Boat building

The Samis were early on known early on as very good boat builders. The written sources have several references to this tradition, but the Sami population probably knew the art of building good boats long before it was documented in the written sources. It takes time to learn and develop a craft, it is likely that this has been passed on for generations all the time people have depended on the sea as a resource and as a way of travel.

In King Inge’s saga, Snorre writes about boat building in our region. In the winter of 1138-39, Sigurd Slembe had to spend the winter on Hinnøya, in hiding after a dramatic escape from King Inge’s men. He allied with local Sami boat builders, and had two large ships built for him with room for 12 men rowing on each side. According to the saga, the ships were tied together with tendons without nails, and they had cleats instead of knees. The Sami ships were so fast that no ship could overtake them at sea, as Sigurd said:

Our skin-sewed Fin-boats lightly swim,
Over the sea like wind they skim.
Our ships are built without a nail;
Few ships like ours can row or sail

In the 17th century, Petter Dass writes about Sami boat building. Barges were specially built to transport cargo and had a central role in northern Norwegian business. For ordinary people, smaller boats were essential in fjord fishing and the seasonal fisheries, such as spits, fearings and the Nordland boat. There are many indications that the Sami fishermen built their own boats. Access to iron and wood was a prerequisite for boat building. Older deeds show that many of the Sami households had their own forges.