FISHING BOAT - PaRaguutaq

Visit any dock in the Kodiak Archipelago and you will find an array of fishing vessels.  Skiffs, seiners, tenders and crabbers are part of the rhythm of life in Kodiak and its Alutiiq communities. 

Over the centuries, Alutiiq people have used many types of fishing boats.  Before the arrival of Westerners, Alutiiq hunters pursued fish from sleek ocean-going qayat.  As Native boats were replaced by Western vessels, Alutiiq families learned to fish from wooden dories.  From these boats, powered by rowing or by small sails, fishermen caught cod with hand lines tied to the gunnels.  Other people fished for salmon with seine skiffs.  Also propelled with oars, these fourteen feet long and twelve feet deep, boats could carry thousands of pounds of fish.

Motorized boats began to impact fishing practices in the late 1930s, as small outboards became available.  In those days, a 10 horse kicker cost about $800!   Power dories, owned mostly by canneries, helped fishermen tow nets and dories loaded with salmon, but they were mostly used for traveling.  In the decade following World War II, more Alutiiq families began to acquire fishing boats.  Boat building became a profitable winter activity.  Craftsmen made skiff, dories and even purse seiners from local spruce.

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