Random Picture Thread

The steaming is to increase the beam of the canoe as the carver starts with a narrower tree to minimize the amount of wood that has to be removed. Smart thinking! They may look crude but there's a lot of sophistication. As the beam increases it introduces rocker of course, probably had a great deal to do with the characteristic shapes of these boats.

The Senegalese boats remind me of the West Coast (Haida, Tinglit etc) dugouts in style and decoration. Dugout building is rare these days (ancient Goon Show fans will remember this) "you can't get the wood you know!" Post #5230 shows Quanaas (Whale), renamed Aquitania, built by a buddy. He used planks but -knowing him - I'm sure if he could have got his hands on a big enough tree it would have been a proper dugout . . .

 

The stem there in Saxman Native Village in Ketchikan, Alaska is amazingly similar to the ones on the pirogues in West Africa.

. . . see for example those in St. Louis, Senegal . . .​

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. . . and near Banjul, Gambia . . .​

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Below some info about the West African pirogues in an FAO report.​

FAO LIBRARY AN: 320319 - IDAF / WP / 39 - PURSE SEINE AND ENCIRCLING NET FISHING - OPERATIONS IN SENEGAL, GUINEA, SIERRA LEONE, GHANA AND BENIN - July 1991

From page 14 in the report which is page 20 on the PDF.

‘‘ THE BOAT.
The Senegalese Pirogue has evolved from the dugout canoe and has a solid beam of wood some 40 - 50 cm thick as a keel upon which side planks have been fitted to increase both the size and carrying capacity of the canoe (see fig 3). These side planks are linked together by transverse thwarts, cross beams and occassionally bulkheads which give the hull strength. Strips of heavy canvas are nailed lengthwise over tarred caulking to stop leakage while at the stern of the canoe an outboard engine mounting bracket is situated amidships over a well cut directly through the keel. The length of canoe used in the purse fishery has increased since the mid eighties to an average of some 18-20 metres but there are some canoes of this type which now occassionally reach 24-26 metres in length. Example measured at Dakaar Fig 3 proved to be 24 metres in length. ’’​

See the Senegalese pirogue drawings in the report, Fig 3 from the quote is on page 13 in the report which is page 19 on the PDF.

Cheers,
Angel

P.S. - Oops... deleted it by mistake while enlarging the post, so it's now reposted . . .

Sorry to Terry who already responded here . . . :idea:​

 

I've looked it up . . . . that would have been a Huge Tree . . . .

Cheers,
Angel

 

The boat, that's now firewood, but must say some nice lumber is growing there . . . .

Cheers,
Angel

 

I don't know a lot about commercial fishing but is that a seiner?

 

It is seiner than I.

It is a treat seeing the similarities between the Tlingit and W. African boats. Possibly a case of form following function?

 

Nope. Immigration and migration.



Either form following function, or it was migration. Which do you choose?

 

The canoes were also used to transport war material. There is an interesting incident that happened during the Battle of Sitka between the Tlingit and Russians in 1802. A small, armed party of Tlinget were sent to retrieve some gunpowder reserves, obtained no doubt from the British and French, that were stashed on an island in near the Russian forces. The group decided not to wait for the cover of darkness and tried to make it back to friendly lines in broad daylight. It was spotted and engaged in brief a firefight with the Russians. A round struck the canoe in which the Tlingit were transporting the gunpowder, igniting the cargo and causing it to explode. All were lost.

 

Unusual kayak race . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxqYGs3yM9c

 

Looks like that. Found here an older Hoonah seiner . . . .

And here some seine history from Hoonah . . .

Cheers,
Angel

 

Salmon seiner - 1967 - which looks a bit like the one Jolly posted . .


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‘‘ 1967 August: Salmon seiner with power block drumming in the net. Note seine skiff holding vessel off the net. ’’

Cheers,
Angel

 

Seiners catch fish by circling a school of fish with a deep net - the bottom of the net is then closed off (I think it is called "pursing") then the whole net and fish are pulled on board the Seiner

 

This is how the cannery looks now.

 

Most similarities between the Tlingit and West African pirogues (especially the Senegal and surroundings type) are seen in the kinda overhanging shelf on the stem as is on the one Jolly posted. But the Tlingit canoes seems to differ from one another, see different types on this Tlingit photo page (look for the canoe pics between the many others), they have a stem more like Terry's friend built and as some of the Haida's have.

‘‘ Skidegate Indian Village of the Haida tribe. Skidegate Inlet, British Columbia, Canada - July 1878 ’’



‘‘ Haida canoes from Masset, B.C. and cruise ship - Saxman, Alaska - 1993 ’’​

The West African pirogues also differ from one another, see for example the drawing of a Ghana type on page 25 in the FAO report, which is page 31 on the PDF, and compare it to the Senegalese type as posted in post #5326.

Cheers,
Angel

 

Some pics of the Ghana type . . .

Elmina Castle (St George's Castle), Elmina, Ghana


click pic to enlarge - - - - view from the beach


Laundry on Fishing Boats, Elmina Harbour, Ghana


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Building Traditional Fishing Boats "Pirogues", Elmina, Ghana


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Cheers,
Angel