How to Make a Pine Dugout Canoe

A dugout canoe is the traditional method of creating a canoe, using a single log that is hollowed out to provide the entire body of the canoe. Although modern tools shorten the time that a canoe can be created in, the end product of a dugout pine canoe yields a dugout canoe similar to the canoes used by Native American tribes. The natural buoyancy of the tree allows the canoe to float, while the fire-hardened exterior protects the tree from damage during use. Pine is a traditional canoe tree, commonly used by Native American tribes to make their canoes, making it an ideal choice for a traditional dugout canoe.

Things You'll Need

• Log
• Adze
• Axe
• Chainsaw
• Fire pit

Instructions

1. Cut a tree into a log wide enough to sit inside and slightly longer than your desired canoe length.

2. Scrape the bark off of the exterior of the tree with the adze.

3. Cut the top off of the log to create the flat top of your canoe.

4. Cut the sides, front and back of the log with the chainsaw until your log is your desired canoe shape.

5. Draw an outline for the interior of the canoe on the top of the log.

6. Cut lines into the canoe with the chainsaw, running parallel to the sides of the canoe and cutting as deep as your canoe will be at the point of each line. These will be the guides to make it easier to hollow out the interior of the canoe.

7. Chop out the interior of the log with the axe. The cuts from the saw will loosen the interior wood allowing the axe to break off chips of wood as you work.

8. Scrape the interior and exterior of the canoe with the adze to smooth the canoe's surface.

9. Build a fire in the fire pit.

10. Move the canoe over the fire to fire harden. Place one section of the canoe over the fire until it blackens then slide the canoe so a new section is over the fire, repeating until the entire canoe is hardened.

References

• Fruitlands; Mike Volmar; The Dugout Canoe Project
• Primitive Ways; Bob Gillis; Dugout Canoes