Baidarka is the Russian name used for Aleutian style sea kayak. The ancient Unangan name is Iqyax. The word has its origins from early Russian settlers in Alaska. Iqya-x builders who kept the tradition of building skin-on-skeleton boats alive in the 20th century include Sergie Sovoroff.
A prominent feature of a baidarka is its forked bow (bifurcated bow). Very lightweight and maneuverable, it was made out of seal skin sewed only by Aleut women, over a frame made strictly of drift wood (since no trees grow in the Aleutian Islands), bone and sinew. It was treated as a living being by Aleut men (it was taboo for women to handle them).
In modern times, George Dyson is often credited with the revival of the baidarka, through his company Dyson, Baidarka & Company. Dyson and his boats were the subject of Kenneth Brower's book The Starship and the Canoe,[1] and Dyson himself wrote the book Baidarka in 1986.[2] Dyson's Baidarkas are made from modern materials such as aluminium for the frame and coated polyester fabric for the skin.
Another well known baidarka revivalist is ethnographer David Zimmerly, who has documented the history of baidarka and the people who used them. In 1983 Zimmerly published two articles in "Small Boat Journal" that showed how to build a baidarka.[3] [4]
Baidarka is the name sometimes used for sea kayaks from the Aleutian Islands and Alaska Peninsula. The word is Russian, and the more ancient word is "iqyak".
The people who have lived in this region of the world for thousands of years called themselves "Unungan" meaning "people who lived by the side of the sea". The Unungan men built the kayaks by carving the wooden frames from driftwood using stone tools made from volcanic rocks as well as tools made from bone, ivory, and wood.
The men designed the kayak frames to be light, fast, and flexible, tying together the wooden parts with intricate and spiritual knots braided from tough animal sinew. Unungan women prepared sea lion skins which they sewed onto the frames with bone needles, using a waterproof stitch. While out at sea, men carried with them emergency repair kits. For the Unungan, the sea kayaks lived as spiritual beings and were essential for their survival.
From early ages, Unungan boys were trained in the use of skin kayaks.