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After 250 years, time for makeoverHEADINGLEY - More than 250 years after its first inception, the historic York Boat is about to undergo its first design change. The Norway House Cree Nation has commissioned the building of six new York Boats for its annual York Boat races, where first prize captures $25,000.00 The biggest change to the new boats, designed by MAG Design Group Inc. of Headingley, is a major one - the boats will be made entirely from aluminum, not timber. Norway House Chief Ron Evans said the problem with the original York Boats is they only last two to three years. It was the same in the 1700's when they were introduced by the Hudson Bay Company. "They're good for a year, then the wood starts warping and they start to leak," said Evans. " We spend thousands of dollars each year on maintenance." As well, striking a rock can put a big hole in a York Boat because of the weight of the boats and their large crews add to the force behind the boats. Aluminum doesn't rust and it's maintenance-free. The new York Boats cost up to $50,000.00 each, versus $15,000.00 to $20,000.00 for timber boats, but will be a lot more durable and will ride more uniformly in the water. The design will be much the same except seating will be more comfortable. The boats will be painted red and black. "It won't look aluminum until you sit in it," said MAG project manager Rene Rosset. It just shows how avid people are about York Boat racing in Norway House, located along the Nelson River about 870 kilmetres north of Winnipeg. The entire community of 5,500 turns out each year for the York Boat racing finals in August, where $200,000.00 in prize money is up for grabs, Evans said. "People start training the first sign of open water," Evans said. Races are broken into several heats, and each race covers about eight kilometres and takes about an hour, Evans said. Norway House started the races, and other Cree Nations are starting to join in, including Cross Lake, Fisher River, Split Lake and Oxford House, he said. The boats are manned by a crew of 10 - eight rowers, one navigator in front and one steerer in back. The York Boats are 40 feet long by 10 feet wide. The oars are 17 feet long each, and the tiller is at least 22 feet. The first week of August will make the 30th York Boat Days celebration. Anyone can enter, said Evans. It seemed sacrilege to some members to change the boats from wood to aluminum, he said. However, there were also complaints that timber boats didn't ride uniformly in the water, giving some teams an advantage over others. Rosset said the aluminum York Boats will operate as close to the originals as possible. "if boats go faster it changes the whole race. I suspect they will be a little faster, but if it's a lot faster guys can't stroke properly."  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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