Special thanks to Folkstreamer

http://www.youtube.com/user/folkstreamer

So you wanna know a little about the ubiquitous pirogue?

According to Louisiana Folk Life.org, here it is:

The pirogue remains the boat form most commonly associated with French Louisiana, and most of Louisiana’s traditional boatbuilders are capable of producing very fine pirogues in their own styles. Willie Badeaux of Des Allemands is one of the few Louisiana craftsmen to continue making traditional dugout pirogues. Others sometime make pirogues adapted to special needs and environments. Valcour Rodrigue of Lockport, for instance, specializes in large, inboard motorized pirogues designed for the marsh.

For more info check out their site http://www.louisianafolklife.org/LT/Articles_Essays/creole_art_boatbuild_unfat.html

Encyclopedia Brittanica says…

Spanish Piragua,

in its simplest form, a dugout made from one log, but also a number of more elaborately fashioned boats, including various native canoes, the structure and appearance of which generally resemble those of a dugout. The pirogue is widely distributed and may be found as a fishing vessel in the Gulf of Mexico; as a shallow-draft boat that is used to maneuver through the Louisiana swamplands; and as a boat used by the Indians of Guyana. Pirogues may be broadened by constructing them from two curved pieces or deepened by affixing planks to their sides. Compare canoe.

For the ultimate history data, and a to see wonderful examples of Pirogues,

both modern and old school check this out:

Center for Traditional Louisiana Boat Building