Читать книгу How to Send Smoke Signals, Pluck a Chicken & Build an Igloo - Michael Powell - Страница 15

If you can only spare a couple of days, use a chainsaw, but if you have a month to burn, why not try the traditional Native American method of using fire as the main tool to hollow out your canoe?

1. Locate and chop down a pine tree with a trunk base that is completely straight, at least 20 ft (6 m) long and about 3 ft (90 cm) in diameter (you can also use a hardwood such as elm or chestnut). Traditionally you would chop down a tree close to a river and work it into a canoe on the river bank, because there would be no easy way to transport the log somewhere else.

2. Strip the branches and place the trunk on a row of smaller logs so that it can be maneuvered more easily.

3. Remove the bark using a three-quarters ax, spade, or a foot adze.

4. Flatten the top by sawing or chopping parallel lines across the trunk and then chipping away with an ax or adze.

5. Dig a depression under the front and back ends of the log and light a fire in each. The flames will burn the underside of the log so you can chop away the charred wood with an adze to create a sloped bow and stern.

6. Burn fires on top of the log along its length and dig out the charcoal each day to hollow out the inside of the canoe. This will take several days. Protect the sides and other areas that you don’t want to burn by splashing them with water or backfilling them with clay and mud.

7. Don’t let the fire go out. Keep tending it round the clock and make sure you aren’t burning the precious sides. The sides should be about 2 in (5 cm) thick.

8. Once you have created the rough interior, lay smaller targeted fires to burn away areas that are too thick, using rocks to press the fires against the targeted areas, while protecting the areas that are already at the required thickness.

9. Traditionally, clam shells would also be used to create a smooth finish inside and out. Then the wood would be rubbed with animal fat.

10. Drag your 220 lb (100 kg) canoe down to the water for its test launch. The beauty of a dugout is that even though it is less stable than a modern canoe, it won’t sink if you capsize, even when filled with water.