Linda Yamane, an Ohlone descendant, poses with a tule reed boat she built using traditional construction techniques.
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The Yelamu, Ohlone, and Coastal Miwok peoples who lived around the San Francisco Bay navigated its waterways for thousands of years. Their maritime traditions are an important part of San Francisco’s heritage.
These indigenous tribes relied on the coastal waters and marshes for food and other resources. They were adept mariners who built watercraft out of local varieties of tule reed. Long stalks of tule reed were harvested and spread out to dry for several days, then bound in large cigar-shaped bundles and slathered with bitumen or other resins. The bundles were tied together at the stern and bow to form a raised point, and a willow pole ran the length of the watercraft for longitudinal support. The tule boats were typically ten feet long and three feet wide in the center, though they could reach up to twenty feet long and six feet wide. Some boats featured rudimentary sails, allowing for longer voyages. The tule boats could hold as many as four people, each equipped with a double-bladed paddle.
These light, buoyant vessels allowed people to fish and collect shellfish, mollusks, seabird eggs, waterfowl, abalone, and other important resources. The Ohlone and Yelamu navigated through the inland waterways and estuaries of the Bay, as well as over deep water to the rocky offshore areas as far as the Farallon Islands.
