Yksi (No. 1) video tour
The oldest and largest of Manninen’s Cabins is Yksi, or #1 in Finnish.
Yksi was originally the second story of the Maliniemi homestead on the eastern side of Otter Lake, built in the 1890s. It was disassembled log by log, hauled either by horses or dragged across the frozen lake, and reassembled at its current site on the Manninen property in the early 1930s.
It’s the only cabin that uses the traditional Nordic log building techniques seen most often in Finland and northern Sweden. The laxknut (dovetail) joinery forms the squared corners on Yksi.
Frank Eld, a notable log historian, described it as “first-class log work with very tight scribed and fitted logs and double dovetail corner notching.” The inclusion of several very large logs (over 18” in diameter) is an indication of early construction, before the area had been logged.
The original laxknut (dovetail) joinery. Photo courtesy KLEM Studios.
Laxknut is a Swedish word but dovetail joinery dates back to ancient Egypt and Chinese dynasties. Noted for its resistance to being pulled apart, the dovetail joint is still often seen today to join the sides of a drawer. The pins and tails have a trapezoidal shape. Once glued, a wooden dovetail joint requires no mechanical fasteners.
Yksi was taken apart and rebuilt on its current site. You can still see the hatch marks on the logs where they were numbered to ensure they were reassembled in the same order. Photo courtesy KLEM Studios.
The girth of the pine logs is impressive. You can still see the hatch marks on the exterior and interior walls of the cabin where the logs were numbered to ensure they were reassembled in the same order. Also visible are round holes on the exterior walls, which were used to attach rugged scaffolding to place the highest logs.
Yksi sleeps six and has 20-foot cathedral ceilings, a spacious “great room,” and brick fireplace. A full deck overlooking Otter Lake was added in the late 1980s.
Yksi in spring.
Video by KLEM + Co.