The Old & New York Boats

A Treatise On The York Boat By F.A. Graham

Purpose of To bring peltries from the interior to York Factory and take trade goods to and from the interior.

The Design: Commonly known as Clinker or Lapstrake on steam bent ribs. Bow and stern racked and both leaned out approximately 4 feet from the water line. Overall length 36', water line strength 28', beam 8", depth from 3' to 4'. Fitted with "blankets" sails and six, one man oars, 20" long. Capacity 7,000 lbs. Dry weight 3,000 lbs.

It's Construction: Spruce throughout in keel, keelson, stern, knees, framing, ribs, gunwales, seats and mast. Low carbon hand wrought clout nails clinched by two men and hand forged threadless bolts rivetted on inside, less washers! Glue or cement not required due to ingenious lap construction. Planking was whipsawn and hand planed as well as tapered in width and in thickness, all occuring towards bow and stern. Battens were used over knots and joins. Spruce was employed simply because it was the most suitable available on the building sites, and when a boat ended it's usefulness, it was burned and all iron fastenings recovered for reforging.

How Used: Manned by six oarsmen plus bowmen and a steersmen at a sweep. To balance the oars, the oarsmen sat on the opposite gunwale from that in which the oars lock was affixed. They stood up to push the oars forward (the opposite maneouvre to that of our present day rowboats). Due to the great length of the oars, the oarsmen was compelled to take several steps forward as he faced the direction in which the boat proceeded. Upon completion of the power stroke, he would then take several steps backward and sit down until the next stroke was required. A Hudson Bay blanket was hoisted (canvas not available) when winds were present. When rivers or lakes were shallow, boat was poled. When waters were swift, boat was tracked, that is, pulled by two ropes by the crew along the bank. The remainder of the crew engaged in pushing off. Boats always travelled in bridges of three or more, as it required the entire crew of three boats equalling twenty-four men to haul the boat over rollers made of logs. The racked design permitted a minimum of effort to push and pull off rocks and shoals.

Where Made: At the end of the 18th Century, the Hudson Bay Company had Trading Posts established near the shores of the Hudson Bay and James Bay. One of these Posts was called York Factory, located near the mouth of the Hayes River.

Made By: Hudson Bay servants were mostly men from the Orkney Islands, but some were Highlanders from the Northern Scotland. Most of them had a strain of Viking blood, because the Norsemen had settled in the Orkneys and Highland Scotland. They were skilled boat builders.

Why Not Canoes? Hudson Bay had no skilled canoemen, nor did birch trees grow at York Factory or at Churchill (Fort Prince of Whale). The York Boat carried greater loads at a low cost than the larger canoe did not withstand the rough usage on shoals and when portaging, consequently the York Boat possessed a much greater useful life. While the canoe was infinitely lighter, it was considerably smaller and could not carry the same pounds load per man.

Why the York Boat Disappeared: (In 1880) The great boat yielded to the sternwheel steamers, as well as the Red River cart. The boat yards at York Factory were abandoned, but were still standing in 1957. Insofar as is known, only three boats survive to this day. One of them stands intact in honorable retirement, sheltered from the elements, along the south wall of Lower Fort Garry.

Remarks: The design and construction of the York Boat was so satisfactory when used on stormy Lake Winnipeg, that the Icelanders and Indians were quick to adopt the pattern in a smaller version suitable for their needs and this was made in Gimli, Riverton and Selkirk until about 1925, at which time the outboard motor came into being. Surprisingly enough, today's commercial fishing boat, called Yawl, while of similar design but in 18' to 22' in length and with a square stern to receive the motor, bears a strong resemblance and has likewise proven it's ability to withstand the frequent paid to the famous York Boat which in turn, was moulded after the Norsemen Viking Long Ship.

A minute inspection of several intact boats was well as a number of derelect ones in various degrees of decay revealed an amazing likeness to one another as if they were all constructed by the same men.

After 250 years, time for makeover
by Bill Redekop, Winnipeg Free Press

HEADINGLEY - More than 250 years after its first inception, the historic York Boat is about to undergo its first design change. The Norway House Cree Nation has commissioned the building of six new York Boats for its annual York Boat races, where first prize captures $25,000.00 The biggest change to the new boats, designed by MAG Design Group Inc. of Headingley, is a major one - the boats will be made entirely from aluminum, not timber. Norway House Chief Ron Evans said the problem with the original York Boats is they only last two to three years. It was the same in the 1700's when they were introduced by the Hudson Bay Company.

"They're good for a year, then the wood starts warping and they start to leak," said Evans. " We spend thousands of dollars each year on maintenance." As well, striking a rock can put a big hole in a York Boat because of the weight of the boats and their large crews add to the force behind the boats. Aluminum doesn't rust and it's maintenance-free. The new York Boats cost up to $50,000.00 each, versus $15,000.00 to $20,000.00 for timber boats, but will be a lot more durable and will ride more uniformly in the water. The design will be much the same except seating will be more comfortable. The boats will be painted red and black. "It won't look aluminum until you sit in it," said MAG project manager Rene Rosset. It just shows how avid people are about York Boat racing in Norway House, located along the Nelson River about 870 kilmetres north of Winnipeg. The entire community of 5,500 turns out each year for the York Boat racing finals in August, where $200,000.00 in prize money is up for grabs, Evans said. "People start training the first sign of open water," Evans said.

Races are broken into several heats, and each race covers about eight kilometres and takes about an hour, Evans said. Norway House started the races, and other Cree Nations are starting to join in, including Cross Lake, Fisher River, Split Lake and Oxford House, he said. The boats are manned by a crew of 10 - eight rowers, one navigator in front and one steerer in back. The York Boats are 40 feet long by 10 feet wide. The oars are 17 feet long each, and the tiller is at least 22 feet. The first week of August will make the 30th York Boat Days celebration. Anyone can enter, said Evans.

It seemed sacrilege to some members to change the boats from wood to aluminum, he said. However, there were also complaints that timber boats didn't ride uniformly in the water, giving some teams an advantage over others. Rosset said the aluminum York Boats will operate as close to the originals as possible. "if boats go faster it changes the whole race. I suspect they will be a little faster, but if it's a lot faster guys can't stroke properly."