Northern California Dugout

No matter where I go, I find myself drawn towards boats.
For obvious reasons, I find small rowing craft particularly interesting.
And if I know you, my friends who share my obsession to one degree or another, I think you'll find this boat at least mildly interesting too.

Most folks these days think of Native American watercraft, and the classic canoe comes to mind, but a number of boat types can be found in the pre-Columbian history of North America. In the redwood region of California, many of the indigenous people crafted and paddled "dugouts".

A "dugout canoe" is also known in some parts as a "log boat" because it is hewn from a single log.

Before metal tools were introduced to the region, stone tools were used, and sometimes boatbuilders relied on fire to clear out areas of the log so they could create a bouyant vessel.

Dugout canoes certainly aren't a local phenomenon, in fact examples of the dugout approach to boatbuilding can be found all over the world.

Some of the oldest boats in the world, still available for viewing in museums, are dugouts. Because they are fashioned out of a single piece of wood, they tend to preserve better than skinboats and boats planked together or made of bark.

The above photo is of an ancient dugout, which was once used to travel the waters of the Northern California. I wonder if the guys who made it had any idea it would still be around today.

I haven't had the chance to row one fo these boats yet, but if I get the opportunity, you'll surely hear about it.