Critically speaking, none of my kayaks are ethnographically correct enough to be considered a true replica, but out of my fleet this one is the closest. I basically built it following the steps in David Zimmerlys' book Hooper Bay Kayak Construction, which I highly recommend to anyone with an interest in Yukon-Kuskokwim river delta region kayak construction or south central alaskan traditional material culture of any sort.
This is inside looking back, note the reverse sheer, which was extremely difficult to achieve. The deck beam tenons are set straight into mortises in the gunwales, which flares them at an angle of about 20%, automatically giving them a strong positive sheer. In order to reverse this, the frame has to be laid upside down, weighted HEAVILY in the middle, and the keel stringer attached to the amuvik (shaped bow block) in the front, and the Kagraaluk post (a near vertical extension of the keel) attached to the back. When the weights come off after the ribs are inserted, and stringers are lashed on, the keel is actually under an enormous amount of tension. I had to reinforce the stern after the first attempt because the whole thing kept springing out of shape with enormous forces behind it. Finally, once I got the skin on, the whole thing seemed to mellow out, and all the tensions seem to have equalized one another. There were some dark moments during the construction of this boat. The design is extremely complex, and it has many beautiful nuances which are easily overlooked.
Ukinnakutca (the piece with the hole) Kulak (deck stringer) Amuvik (shaped bow block), and Apamaq (gunwale) joints.
Here it is next to my friend Andre's greenland kayak.
