Jerry Iyyiraq

Jerry and Pakak search for a boat buried under the snow for inspiration. Having no luck, they return to Kingulliit’s Shack to start with the bow piece of wood for the floe edge boat they are creating together. Jerry and Pakak plan for the boat, along with Esa, they think through the first piece of the boat, how best to cut and shape the bow piece.

Jerry, Pakak and Nymon decide to redo the wooden bow piece and make it longer, so the walls of their boat can be taller. Taking turns cutting and shaping the wood before cleaning up and heading home at the end of the day.

Jerry, Pakak and Esa work on designing the boat, cutting out patterns from cardboard and cutting the plywood so we see the bottom of the boat emerge. They shape, measure and adjust as they go, bringing the curved boat to life from the flat sheets of plywood.Jerry goes out for a moment and Pakak and Esa, sit and take a tea break, they listen attentively to the radio together and comment on the show.

Jerry, Pakak, Nymon and Esa continue to shape the pieces of the boat, adding to the floor to lengthen the boat and correcting the bow wood so both sides of the boat are at the same angle and curve, the construction of this boat is beginning to look like an odyssey.

Taking turns Jerry, Pakak and Nymon use a hand saw to adjust the bow wood, cutting through hard, dry wood to create the front piece of their floe edge boat.

Having cut out the side pieces of the boat Jerry and Pakak work to bend the pieces to fit alongside the curved shape of the floe edge boat’s floor. Working together, Pakak holds the wood steady as Jerry cuts them with a skillsaw. They use caulking and bent long wooden pieces along the bottom to ensure their boat is water tight. Pakak and Jerry take a coffee break, sitting and talking about caribou hunting trips during a blizzard.

Zach and Nataq come to see the boat in progress and help to share their knowledge, giving Pakak, Nymon and Jerry ideas of how to fix some of the problems they have come up against, the odyssey of this boat getting more complicated as many ideas are shared. Working together, the five of them decide what is next on the floe edge boat.

The bow is tricky, Jerry and Pakak carefully cut and measure the wooden pieces, making sure everything fits as snuggly as possible. After working hard to cut out the back sides of the boat, Pakak and Nymon sit and have a cup of tea and an orange.

Jerry and Pakak add the finishing touches to the floe edge boat adding a wooden railing around the sides and caulking any spots they see along the hull. As Jerry puts on some music, Pakak sands the outside before they both begin painting the floe edge boat a brilliant shade of blue.

Zach, Jerry, Nataq and others take the floe edge boat by skidoo out to the floe edge. Both Jerry and Nataq each take the new floe edge boat out on the water, which does not leak at all! Zach shoots a seal and Nataq paddles out to retrieve the seal, towing it behind the blue boat, back to the floe edge.