If you had asked us what it took to build a canoe in the era before power tools and big box hardware stores we probably would have just said “a lot.” After seeing “The Birth of a Dugout Canoe” by Northmen we can safely say it’s far more work than we could ever imagine.
The documentary film follows master woodworker and Doctor of engineering materials science Richard (Rihards Vidzickis) as he turns a giant log into a dugout canoe over the course of multiple months using old world techniques and tools.
The entire process is absolutely mesmerizing.