Building a birch bark canoe requires knowledge of where materials can be found.


One of the most important and difficult to find is the birch bark itself. The papery kind should not be used. I find I will inspect about ten trees big enough but only one will be good.

This picture shows a good quality tree.



Peeling the bark from the tree requires great care. Only a knife and hands are used as to not mark the bark.



Once the bark is removed it rolled up and carried out of the bush with a taupline

The bark is rolled out on a building frame