TGK's Aleut Baidarka is a dimensional reproduction of the Unalaska Island baidarka as surveyed by Zimmerly and Brinck.

  This classic baidarka differs from the Kodiak Island boats (those most parodied in modern fiberglass “baidarka” designs) chiefly in being longer and narrower.  Also, having undergone little European alteration (in contrast to the Kodiak, which became less seaworthy as the Russians took over Aleut design and over-emphasized boat capacity), the Unalaska baidarka remains faithful to the aboriginal Aleut ideal—a practical, streamlined skin boat for long distance paddling, fishing, and sea-otter hunting. 

    This baidarka is 16' 8” long, 22” wide at mid-cockpit sheer, and 16” deep at both ends of the cockpit.  Its hull form is a moderate soft-chine (4 chines on each side, with a slight elbowing in cross-section in the proximity of the water-line).

    The story of baidarkas, Unalaskan and others, is a rich history.  The exploits wrought in these amazing craft are legion.  Baidarkas and skilled, heroic paddlers played a pivotal role in many a spectacular episode during the long history of Aleut civilization and Russian exploration.  To list the manifold purposes served by the baidarka is a task for an anthropological historian, as these boats were the cultural backbone of Aleut civilization and their functions went far beyond the realm of harvesting food from the ocean (though to be sure, that was a vital use for them).  This is not the appropriate place to launch into a presentation of this history; see our Bibliography and Links pages to pursue further study of the baidarka in general.  Here we will state the qualities of the particular model of baidarka we offer.

    The Unalaska boat is among the fastest single-hole craft the Aleuts ever developed, with a top speed of around 10 knots.  Being round-bottomed, it has a rather steady decrease in stability as angle of heel increases past 20 degrees, thus lacking the secondary stability of a hard-chine boat such as the Greenland. However, the primary stability is sufficient for ameteurs to find this boat a very comfortable ride in moderate swells, Skilled paddlers conditioned to rolling and otherwise adjusting for inevitable tipping in ocean waters will be able to truly appreciate this baidarka's speed, maneuverability, security and capacity.

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Currently we offer only a non-folding model of the Unalaska Baidarka.

B 2.01
    Features the legendary appearance and behaviour of the authentic Aleut boats with up-to-date structure.  Full-length cockpit seat.  Bifid bow area reinforced with fiberglass to prevent shattering. Total weight 32 lbs.
Price: $1400

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Extended Specifications

Total Length: 16' 8"
Width at Cockpit Sheer: 21.5”
Minimum Cockpit Dimensions: 24”L x 18”W
Total Depth at Cockpit: 15” Fore End, 15” Aft End
Rocker Fore and Aft: 3.25”, 1.75”
Typical Waterline to Sheer Distance at Bow, Cockpit, Stern:  3”, 4”, 3”
Length of Waterline: 16'-16'5” depending on loading
Theoretical Maximum Speed with 150 lb load: 5.1 Knots