: Good points - though I might suggest the environments and uses were/are not
: all that similar - except maybe in a general sense as viewed from a
: "modern" temperate zone recreational (vs subsistence) kayaker's
: perspective - which most of us reading this share.

Agreed!

All working boats are designed for local sea conditions and to expedite the task.

If you don't think Greenland Inuits carried much in their kayaks check out, "Nanuk of the North". This video is still available from some places.

My understanding is that most of the time Greenland hunters paddled a few months of the year in ice fields with not much in the way of waves. I haven't heard much about rough water conditions around Greenland.

My understanding of Greenland Inuit hunters is that they stalked seals on ice flows. In an ice field you would want to avoid running into and up on ice. The pointed overhanging bow works to avoid this problem.

As Kris pointed out, these fine stems make the Greenland kayak quiet.

The fine entry and exit stems in the water will keep the boat tracking after the paddler stops allowing the hunter to stow a paddle and ready a spear. I haven't experienced the weather cocking many people say they have in Greenland designs. If this was a design characteristic it would make some sense since the hunter would approach game from downwind.

The Greenland designs I've seen and paddled are not designed for rough water. I received a visceral lesson in why a peaked deck is good in rough water while paddling my Disko Bay in Narragansett Bay. A large boat passed by and I thought, "Oh boy, play in the wake!" Normally I quarter waves but this time I paddled straight and fast into them. The first wave lifted my bow and as I road down the face of that wave, my bow dove deep into the next wave. When my bow finally came up, all the water plied on that flat fore deck came together in a big rooster tail and hit me right in the face!

After that experience I realize why the Brits modified their Greenland based designs to have peaked fore decks.

Fine stems give a smooth ride in waves because they dive into them. Whitewater boaters learned years ago that fine stems that dive into waves stop your forward momentum, so you loose power, speed and tire fast.

The Greenland Inuit paddled only a very few months of the year because the sea froze. I think they learned to roll because they forgot how to paddle.

My understanding of the Aleutian Islands is that it is one of the roughest water seas in the world, because of the colliding cold Bering Sea with the warm north Pacific Ocean, with constant storms and bad weather. And this is perfect for a large mammal population.

The Aleut padded in seas that never froze, they chased down their prey on open water, so they needed a fast kayak. They paddled in big rough water so their kayaks have high volume stems to ride over waves, just as WW boaters later learned. Aleut baidarkas have peaked decks. They surfed waves. There are no indications that Aleuts rolled.

Very different kayaks for different conditions and uses.

When your life and families lives depend on your boat and hunting skills I'm sure you would understand the differences.

White guys, just playing around, may not.

Rob