by Adam Keiper

The geese were quiet when I began stalking them, but the flock grew nervous as I slipped closer. All eyes were on me, and their soft honks grew louder and more numerous. I only needed a few more yards to execute a shot when the flock began to swim away amidst anxious chatter. Severely testing their tolerance, I reached lethal bow range just as the remaining geese were moving out. I drew my 50-inch Modoc-style bow on the last goose and sent an ash arrow toward its mottled wing. The river erupted in an alarming chorus and a curtain of gray and
white wings. The water was still in a spray from their wingtips as I raced to retrieve my goose. Securing the bird beneath the deck lashing satisfied a goal I had set earlier in the year: to take a goose with a self bow from a kayak. This experience was unique for me but certainly not to Native Americans on the same water perhaps just 200 years ago.

For millennia, early societies have flocked to waterways as travel corridors and resources for food and materials. In modern times, the significance of waterways in these regards has been lost among the general public. I began kayaking earlier this year and discovered, just as in the past, what a bountiful resource waterways offer to
today’s primitive practitioners for hunting and gathering. Building upon the self reliant foundation of the primitive arts, a canoe or kayak is the ideal and natural craft to use in searching for game and materials along lakes and rivers. Comparatively inexpensive as watercrafts go, these simple vessels are easily transportable, very low maintenance, quiet, and eco-friendly with regards to their power source. Even though they are usually now made from manufactured materials, modern canoes and kayaks clearly evoke their earlier counterparts.

Self bow hunters may use canoes and kayaks to locate new hunting ground, to access remote areas, or as hunting platforms themselves. Untouched land may even be found right along daily travel routes that are not noticed from public roads. Imagine being the only person to hunt a patch of woods just because you’re the only one who knows the land exists! On a particular stretch of river that I frequent, I’ve seen whitetail deer using the same shallow crossing nearly every time I’ve reached that location. I have a natural blind picked out for when I’m ready to hunt there. Most public land is hunted hardest where it is the most accessible. A canoe or kayak may provide access, across a lake perhaps, to remote areas away from crowds. Waterfowl hunters will appreciate how mobile a boat is to locate ducks and geese, and how closely a slowly moving kayak will allow them to get to their quarry. I noticed this almost immediately when I began paddling. During my goose hunt, the expansive river allowed me to paddle four miles to find a flock of geese. Though I began a stalk from 500 yards, it was only in the final 20 yards that I swapped my paddle for my bow. Shoreline hunting for other game is possible, too. I’ve paddled past turkeys and many squirrels that would have afforded a seated shot.

The Modoc style bow used on the goose hunt

Primitive archers and paleo-enthusiasts in general may find a canoe or kayak is an ideal way to gather materials. Stream banks and islands are lined with potential bow wood and arrow shafts. True paleoenthusiasts may find edible or medicinal plants, vines or bark for baskets, or berries and fruits for stains. Streambeds themselves are often lined with pure clay that is ideal for pottery, sandstone cobbles for tools, or even chert or flint for knapping. Depending on the region, gravel bars and overbanks might even hold native relics. The possibilities for gathering are endless.

Canoes and kayaks can also be the perfect vehicle just to get away to practice primitive arts. A small island can be free of distractions and a great place to build bows and arrows or flintknap. Just slip a stave or a bundle of shafts and a few simple tools in the hull, and paddle away for a perfectly secluded and relaxing morning. Even in an urban area, isolated places can still often be reached by water, while the highways are clogged and local parks are packed.

Practicing primitive arts on the water certainly adds a fresh element for those who have always been land-based. Shooting a bow from a canoe or kayak may seem a little daunting, but it really isn’t too difficult. Even in my moderately narrow kayak, I haven’t encountered the twitching hips and nervous instability that I imagined. Just a few practice shots will build your confidence. Floating leaves and sticks make perfect practice ducks. If you enjoy stump shooting, wait until you try it on the water! Don’t worry about losing arrows to the abyss, either. Your woodies will float just fine, nock ends up, like long fishing floats. Just paddle over to retrieve them, shake the water off the fletchings, and shoot again. Shorter bows obviously will clear the waterline easier than longer bows, but that doesn’t mean a longbow won’t work from a boat. It will just need to be canted more.

If you would like to bowfish from your boat, I recommend a very stable setup that allows you to stand up to shoot, such as a canoe with an outrigger. It is very difficult to keep the bow limbs clear of the hull when shooting down at fish from a seated position. It is also more difficult to see the fish when seated, and the low angle shots that are more easily performed severely restrict the depth that an arrow will even reach.

If you decide to cut bow wood with your canoe or kayak, you only need to bring a good pruning saw for saplings and smaller sized trees. This is a great option for kayakers, those who enjoy solitude, and those who just like to travel light. If you have a canoe and want to tackle larger trees, however, a chainsaw may be in order. Bring a few wedges, a hatchet, and a hand sledge if you want or need to split streamside. To me, that’s part of the fun!

Hedge apples drifting in a river caught the author’s attention and led him to discover a riverbank lined with Osage trees

The safest way to transport staves is by floating them alongside your boat. Do not lash staves to the deck or across the seats as this will make the boat extremely unstable. If the boat were to capsize with a heavy weight tied on top, it may be impossible to right the boat while in the water. Split staves can be lashed together and dealt with as a single log. Freshly cut logs float just under the water surface and pose a real hazard if you tether them to yourself or the boat. If you use a tow rope, it is imperative that you are able to release the log instantly if it snags or you run into trouble. I prefer to secure the tow rope by pressing it between my thigh and the cockpit, so that if need be, I can allow it to slip free while keeping my hands on the paddle. Paddling with a log in tow is indeed a drag, so plan to travel downstream with it if you can.

Since I touched on safety, be mindful and prepared when you’re on the water. Life vests should go without saying. If you’re going to paddle in cooler weather, bring a complete change of clothes in a watertight dry bag in case you take a spill. While much safety boils down to common sense, you may also want to take canoe or kayak lessons to improve your skills and get expert advice. Read up on your state’s requirements for safety gear, titling, registration, or other permitting, and confirm that you have permission to be on the lands you wish to visit.

So, you’re interested. Is a canoe or a kayak the right choice for you? Canoes hold more gear and are easier to get into and out of than a conventional kayak. However, they’re more open to the elements, can be blown around by the wind, and can fill with water if tipped. Kayaks are usually lighter (think loading on your car roof or portaging), faster, and not as apt to fill with water if capsized. Packing a deer out on one would be a challenge, though. Consider your options and make a choice that suits you best.

Canoes and kayaks vary widely in design. In general, longer boats take less effort to paddle, track straighter, and are faster, though they are less maneuverable, while shorter boats are the opposite. Narrower boats are also generally faster, but feel more tippy, while wider boats again have the opposite characteristics. Stability is described in terms of primary and secondary categories. Primary stability is the how tippy the boat feels when sitting flat on the water. This is what jumps to mind when most people think of stability. A boat with good primary stability will feel very solid when sitting and paddling on the level, but at some threshold of lean, will overturn without warning. Secondary stability refers to how stable the boat feels when rocked on edge. A boat with good secondary stability will feel quite tippy when level but can be leaned confidently and with great control. A boat cannot have both good primary and secondary stability. The overall stability of a boat lies on a sliding scale between the two. Beginners usually like boats with good primary stability since they feel safer. Advanced paddlers often appreciate good secondary stability, which allows them to execute leaned turns and use advanced paddling techniques. This is how a long sea kayak can be turned on a dime.

Hull shape determines how a canoe or kayak will handle as well. Flat or oval crosssections have more primary stability than rounder shapes, which have better secondary stability. V-shaped hulls track straighter than other shapes and have increased secondary stability. V-shape hulls, however, can snag rocks and are apt to tip in shallow rivers. Rocker refers to the lengthwise curvature of the hull. The more rocker a boat has, the more maneuverable it will be, but the slower it will be as well. All of these design elements come together to give a boat its handling characteristics.

In kayaks, the two major categories are sit-on-top and sit-inside varieties. Sit-on-top kayaks do not have a deck and the paddler sits openly on top of the hull. These kayaks are usually quite wide, with good primary stability, and are preferred mostly by fishermen and casual paddlers. If the paddler falls off, he can simply climb back on top, since these do not fill with water (provided any hatches are sealed). Sit-inside kayaks are the more classic type where the paddler is seated inside the hull. These are generally narrower, lighter, and take less effort to paddle. The paddler stays much drier as well, which is a big consideration for paddling in cool weather.

These are all very broad generalizations, of course. You will need to do your homework when choosing the boat that is right for you. Paddlers of calm lakes will usually want a different boat than paddlers of small, swift streams, for example. I chose my particular kayak for its ease of paddling and tracking in upstream currents, for its accessible, open cockpit design, and for its moderate weight. I normally use it on moderate to very large rivers, though I’ve used it to navigate small creeks barely wider than the kayak is long and in two-foot waves one mile out on saltwater bays. I view it as a jack-of-all-trades workhorse. I also own a large tandem sit-on-top kayak, which is a beast to handle solo, so I reserve this for family outings and bowfishing. Having paddled quite a bit since I jumped into this, I will say that my priorities have changed slightly, and I yearn for a sea kayak next, for the distance paddling that I normally do and for its edging ability. Choose wisely, but don’t lament too much on your decision. If you’re interested, get a boat and begin paddling to the primitive arts. Who knows, before long you may even get the itch to build your own birchbark canoe or skin-onframe kayak to really round out your primitive interests!