What the archaeological and ethnographic record of the Northwest Coast reveals about watercraft is that the traditions of maritime peoples in the region include a range of vessel types suited to different purposes and different water conditions.

The large dugout canoes of the historic period — carved from single large logs, sometimes more than 20 meters in length — were ocean-going vessels capable of traveling long distances along the coast and across open water between islands.

The specific forms that watercraft took in the early Holocene are not recoverable from the available evidence, but the functional requirement for watercraft that the evidence implies — island habitation, offshore resource exploitation — is clear.

The development of watercraft appropriate for the Southeast Alaskan coast requires specific knowledge and specific skills: knowledge of the properties of different wood types and how to work with them, skill in the construction of watertight and structurally sound hulls, knowledge of the specific water conditions of the archipelago and how to navigate them safely.