Contrary to reports, the Aleut kayak was not rigid, but featured a two- or three-piece keelson that was lashed with baleen and jointed with polished ivory or bone to give flexibility and alleviate stress to the boat from bow to stern, to help it ride the waves. There is a story of two Aleut men in kayaks paddling sometimes backwards and sometimes forward to ride on a wave from Kodiak to Dutch Harbor.
Boats