The York boat was a type of inland boat used by the Hudson's Bay Company to carry furs and trade goods along inland waterways in Rupert's Land, the watershed stretching from Hudson Bay to the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. It was named after York Factory, the headquarters of the HBC, and by some accounts was supposedly modeled after the Orkney yole (itself a descendant of the Viking longship).[1] Two variations to the York Boat were scows and "Sturgeon Heads."[2]
History and economics
York boats were preferred as cargo carriers to the birchbark canoes used by the North West Company, because they were larger, carried more cargo and were safer in rough water. The boat's heavy wood construction was a significant advantage when travelling waterways where the bottom or sides of the hull were likely to strike rocks or ice. Canoes then were commonly constructed with soft hulls of birch bark or animal hide and were vulnerable to tears and punctures. The solid, all-wood hull of the York boat could simply bounce off or grind past obstacles that could easily inflict fatal damage on a soft-hulled vessel. That advantage became a disadvantage, though, when portaging was necessary. The boat was far too heavy to carry and the crew had to cut a path through the brush, lay poplar rollers and drag the boat overland.
Crewing a York boat was an arduous task, and those who chose this life faced "unending toil broken only by the terror of storms," according to Sir John Franklin.
The York boat had a length of about 14 m and the largest could carry more than 6 tonne of cargo. It had a pointed bow, a flat bottom, and a stern angled upward at 45°, making beaching and launching easier. The boat was propelled by oars and by a square canvas sail. It was steered by a long steering pole or, when under sail, by a rudder. It had a crew of between six and eight men. The first boat was built in 1749, and by the late 18th century there were boat-building stations from James Bay to Fort Chipewyan. The advent of the steamboat in the 19th century signalled the end for the York boat.
The very narrow Echimamish River flows from the Nelson River
See also
- Bateau
- Canoe - the York boat's counterpart/competitor in the Canadian fur trade.
- North American fur trade
- Portage La Loche Brigade
- Red River Cart
- Voyageurs
- York Factory Express
External links
- Fort Edmonton York boat photo
- Hudson's Bay Company: Our History
- Old photographs & replica York boat in video.
References
- Frances Russell. Mistehay Sakahegan, the Great Lake Heartland, 2004^
- Barkwell, Lawrence. https://www.scribd.com/document/99580756/York-Boats-Scows-and-Sturgeon-Heads^
- Great Canadian Rivers: The Hayes TV Ontario, 2001-10-29, retrieved 2013-12-14^