What is a skinboat?[]
A skinboat is a type of lightweight boat made by stretching a skin over a wooden frame. According to Bale, they are much better in the denser seawater than in freshwater. Real-life examples include the traditional kayak and umiak used by the Inuit (Eskimos). In the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series, they are used by the Seal Clan, the other sea clans, and the Ice Clans, though of a different type. Seal Clan skinboats are made of seal hide, are light and thin and are able to bend and move with the sea. If they could not move with the sea, they would capsize very easily. They have a knife hull, which means that it comes to a sharp point, so that they can sneak up on seals without the bubbles that a round-hulled boat would cause warning the seals. The central lengthwise rib is often made of whalebone. Most of the Sea Clans have been using skinboats since they were very young.
There is a beginners' version of a skinboat, which has two crossbeams sticking out, each with an inflated gutskin sack on the end, in the water, to stabilize the boat. This allows beginners to learn to skinboat more easily.
Trivia[]
- Torak and Renn uses a skinboat in all the books except Wolf Brother and Ghost Hunter.
- Wolf doesn't like using skinboats.