Transportation

Dependent on the ocean for their survival, Aleuts were expert boat designers, paddlers, and navigators. Aleut had two primary types of boats: an open boat for large parties and a smaller, closed-deck, single-person boat for hunting. Both boats had similar construction. The boat's structure was a ribbed frame made by lashing together driftwood or bone with heavy thongs. This frame was covered with walrus, sea lion, or seal skins.

The larger open skin boat, known by its Russian name, baidara, was similar to a large canoe. Baidaras, which could carry up to 40 people, were used when traveling in larger groups. Some Aleuts traveled as far as the Gulf of Alaska in these boats to trade and raid. When traveling long distances, several boats usually went together.

For hunting, the Aleut used a smaller one or two-person skin-boat with a covered deck that the Russians called baidarkas. Bairdarkas are very similar to an Inupiaq kayak. They are distinguished from kayaks in their split bow and longer, more slender design.  A one-person baidarka measured about 16 feet long, while a two-person boat measured about 20 feet long and was slightly wider. Baidarka travelers sat inside an opening in the deck with legs extended in front, using double-bladed wood paddles. On the baidarka deck, hunters set their hunting equipment of atlatls, darts, harpoons, floats, and ropes.

Bairdarkas are known for their excellent speed, maneuverability, and seaworthiness in rough conditions, such as those often encountered around the Aleutian Islands. Many early Russian and European travelers to Alaska were amazed by the sophistication of the baidarka design and the skill of Aleuts in paddling them. For the Aleut, baidarkas lived as spiritual beings and were essential for their survival. For a baidarka, the hunter's wife normally sewed the skins for the boat together; for the larger baidaras, several wives would work together. 

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