What is "mackinaw boat"

Mackinaw \Mack"i*naw\, Mackinaw boat \Mack"i*naw boat\ A flat-bottomed boat with a pointed prow and square stern, using oars or sails or both, used esp. on the upper Great Lakes and their tributaries.

n. (label en historical) A flat-bottomed cargo boat, resembling a canoe, often schooner-rigged, formerly used on the Great Lakes and the Missouri River (to a lesser extent, elsewhere).

The Mackinaw boat is a loose, non-standardized term for a light, open sailboat used in the interior of North America during the fur trading era. Within this term two different Mackinaw boats evolved: one for use on the upper Great Lakes, and the other for use on the upper Missouri River and its principal tributaries.