Why didn't Native Americans have big sailing ships?

There is a problem here. The native Americans had access to the largest body of fresh water in the world....the Great Lakes. And yet they had no sailing vessels despite having one of the largest forested areas in the world....hardwoods and soft woods of amazing varieties to build all kinds of ships with of many shapes and sizes. The people of the Nile and the Euphrates and Tigress had them with Egyptian sail vessels operating 3400 BC or some 6500 years ago. The natives also had access to animal skins which could have been used as sails. I do not know if they had cloth, as the Mesopotamians did 5000 years ago.

Many tribes lived around the Great Lakes but, other than canoe, there does not appear to have been any interest in developing larger sailing vessels to traverse the Great Lakes as well as the numerous rivers in North America - eg. Mississippi, Ohio, Missouri, Hudson etc.

In addition, why didn't the natives of North America sail south along the Atlantic Ocean or south along the Pacific coast to explore the North, Central, and South American continents? Or why didn't the natives of South America sail north? (Along the coast of the Atlantic or the Pacific). Not sure if Jared Diamond has a theory about this.

What we do know is that water did not appear to create a barrier to ancient civilizations in Europe and the mid East , -Phinecians, Greeks,, Chinese, Phoenicians, Romans or Vikings.

During the same eons when Europeans were exploring their own continents and seas and oceans, we have little evidence North Americans were exploring North, Central and South America

Why not? That is the ultimate question. It is not about cows and pigs and goats as Diamond would have us believe. It is simply about curiosity

Europeans, Chinese, Muslims, and Polynesians were curious. North, South and Central Americans natives for some reason were not. And that has made a big difference.

Q. Why did you climb the mountain?

A. Because it was there.

They really didnt need to sail anywhere on a large scale. I suspect that the largest native american ships would be near the hudson river, but other than that, nope. They had a 3000 mile land mass to work with. No boats needed.

At the time of discovery of America, the Europeans also did not have especially large sailing ships. The epoch of large sailing ships starts only in 17s century.

In general the American civilizations when discovered by the Europeans were very far behind of the Europeans (ans Asians) in technology. They did not use wheels or iron on large scale, the things which were already common in Europe for more that 2500 years. So boats and ships of the native Americans should be compared with boats and ships of the Bronze age Europeans, not with 19 century Europeans (as you do when you mention clippers:-)

Polynesians certainly do not fit to the general pattern. Because the very existence of the Polynesians is due to ability of their ancestors to sail in the ocean. How else could these islands be populated?

Another important reason was geographical. The more developed American civilizations did not depend much on the sea. Unlike the Europeans North Africans, Middle Easterners and Far Easterners in Asia. And those living in the Caribbean were really very far behind in the technological development.

EDIT. I could predict that this answer will result in commentaries blaming me in violation of PC rules. And I am perfectly aware that Americans had some achievements. Nevertheless the fact remains: their technology in general was thousands years behind, in those respects which are important for shipbuilding. Perhaps this can be explained by geographical reasons that I mentioned: there was no much need in seafaring. Unlike in Mediterranean and East Asia.

EDIT2. It is an interesting question by the way, whether native Americans used sail at all. I am aware of T. Heyerdal's theories, but as I understand they were never widely accepted.

Depends how big 'big' is. The Tlingits had 70 foot long ocean-going 'canoes'. They didn't sail, but they weren't small:

Head Canoe: A large ocean-going canoe that was up to 70 feet long with a large prow and stern, used for long voyages and warfare. As trade flourished along the Northwest coast, this type of canoe became less prominent.

Northern Canoe: Designed for long journeys over open-ocean. It had flaring sides and a rounded bottom, designed for buoyancy and speed; the beam was from 5 to 9 feet and ranged from 40 to 60 feet in length. The Northern canoe had the ability to cut through small waves and ride over large swells. The large Northern canoe allowed for long voyages and the trans- port of goods and supplies. It also supported trade along the Northwest coast.

Small Canoes: From 10 to 20 feet in length, they were used for local transport and fishing. They were usually paddled in the kneeling position and used in protected bays and estuaries.

There might have been incentive to build even larger ships, but you also have to realize that most Native American trade tended to be from the interior to the coast (and back) instead of along the coast, as the available items to trade varied more as you go inland as opposed to going down the coast.