Hi-

: I was wondering if anyone has an explaintation for the mouth shape in the hull of the baidarda.

I went to a lecture by Corey Freedman of Skin Boat School fame about baidarkas.

Corey said that the front section of the bow cut the water smoothly, and the top flat section would actually plane on the water, giving a bit of lift to the bow. Baidarkas are designed to be flexible and the lift generated by the bifid bow lets the bow rise effortlessly over the waves, rather than force it's way through.

I just started to build one, and will see if I can get this to work. The baidarka was an open water boat, needed to travel to hunting areas and was ballasted with rocks and eventually filled with the catch for the return trip.

Just another instance of native peoples' creativity and cleverness.

Jack