The ribs, or frames, of most canoes were very closely spaced and were wide, flat, and thin. They ran in a single length from gunwale to gunwale. In canoes having V-sections near the ends, the ribs were often so sharply bent as to be fractured slightly. Across the bottom they were wide but above the bilge they tapered in width toward the end, which was either a rounded point or a beveled or rounded chisel-edge. The ribs were forced under the gunwales so that the heads fitted into the bevel, or into notches or holes at the underside and outboard edge of the gunwale, between it and the bark cover. By canting the rib to bring its ends into the proper position and then forcing it nearly perpendicular, the builder brought enough pressure on the bark cover to mold it to the required form. Bulging of the bark at each frame was prevented by a thin plank sheathing. The ribs in many Eastern canoes were spaced so that on the bottom they were separated only by a space equal to the width of a rib.
Each piece of sheathing, better described as a "splint" than as "planking," was commonly of irregular form. The edges were often beveled to a marked thinness. While some builders laid the sheathing edge-to-edge in the bark cover, others overlapped the edges. Nearly all builders feathered the butts and overlapped them slightly. The sheathing was held in position by a number of light temporary ribs while the permanent frames, or ribs, were being installed. It is to be noted that the sheathing was neither lashed nor pegged; it remained fixed in place only through the pressure of the bent ribs and the restraint of the bark skin.
The exact method of fitting the sheathing varied somewhat from area to area, but not in every instance from tribe to tribe. The bottom sheathing used by some eastern Indians was in two lengths. The individual pieces were tapered toward the stems and the edges butted closely together. The sides were in three lengths, but otherwise similarly fitted. The butts lapped very slightly. In a second method, used to the westward, the sheathing was laid edge-to-edge in two lengths, with the butts slightly lapped. The center members of the bottom, usually five, were parallel-sided, but the outboard ends of those at the turn of the bilges were beveled, or snied, off. The members further outboard were in one length, with both ends snied off. The bottom thus appeared as an elongated diamond-form. The topside sheathing was fitted as in the first instance.
Figure 27
Gunwale Lashings, examples made by Adney: 1, Elm-bark, Malecite; 2, St. Francis; 3, Algonkin; 4, Malecite.
Figure 28
Gunwale-End Lashings, examples made by Adney: Athabascan (large), Ojibway (small).
A variation in the second style used three lengths in the centerline sheathing. In still another variation a centerline piece was laid in two lengths without taper, the next outboard piece was then cut in the shape of a broad-based triangle, and the rest were laid in two lengths, with the sides parallel to the sides of the triangular strake and with their ends snied off against the centerline pieces. In a fourth style short pieces, roughly elongate-oval in shape, were overlapped on all sides and laid irregularly so that when in place they appeared "thrown in." With this style, the midship section was laid first and secured by a temporary rib, then the next toward the ends, with the butts shoved under the ends of the middle section. The next series was similarly laid so that the top member of each butt-lap faced toward the ends of the hull and was under a rib. The ends were not cut square across, but were either blunt-pointed or rounded. Five lengths of sheathing were often used, and the widths of the individual pieces of sheathing were rarely the same, so the seams were not lined up and presented an irregular appearance in the finished canoe. The sheathing was thin enough to allow it to take the curve of the bilge easily.