> Connected to nothing in particular: I worked at a kayak/canoe store in
> California, they provided the royalex canoe for some big hollywood movie.
> The canoe was covered up with so much plywood and materials to look like
> an indian bark canoe, we laughed our heads off because the thing weighed
> close to 200 lbs, the ends turned up almost 3 ft. oh reality is so cruel.
> I think the guy that was in "water world" or the
> "Postman" was in it.

This is a shame. There are several craftsmen who still produce bark canoes. Considering the cost of a royalex canoe, it would have been cheaper to buy or rent the real thing.

The fascinating thing about bark boats is that they naturally assume a shape that has fairly decent characteristics in regards to drag, wetted surface, and so on. And, they are pretty efficient in terms of construction time, use of materials and ease of repair. Durability is good. Weight is not very high. The big porblem is a lack of large diameter birch trees with a limited number of scars from branches.

So, plant a birch tree now. Prune off the lower branches for the next 30 to 40 years and maybe in 100 years your descendants will be able to put the bark to good use.

Psul G. Jacobson