heavy) story of that process. It is still work-in-progress but the first half of the boat-building process is now done.
English is not my first language and the grammar is a bit rough, but hopefully you will find it a good reading.
How it all started
In the autumn of 2016 I was giving a leather workshop in a handcraft fair. Next to me was a guy, who was selling woodwork and also making a workshop for the kids.
We started to talk and turned out he was a master boat builder.
I have had my mind on buying a canoe for a long time and asked him, if he would be interested teaching me to build a dugout canoe.
About 6 months later I received a phone call from him.
"There is a huge aspen tree that was cut down near your area. If you can buy the log and transport it to the building site, I will help you build your boat."
Dozens of phone calls, logistic problems and one sold bagpipe later (to finance the logistics), I had the 6 meters long and over 2 tons heavy aspen log on a trailer and on the way across the other side of Estonia.
It took another 4 months of waiting and gathering tools to start building the canoe.
Haabjas - The Finno-Ugric dugout canoe
Haabjas ("haab"=aspen) is made, as the name suggest, from a log of the aspen tree.
As clearcutting has become a standard way of managing forests, there are less and less suitable trees for building dugout canoes. The aspen log has to be straight grained, without any knots and at least 30cm or more in diameter to be suitable for boat building.
It is one of the earliest types of boats. It has been used since the last ice-age and is being made and used to this day. The tools used are sometimes more modern, but the way the boat is is has not changed much in over 12 000 years.
Dugout canoes have been used by other tribes as well. This boat-type is known all over the world.
What sets Haabjas apart from the other types of dugouts is the laying out of the boat - heating the carved out log with fire and water, forcing it bend and take shape. This opens up the center of the canoe, allowing a builder to make much wider boat from a smaller log.
Building an ancient boat in modern times
Measuring 68 cm wide, 6 meters long and 2,2 tons in weight. A true giant!
First order of business is to give a rough outer shape to the log. This starts with cutting out the stern and bow sides.
Followed by cutting out the bottom of the boat.
Getting into cutting out the shape of the gunwales and hollowing out the inside. No axes needed! Believe it or not but a shovel is an amazing tool for that.. as well as taking off the bark.
Now comes the real work- axes are taken out, sharpened and the hollowing out can begin. There is over 1,5 tons of wood to be removed, one axe-swing at a time.
This dugout canoe will be 5 meters long and little over 1 meter wide.
When finished, it will weigh about 70 kg and have a thickness of 1,5 cm.
It can carry up to 6 people but can easily be operated by 2 people, leaving more than plenty of room for gear.
There will be other projects that this canoe will help to build. This space will be used to transport building materials for a small log-building.
At the moment, the axe-work and rough carving is finished. The dugout is prepared for the winter and in the autumn, it will be ready for spreading out, applying spruce tar and building the seats.
Where we go from there, is yet to be seen. The rivers of Estonia and Latvia, the endless lakes of Finland.. the journeys await!
In the summer of 2017 I started to build my own dugout canoe. Here is a short (and picture-heavy) story of that process. It is still work-in-progress but the first half of the boat-building process is now done.
English is not my first language and the grammar is a bit rough, but hopefully you will find it a good reading.
How it all started
In the autumn of 2016 I was giving a leather workshop in a handcraft fair. Next to me was a guy, who was selling woodwork and also making a workshop for the kids.
We started to talk and turned out he was a master boat builder.
I have had my mind on buying a canoe for a long time and asked him, if he would be interested teaching me to build a dugout canoe.
About 6 months later I received a phone call from him.
"There is a huge aspen tree that was cut down near your area. If you can buy the log and transport it to the building site, I will help you build your boat."
Dozens of phone calls, logistic problems and one sold bagpipe later (to finance the logistics), I had the 6 meters long and over 2 tons heavy aspen log on a trailer and on the way across the other side of Estonia.
It took another 4 months of waiting and gathering tools to start building the canoe.
Haabjas - The Finno-Ugric dugout canoe
Haabjas ("haab"=aspen) is made, as the name suggest, from a log of the aspen tree.
As clearcutting has become a standard way of managing forests, there are less and less suitable trees for building dugout canoes. The aspen log has to be straight grained, without any knots and at least 30cm or more in diameter to be suitable for boat building.
It is one of the earliest types of boats. It has been used since the last ice-age and is being made and used to this day. The tools used are sometimes more modern, but the way the boat is is has not changed much in over 12 000 years.
Dugout canoes have been used by other tribes as well. This boat-type is known all over the world.
What sets Haabjas apart from the other types of dugouts is the laying out of the boat - heating the carved out log with fire and water, forcing it bend and take shape. This opens up the center of the canoe, allowing a builder to make much wider boat from a smaller log.
Building an ancient boat in modern times
Measuring 68 cm wide, 6 meters long and 2,2 tons in weight. A true giant!
First order of business is to give a rough outer shape to the log. This starts with cutting out the stern and bow sides.
Followed by cutting out the bottom of the boat.
Getting into cutting out the shape of the gunwales and hollowing out the inside. No axes needed! Believe it or not but a shovel is an amazing tool for that.. as well as taking off the bark.
Now comes the real work- axes are taken out, sharpened and the hollowing out can begin. There is over 1,5 tons of wood to be removed, one axe-swing at a time.
This dugout canoe will be 5 meters long and little over 1 meter wide.
When finished, it will weigh about 70 kg and have a thickness of 1,5 cm.
It can carry up to 6 people but can easily be operated by 2 people, leaving more than plenty of room for gear.
There will be other projects that this canoe will help to build. This space will be used to transport building materials for a small log-building.
At the moment, the axe-work and rough carving is finished. The dugout is prepared for the winter and in the autumn, it will be ready for spreading out, applying spruce tar and building the seats.
Where we go from there, is yet to be seen. The rivers of Estonia and Latvia, the endless lakes of Finland.. the journeys await!
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