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Autumn 2021

Building a Birchbark Canoe

Building a Birchbark Canoe
Bill Gould paddles the completed canoe around a pond at his home in Warner, New Hampshire. Photos courtesy of Bill Gould.

Bill Gould, a member of the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation, and Reid Schwarz, a woodworker and toolmaker, launched their first birchbark canoe onto local waters in New Hampshire in the spring of 2021. Over this past summer, the pair built a second birchbark canoe. Twelve feet long and weighing 42 pounds, the canoe took the pair just over 130 hours to craft, from selecting and harvesting the bark, to shaping the ribs and gunwales, to gathering spruce root to lash pieces together. These images offer glimpses into the progression of their work. Bill and Reid have started a third canoe build and are posting their progress on Facebook.

Read our full Community Voices interview with Bill Gould here.

Building a Birchbark Canoe Gallery

Building a Birchbark Canoe
The first step is building a frame, which will serve as the form for shaping the birch bark.
Building a Birchbark Canoe
Birchbark is laid beneath the frame, and pressure applied evenly to maintain the shape.
Building a Birchbark Canoe
Bill Gould shapes the birchbark around the frame. Dampening the bark helps, although Gould says heat is the biggest factor that contributes to making the bark pliable.
Building a Birchbark Canoe
Additional bark is added to the base of the canoe to create sides of adequate height. The pieces are sewn together with spruce root.
Building a Birchbark Canoe
The inner gunwale, made of spruce, is shaped. The thwarts of the canoe will hook into the inner gunwale.
Building a Birchbark Canoe
Gould lashes the ends of the gunwale.
Building a Birchbark Canoe
The bark is sandwiched between the inner and outer gunwales, which are pegged together by placing square pegs through round holes.
Building a Birchbark Canoe
A view from the inside of the canoe, mid-build.
Building a Birchbark Canoe
Spruce root is used again to lash the gunwales. Gould says spruce root is pliable when wet and strong once it dries. Pine or tamarack root may also be used.
Building a Birchbark Canoe
The ribs, made from white cedar, are cut to size and laid across the canoe. This canoe has more than 40 ribs.
Building a Birchbark Canoe
Each rib is soaked and then doused with boiling water to help shape it into place.
Building a Birchbark Canoe
After the ribs are shaped, they’re removed, along with the building frame, and the inside of the canoe is sealed. Traditionally, a combination of spruce gum and animal fat was used in this step, although that sealant changes with the temperature – cracking in cold and melting in heat. Gould and Schwartz used thinned roofing tar to seal the inside of the canoe.
Building a Birchbark Canoe
After the sealant is applied, thin sheets of birch bark are laid down to cover the tar.
Building a Birchbark Canoe
The inner layer of bark is covered with planking of 1/8 inch thickness, and the ribs fit into the gunwales.
Building a Birchbark Canoe
The ends of each rib are shaped to fit into a groove in the inner gunwale.
Building a Birchbark Canoe
Once the ribs are in and the inside of the canoe is complete, Gould pours hot water over the outside of the canoe. This process removes bumps and wrinkles in the bark.
Building a Birchbark Canoe
Each seam and stich is coated in marine sealant.
Building a Birchbark Canoe
The headboard features the names of the canoe builders. Both bow (behind the headboard) and stern are stuffed with moss, which helps the canoe maintain its shape and absorb impact if it hits against something in the water.
Building a Birchbark Canoe
The wood of a completed canoe may be finished with oil or varnish.
Building a Birchbark Canoe
Building a Birchbark Canoe
Building a Birchbark Canoe
Building a Birchbark Canoe
Schwartz etched the bark of the canoe, using a double curve Gould says is a typical Native American design in the Northeast.
Building a Birchbark Canoe

© 2021 by the author; this article may not be copied or reproduced without the author's consent.

Discussion *

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Sep 02, 2021

Wow, nicely done!  Looks great and well balanced in the water. It’s nice too that the pictures show the work that went into this.  Question: did birchbark canoes have planking as this one does ?

Dave

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