Building Traditional North Alaskan Hunting Kayak Frames, Step by Step

[@peterjuha549]

God bless your hands. What a piece of Art 🙏❤🚣thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@seanfalconer7182]

Lots of craftsmanship you possess there.

[@Thundermuffin93]

This was simply gorgeous. Thank you for filming this and sharing this beautiful and elegant build.

[@enriquecancino7519]

What an awesome video of how to make a kayak's frame like the original peoples did, except for the tools and some of the materials. I watched the other video where you discuss the how and the why of all the joints, lashings, etc and it's equally fascinating. Thank you so much for the amount of work you put into the kayaks and the videos that are an integral part of the total outcome.

[@leosdebruyn]

You are a talented filmmaker as well as a woodworker. Keep up the good work on both fronts. Your efforts are worth it!

[@vicbauwens]

Your craftsmanship is clearly progressing over the years, thank you for sharing your very enjoyable and interesting journey!

[@capefalconkayak]

thank you

[@standardannonymousguy]

Beautiful! And not a single piece of metal! Excellent craftsmanship!

[@granty245]

That was pretty fabulous - quite enjoyed the music too!

[@johnsin3843]

Outstanding craftwork and very good selection of music.

[@jimallen199]

What a beautiful, beautiful thing an absolute pleasure to watch

[@LadyLucidity]

Masterful! I really appreciate the support build for your use of waxed string and pegs to hold everything together.

[@tealosophy]

Your art and craftmanship is truly mezmerizing, a big salute to you from Argentina.

[@riyadhw888]

Free of all imperfection is He who taught man that which he knew not. A job Well done !

[@currello1]

Me encanta tu trabajo y la forma en la que lo presentas: la combinación entre herramientas electricas y las manuales tan bien afiladas, hay suavidad en el manejo de las herramientas y movimientos pausados. Produce placer observarlo y dan ganas de aprender a construir un kayak, aunque uno no sepa muy bien qué hacer luego con él. Muchas felicidades por tu trabajo y gracias por compartirlo con el mundo.

[@omgsniffles]

What a thing of beauty.

[@garychristensen4115]

That is one hell of a gorgeous project!!

[@conjob8168]

Wonderful work, wild have loved to see the skin going on,

[@loknloll]

....said Ed Gein.

[@Nyhm961]

Geeze, I really did not expect those boats to come ALIVE quite like they did. Incredibly powerful.

[@johnt634]

Sewing like an installer from the old western electric days... Very nice work!

[@darlagasper5275]

Cbdnsbx

[@derby1919]

That is such a beautiful boat, i wish i could make one..

[@BosisofSweden]

I just love watching skillful hands work

[@seremelanie4609]

I know it's a great quality to be humble but we clearly need to see more of it at the end :D What a master piece!!

[@coniow]

I look at all the work that has gone into making these frames, then reflect on how much time was saved using modern machines, and shudder at how much it must have taken the First Nations craftsmen to do the job! Respect to the guys dong the work here, and even more to those who developed the designs and build process in the first place! For all the progress mankind has made, and the amazing things we can construct today, it is sad to realise how many skills, and what we have lost from the past. When groups have looked into building wooden ships as an exercise in experimental archaeology, they have found that not only are the skills in very short supply to do the work, but the materials, (IE the Trees), are not available anymore: The "Royal" forests that many assume were there for "Hunting," also provided for specific species of tree, and even these individual trees were chosen to provide certain shapes for specific parts, like 'Knees' (an 'L' shape that holds up the deck beams), and the 'Y' and 'V' shapes used in the Keel. If you have to use 2 pieces joined it makes for a weak part at the joint, if it is GROWN into the correct shape, it makes for a very strong 1 piece part.

[@jacilynns6330]

Correction not First Nations, that is a misnomer. Inuit is better.

[@coniow]

@@jacilynns6330 Yes, and no :-) With regard to THIS project, Inuit is more accurate, however, given that OTHER "First Nations" also have unique ways of working and construction, it is a more useful way to refer to the group as a whole. Tim Severin has done a number of expeditions that would best be described as "Experimental Archaeology" www.timseverin.net/expeditions.html where the first requirement was to build a vessel of the type used in the past, using traditional methods and materials, before replicating an 'historical' voyage, to see if it was, in fact possible, that the legendary trip happened. These have been documented in some very interesting and readable books, that came up with some surprising collaborative results. For example, "The Golden Fleece" still exists today. In Georgia (if memory serves), a sheeps fleece is traditionally laid on the bottom of a stream, and weighted down. Silt is trapped in the wool, some bearing gold dust. This is then recovered, and the gold removed. Not that far from the more usual 'Panning' for gold. These books go into how the vessels were made, and the problems in finding craftsmen to do the building, as they are mostly old, and their skills are not passed on, not being valued by modern society. Well worth reading, if you can find them.

[@jacilynns6330]

@@coniow there is videos on the internet as well as film board of canada that have, in fact, captured the building of canoes and kayaks using original tools and methods. Neither first nations or natives apply to "NA indians". At least according to some archaeological findings and dna testing. Its all complicated. I stick with the safer"North American Indians" for now.

[@coniow]

@@jacilynns6330 I also include Maori and Australian Aboriginal, not to forget Polynesian peoples and many others. IE: Those that were there BEFORE the western explorers 'claimed' their lands for their particular Monarch. Europeans do not have a good track record with Native Peoples, and so it also goes on today in the Amazon. If there is anything that is perceived as valuable, God help the poor devils who have lived there for generations, as their Rights will be Trampled on in the name of Profit :-(. If a description works for me, I will use it. I am no academic, and I am quite happy for them to have their interpretation of a phrase. I am also quite happy if my use of a phrase tweaks their sensibilities :-). What is that great Canadian universal comment: "It is what it is!"

[@barbara-holley]

@@coniow I'd love to read this to my kindergartners while they are falling asleep at nap!

[@brianscarborough8642]

Brian, your work is beautiful and amazing!

[@andrewdavies6273]

A pleasure to watch and very relaxing.

[@NickSchade]

Beautiful frames and a nicely done video. I find this style project overview videos with music attract the most attention on my channel. They are a good intro for non-kayak people into what you are doing. Your other video is great for kayak enthusiast who want to geek out on construction details.

[@capefalconkayak]

Thanks Nick. It's a ridiculous amount of work putting these together but it's kind of nice piece of art when it's done. Just saw the Petrel Play by the way, very nice.

[@NickSchade]

@@capefalconkayak My experience with these overview art videos is they can take a year to catch hold but can end up attracting a lot of attention. My microBootlegger Sport build is currently getting about 2000 views a day. Obviously, most of those people are not wooden kayak enthusiasts. They probably didn't even know wooden kayaks were a thing until seeing the video. If a tiny percentage go away thinking that building a kayak might be fun, I figure I'm doing really well and the effort of making the video was worthwhile.

[@mariojaviercarrera8627]

Quality is priceless, really fabulous, greetings from Argentina.

[@garymucher9590]

That was both amazing to watch and very informative as well. Obviously this wasn't your first Kayak build. Thumbs Up...

[@david-lintraciel4084]

Beautiful ! A plaisure to see this built

[@Kmuggle]

I built an F1 way back in 2009 ... it's been my go-to kayak all these years ... does all I want a kayak to do ... no need for anything more. But I've always liked the lines of the NA hunting Kayak ... it's tempting ... just might have to give it a try!

[@capefalconkayak]

Trust me, you DON'T want a North Alaskan Kayak, however, you might want to check out a design I've been working on that is a hybrid of the the NA hull and the F1 deck. So far I've only talked about it on Instagram. I posted a day by day building blog, and video of it on the water at instagram.com/capefalconbuilds I'll try to get something up on KZbin soon.

[@dennisstahl7621]

I was going to ask what does something like that paddle like?

[@mondoman1890]

Beautiful. Did not want that to end. Thank you for sharing.

[@MidtownSkyport]

Absolutely beautiful work, almost organic shapes there

[@stevekreitler9349]

I'd be willing to bet that the traditional shape came about because of the use of whale bone in the construction. Definitely organic!

[@killerkane1957]

Outstanding work! Haven’t seen that much lashing since Scout Camp in ‘70!

[@khelben1979]

Wonderful video! Thanks for sharing! :)

[@AaronBrand]

You make it look easy! Looking forward to trying this some day.

[@AaronBrand]

I just watched the whole thing again, having forgotten that I watched it before. The way that the bow end of the keel stringer took shape ended up looking like some kind of branch with the wide end hollowed out to fit perfectly under the gunnels. Like a branch stem.

[@G-man45444]

Wayyyyyyyy cool !! Now... picture 100 years ago when this would have been done with a knife and a bow drill and sinew ... would have taken a long time

[@capefalconkayak]

I've done it! It sucked!

[@MikeAG333]

Lovely video. Thanks. There are times a spokeshave might have helped you, but everyone has their own way of doing things.

[@markwhite9148]

You made a really nice job of it. Bravo!

[@hussienmohammed2914]

great work. my question is about the stern, isn't too low and won't break the waves in one's back as they paddle back home?

[@EdwardLarson]

Beautiful work!

[@patricioesteche4115]

SOS un capo,viejo***!

[@erickfdzrgz]

Bello trabajo de curvas y detalles. Excelente video.

[@tpledger100]

can you imagine no modern power tools? it must have taken them a long time to make these boats! Enjoyed the video great craftsmanship!

[@rbishop12399]

amazing craftsmanship

[@thesupercooladventureshow6080]

Looks like now all's you need to do is take that puppy on a SUPER COOL ADVENTURE! OHH YEAH!!!

[@raw123yt]

WOW, beautiful job Can't imagine doing that without power tools and only primitive hand tools.

[@capefalconkayak]

I did one once that way, it was really, really hard.

[@joshuajones6113]

Well it is certainly satisfying watching YOU do it :D Thanks for sharing.

[@ЧЕЛЯБИНСКИЙПаренЬ]

Я ни чего ни понимаю, но очень интересно смотреть на работу мастера!

[@ЧЕЛЯБИНСКИЙПаренЬ]

К сожалению на русском ютубе такого нет😓

[@Quaker-sn5fr]

That's awesome Brian.

[@MavMcLeod]

Great project! Thanks for sharing!

[@pakde8002]

Now imagine doing all that with leftover baleen whale and seal carcass, a bow drill and an oyster shell.

[@josephinebennington7247]

Pak De. And your teeth and gums. Indeed, there’s an excess of tool kit here.

[@gjmdzcastricum]

Check out, Tuktu, the big kayak.

[@BrynTru]

And no wood other than what’s washed up.

[@lognomelchorambas5364]

And scrap wood, maybe it take months to build

[@draven3838]

They look amazing, going to build one I think .

[@wcarpenter4307]

Brian, great to see another beautifully done, and inspiring video of you doing a build. It seems like it's been a while since we've seen you on KZbin - thanks for posting this! Once spring/summer arrives in New England I plan to build one of your F1 kayaks. Take care and thanks again for sharing your videos.

[@markusangerer5561]

I also want to be a superhero. Good work!

[@isaacray8530]

What a treat to watch, thank you for sharing - subscribed

[@ИванИванченко-с9т]

Good job men 👍

[@Andrious777]

Simply Beyong Beautiful

[@PemancingTalaud]

Suka b bekeng mar musti balajr lama ini, supaya saya memancing fi pinggir pantai pakai ini 😁🙏👍

[@robd7703]

You do fine work!

[@Beowulf-sd5gh]

I don't think they' re gonna float like that ;) nice vid!

[@PaddlinDutchman]

that's amazing and oddly soothing!

[@dmitrikostov4803]

Klasse!

[@Scogny]

Well done, a lot of good inspirations. Very good thanks. So at the end plane is not necessari.!?

[@gonzalomauriciolara9931]

Master class

[@clydeadair485]

Beautiful work but aren't these frames Greenland style Quijaks? I was under the impression that most of the Alaskan Traditional Kayaks were of a style with somewhat of a bifurcated bow. Also most if not all of the Alaskan kayaks were called biadarkas.

[@petepassmore7740]

Absolutely brilliant but would have loved to see how you fitted the skin.

[@capefalconkayak]

Check out some of the other videos here, I've got similar videos for canoes and kayaks that show the whole process plus paddling. do a quick search on Building the F1 kayak hour by hour

[@kieranhanrahan2883]

superb piece of work. Similar in some respects to the building of currachs in Ireland, given they are both essentially frame based boats, however there is very little use of cord and knotting in currachs (if any). Intrigued by the use of the pegs everywhere. Can I ask what wood it is that you have used?

[@stevekreitler9349]

If he's using native woods, spruce and fir. I saw some red oak in there for the bent ribs. The stitching is easier in a resource poor area- it also lends flexibility (note the continuous tie on the bottom stringers). I would imagine that a lot of sinew went into stitching the originals.

[@benborsa8266]

Hey really enjoy your work. Hope you don't mind me suggesting that, you should design and build a skin-on-frame Adirondack Guide Boat

[@capefalconkayak]

If you check my website I’ve done that. It’s an absolutely incredible boat and I love using it more than anything but the problem is it’s about 10 times as hard to build as a skinboat with steam bent ribs, because all the ribs need to be laminated over forms and then additionally cut to shape. Also the entire frame is very meticulously screwed and nailed together and all of the tolerances are very precise which is also a lot different than normal skin on frame boat building which is usually pretty easy. I would love to be able to offer this for people but putting together a video course and a plan set is usually about one year of myself and my partner working full-time so over the lifespan of the course we would have to make back the amount of money in plan sales, which might be challenging for such a niche product.

[@benborsa8266]

Ah, I see, that's understandable. Sorry took a bit of digging to find them. I was on the plans website and not your more blog website. I'm not surprised it took you so much longer, so much more difficult to build and expensive. I just finished skimming tha page and read that note ar the bottom. So understood. Again great work on your designs and your videos. You create great, very well informed videos. Just finishing up all you building a skin-on-frame canoe vids.

[@FreeRange1234]

Love the detail, are you using gut or rawhide for the lashings?

[@ChanLongSeong]

Awesome

[@michaelmairs1266]

What is the little gouge tool you were using?

[@charlesquinnell469]

What cordage are you using to lash the frame?

[@johncritch6812]

Inspiring.

[@twistedoar]

Very beautiful design. What wood did you use and what is the twine you used also? I was introduced to kayaking by my neighbour last summer, now I’m hooked!!

[@capefalconkayak]

These were made from pine, but I use cedar for boats I paddle. The artificial sinew is twisted, but I use flat for boats I intend to paddle.

[@JustinCasey216]

Beautiful boat but far from traditional. They didn't have half of those tools you used but I am still impressed

[@ifell3]

You make everything look so effortless, can you not do a out take or boo-boos to make us mere mortals feel better 🤣🤣

[@capefalconkayak]

Sure, the unedited footage is about five hours long, where should I send it?! Seriously though, these kayaks were HARD to make. The first run through on any replica is just brutal because you can get 2/3rds of the way done, and if something is off by more than 1/4" from the original drawing, it can mean starting OVER. It took two of us 3 solid weeks to complete both of these. Quite a challenge compared to the 3 days it takes to build one of my own designs!

[@ifell3]

@@capefalconkayak no way, I can imagine your wood pile of slightly out ones!! Your a true artist!!

[@Nomadboatbuilding]

Nice job Brian. Those look fantastic. I like the jigging you did for the deck beam tenons. I'm curious about your choice to go with the two different gunnel profiles. Were you looking to just lower or sweeten the sheer profile on the flattened one or was there some other goal?

[@capefalconkayak]

Thanks! Just trying to match the survey drawings. The more natural sheered shorter kayak is unique none of the other North Alaskan kayaks are like this. I didn't do this one perfect, it should have had a slight hump in the rear.

[@Nomadboatbuilding]

That high aspect masik left you with some real short grain on those tenons. Did that worry you any or would you have done differently in a boat meant for paddling?

[@capefalconkayak]

@@Nomadboatbuilding They did it lots of different ways. Some were birds mouthed over the gunwale, some stub tenon and blind mortise, but some were like this, which you would think would be terribly hard to accomplish. I tried to convince myself that the tenons weren't doing this but if you look at Harveys book, the visible mortises on the frame drawings are just way too high for anything else to be the case. I wouldn't do it that way!

[@Nomadboatbuilding]

Cape Falcon Kayak well the hardest thing to do is perfectly match someone else’s imperfect results.

[@omargrattoni3241]

Cómo se llama la madera que utiliza para la construcción

[@kennethkustren9381]

I bet the northern folk would love to make DIY SODIUM SILICATE. I wonder if it seals and fireproofs wood AND animal skin.

[@atmm89]

will you make a follow up on the dressing of this master piece??

[@got2kittys]

The kayak is not as beautiful as your wood working skills. This is artwork.

[@cliffordlogan7507]

Question: What kind of cord are you using to tie things together? It looks like waxed string?

[@capefalconkayak]

Artificial sinew. I used the twisted stuff for replica frames like this, but flat sinew for the boats I paddle because it sits flat under the skin.

[@MatanuskaHIGH]

If I was to do it it try some dyneema and wax it as it’s insanely strong and doesn’t stretch or shrink.

[@MatanuskaHIGH]

Now imagine building it without all these tools and glue and only having seal skins, sinew, and willow and birch branches. The Aleutian natives were very innovative.

[@alf3071]

2:40 how are those thin pieces made?

[@EvhenNegros]

Here they are, nanotechnology. Now there is a power tool for wood, handmade from good steel, and then the Chukchi made these kayaks from shit and sticks, and swam, which is amazing . Вот они, нанотехнологии. Сейчас есть электроинструмент по дереву, ручной из хорошей стали, а тогда чукчи делали эти каяки из говна и палок, и плавали, что удивительно.

[@lognomelchorambas5364]

Look like the modern warship

[@soldtobediers]

Built with sinews & structure of Narwhal

[@steveg8322]

Makes one wonder how native Alaskans fashioned such craft from driftwood, bone,skin,and sinew.I suppose it's still done today in places.

[@bruno57385]

Great !!

[@kellyroup4262]

What wood were you steaming for those ribs?

[@capefalconkayak]

White oak

[@ericovieira2035]

Fantástico!

[@mikethemoneymaker]

I screwed two pieces of wood together today and feel empowered - what did you do?' " Oh just built another living work of art and function to take on the high seas...

[@johnd5805]

Not into tattoos but just had a manifestation of trust.

[@timcc001]

Wow.

[@Well_Edumacated]

and to think the originators of the kayak built better kayaks with NO MODERN TOOLS. mind blown

[@Александрк-ы4з5м]

класс ! музыка! видео! техника! все класс! могут Американцы)

[@akirakirovich725]

Музыка класс, но грамотные комменты - о породах и особенностях древесного сырья, о способах гибки заготовок , о свойствах ткани, лакокрасок. были бы полезнее. Однако цель видюхи похоже не поделиться секретом мастера , а заставить раскрыть рот и разместить заказ (за деньги понятное дело)

[@frankcarter4677]

Skills

[@hendrasuhendra6026]

berapa meter panjang kayak ini

[@mrMacGoover]

And to think at one time all that was done purely with no power tools. I bet back then people would have just mostly rebuilt old kayak frames because making new ones would have been a lot of hard work with basic hand tools.

[@capefalconkayak]

That's exactly what they did. An expert kayak maker back then might have made a couple boats in a lifetime.

[@joewoodchuck3824]

What wood type (s)?