DCHP-1 Online
batiste [< Cdn F] Hist. 
n. a clumsy, flat-bottomed boat about 19 feet long between tapered ends, propelled by oars, crewed by six men, and capable of carrying about 4,000 pounds of cargo. This prototype for the York boat was widely used throughout the northwest until recent years.
See also: bateau (def. 3)
- 1960 The Hudson Bay Company had to pack their hides from Edmonton to the Thompson River, and then down by rowboats, which Joe called "batistes," to Fort Langley. Those boats were long and heavy; and each took six men to handle and one to steer.
- 1960 The Hudson Bay Company had to pack their hides from Edmonton to the Thompson River, and then down by rowboats, which Joe called "batistes," to Fort Langley. Those boats were long and heavy; and each took six men to handle and one to steer.