Mackinaw boat
From birchyHistory
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[[File:MackinawBoatg.jpg|thumb|right|500px]] | [[File:MackinawBoatg.jpg|thumb|right|500px]] | ||
| − | The '''Mackinaw boat''' is a loose term for a light, open | + | The '''Mackinaw boat''' is a loose term for a light, open sailboat used in the interior of North America during the [[fur trading]] era. Within this term two different ''Mackinaw boats'' evolved: one for use on the upper Great Lakes, and the other for use on the upper [[Missouri River]] and its principal tributaries. |
==Ancestors== | ==Ancestors== | ||
| − | The common origin of all ''Mackinaw boats'' was the Native American | + | The common origin of all ''Mackinaw boats'' was the Native American canoe. With its lightness, speed, cargo capacity, and double-ended flexibility, the canoe delighted fur traders of European origin. However, the Indian canoe design was not stable with a mast and sail. |
==Development== | ==Development== | ||
| − | The addition of a retractable | + | The addition of a retractable centerboard made it possible to raise a small mast and sail over a canoe-shaped hull. This breakthrough probably took place some time in the late 1600s or early 1700s century at the Straits of Mackinac, hence the name, ''Mackinaw boat''. |
| − | With the help of a sail and a favorable wind, a Mackinaw boat could cover an equivalent distance with much greater ease than by rowing with | + | With the help of a sail and a favorable wind, a Mackinaw boat could cover an equivalent distance with much greater ease than by rowing with paddles. The Mackinaw boat quickly became a favorite on the upper Great Lakes. By the time of the dominance of the [[American Fur Company]] in 1815-1836, the Mackinaw boat was almost the commodity vessel in this region. The [[bateau]] was another common freight vessel design of the era, similar to the Mackinaw. |
The fur company's men so liked the Mackinaw boat that when asked to build, paddle, and pole light cargo boats up the Missouri River to the company's new trading region in [[Dakota Territory]] and [[Montana Territory]], they called the boats ''mackinaws'', even though it was comparatively difficult to move a boat up the Missouri River by sail power. The Missouri River ''mackinaw'' may have borne some similarities to the river [[pirogue]] developed by French colonists in [[Louisiana Territory]] and adapted by the Americans as early as the time of [[Lewis and Clark]]. | The fur company's men so liked the Mackinaw boat that when asked to build, paddle, and pole light cargo boats up the Missouri River to the company's new trading region in [[Dakota Territory]] and [[Montana Territory]], they called the boats ''mackinaws'', even though it was comparatively difficult to move a boat up the Missouri River by sail power. The Missouri River ''mackinaw'' may have borne some similarities to the river [[pirogue]] developed by French colonists in [[Louisiana Territory]] and adapted by the Americans as early as the time of [[Lewis and Clark]]. | ||
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==External links== | ==External links== | ||
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackinaw Boat}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Mackinaw Boat}} | ||
[[Category:Fur trade]] | [[Category:Fur trade]] | ||
