Dugout Canoes Details

This posting is for the benefit of those wooden boat enthusiasts, including my son Jim, who might be interested in the detail of the dugout canoes I spotted on a beach near Ubatuba (see previous posting, Ubatuba).

The two middle seats were dovetailed into the gunwales, presumably to keep the beam of the canoe fixed at whatever the builder had originally established and wished to maintain. The dovetail section was held in place on these two canoes by means of modern screws, apparent by the indentations in the paint.

A third, rearward seat was cleverly fixed into a longitudinal slot on each side of the canoe. This seat could have provided the function of spreading the canoe, although there was no indication that it had been spread (as was the case with the Makah-style cedar canoe made by Lief's history class). There was no indication that these canoes had a tendency to split, although the dovetailed seats could have helped in preventing this.

The wood that I had opportunity to lift while I was in Brazil was extremely dense and heavy. I would judge that it was about the same density as concrete! Keep in mind that tropical trees do not have growth rings as we are accustomed to seeing; this may be the reason why the lumber does not split along growth lines. I have no idea why it is so dense; I thought all wood was primarily cellulose and therefore should be approximately the same density -- and float. The wood I saw certainly would not float!

The paddles were carved with a vee-shaped profile and a slightly spooned back side; the designation of a back side is based on my observation of one being used by a local native. The length of the paddle poses some question as to the reason, since the beam of the dugouts is only about one meter (40 inches). Interestingly, the paddle end had a sharp point similar to the Greenland and Aleut kayak paddles.