The Time-Honored Art of Carving a Dugout Canoe

Long before canoes were constructed from plastic, fiberglass, or aluminum, they were made from wood. In the video below, you can follow craftsman Rihards Vidzickis, who belongs to a Northern European artisan guild called Northmen, as he fashions a seaworthy vessel from a single log.

The process is long and arduous: First, Vidzickis scrapes off the bark and marks where the boat's hollow will go. Then, he scrapes, chops, and burns the wood, using mostly traditional methods and tools.

Watch the time-honored process below: