: That's unique! Congrats on its adoption, and successful completion.
: Is it known why that shape was used? And, what's the logic of
: the strip sticking up past the skin, at the stems?

Thanks for the nice comments all.

According to John Jennings (The Canoe - A Living Tradition), it may be because of the type of barks used. Whereas Birch grain goes around the tree, the thicker coniferous trees used in the areas around the Canadian border grow longitudinally. These barks are thick but brittle, so it would be necessary to sew up from the bottom. These were very crude boats. They were fast but not very stable (as I can now attest to). As for the strips sticking up from the skin at the stems - probably just easier to lash the gunwales to the ends that way.