Name: Survival of the Bark Canoe
ISBN: 9780446973267

Survival of the Bark Canoe

In Greenville, New Hampshire, a small town in the southern part of the state, Henri Vaillancourt makes birch-bark canoes in the same manner and with the same tools that the Indians used. The Survival of the Bark Canoe is the story of this ancient craft and of a 150-mile trip through the Maine woods in those graceful survivors of a prehistoric technology. It is a book squarely in the tradition of one written by the first tourist in these woods, Henry David Thoreau, whose The Maine Woods recounts similar journeys in similar vessel. As McPhee describes the expedition he made with Vaillancourt, he also traces the evolution of the bark canoe, from its beginnings through the development of the huge canoes used by the fur traders of the Canadian North Woods, where the bark canoe played the key role in opening up the wilderness. He discusses as well the differing types of bark canoes, whose construction varied from tribe to tribe, according to custom and available materials. In a style as pure and as effortless as the waters of Maine and the glide of a canoe, John McPhee has written one of his most fascinating books, one in which his talents as a journalist are on brilliant display.

What Hacker News says

mauvehausOct 2026

Birch bark canoes are the traditional construction in e.g. the Boundary Waters region. Wood-canvas canoes are built superficially similarly but don't use the tension of the canvas structurally the same way a bark canoe does.

Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America by Adney and Chappelle is basically the main source for information on bark canoes and how they're built.

The Art of the Canoe with Joe Seliga is out of print, AFAIK, but is a good overview of how wood canvas canoes are built.

The Survival of the Bark Canoe by John McPhee is more narrative and worth a read too.

Laminated wood strip canoes are a more modern invention. Bear Mountain Boats has a good book on how they're built, and Nick Offerman did a video on building one.

And yeah, modern Kevlar boats are ridiculously light. The canonical Boundary Waters touring canoe is the Wenonah Minnesota II, and the lightest version is 43 pounds in Kevlar. I believe graphite is the same weight but stiffer. Fiberglass construction is basically comparable, but heavier, as are some of the Royalex-equivalent materials.

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alexpotatoJul 2025

Love John McPhee and have read a lot of his books so will have to check out your recommendation.

His book The Survival of the Bark Canoe led directly to me learning about crooked knives and then starting https://crookedknives.com

All of his books are phenomenal.

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alexpotatoSep 2026

With regards to how skill is more important than technology in these other form of carrying:

A couple years ago I read Survival of the Bark Canoe by John McPhee [0].

There are several discussions of a crooked knife and how it was the "multitool" of craftsman in the northern forests and was used for everything from making canoes to snowshoes.

This led to me learning more about crooked knives and even starting https://crookedknives.com.

One of the most interesting parts about this journey was reading the below quote:

"Skill allows you to do a lot with one tool whereas many tools can be used to replace skill".

e.g. it's hard to learn how to use a crooked knife but once you do learn, it's like having a plane, gouge and carving knife all in one hand.

This article feels very similar in that it probably takes more skill to use a soft bag or basket to carry loads instead of a modern backpack but also gives you a lot more options.

0 - https://amzn.to/4cR46FW

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alexpotatoApr 2026

Using crooked knives [0] for woodcarving.

They're essentially a combination of a plane, spoke-shave, draw-knife and gouge but all in a one handed tool. They were primarily used by Native Americans to build things like canoes, snowshoes, baskets etc. I first found about them from reading John McPhee's Survival of the Bark Canoe [1] but there are lots of uses of them on video on the website below (which I created).

If you want to get into woodworking but want only a few tools and/or a very portable tool, highly recommend.

e.g. in theory you could build an entire canoe with an axe, crooked knife and 3 or 4 sided awl (and a lot of time, patience and materials)

0 - https://crookedknives.com/

1 - https://amzn.to/3NSj4T3

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