What are Kayaks?

Kayaks are small,  narrow, human-powered boats propelled by a double bladed paddle. Traditional kayaks have covered decks and one or more cockpits, for seating each paddler. Their cockpits are sometimes covered by a spraydeck (or “skirt”) preventing water from entering and allowing skilled kayakers, to roll the kayak (to capsize and right it without it filling with water or dumping the paddler). Modern kayaks have replaced the need for rolling with an increased stability,  reducing the likelihood of capsizing. Some modern kayaks are modified from the traditional design by: eliminating the cockpit and seating the paddler on top of the boat (“sit-on-top” kayaks); using inflated air chambers surrounding the boat; replacing the single hull by twin hulls (“W” kayak), and replacing paddles with  foot-powered rotational propellers and ‘flippers’. Kayaks are also being sailed, as well as propelled by means of small electric motors, and even by outboard gas engines, when possible.

 Kayak Origins

Eskimos in kayaks, Noatak, Alaska

Kayaks are believed to be at least 4,000 years old and were first made and used by the native Innuit, Aleut and Eskimo hunters in sub-Arctic regions. The native people made many types of boat for different purposes. The baidarka, developed in Alaska, was made in double or triple cockpit designs, for hunting and transporting passengers or goods.

Umiaks are a large open sea canoes, ranging from 17 to 30 feet, made from seal skins and wood. It is considered a kayak although it was originally paddled with single-bladed paddles, and typically had more than one paddler.

Kayaks were originally developed to be used to hunt on inland lakes, rivers and coastal waters of the Arctic Ocean, North Atlantic, Bering Sea and North Pacific oceans. These first kayaks were constructed from stitched seal or other animal skins stretched over a wood or whalebone-skeleton frame. (Western Inuit used wood whereas the eastern Inuit used whalebone due to the treeless landscape).

Kayak Construction

Traditional kayaks encompass three types: Baidarkas, from the Alaskan & Aleutian seas, the oldest design, whose rounded shape and numerous chines give them an almost Blimp-like appearance; West Greenland kayaks, with fewer chines and a more angular shape, with gunwales rising to a point at the bow and stern; and East Greenland kayaks that appear similar to the West Greenland style, but often fit more snugly to the paddler and possess a steeper angle between gunwale and stem, which lends maneuverability.

Most of the Eskimo peoples from the Aleutian Islands eastward to Greenland relied on the kayak for hunting a variety of prey, mostly seals, though whales and caribou were important in some areas. Skin-on-frame kayaks are still being used for hunting by Inuit people in Greenland. In other parts of the world home builders are continuing the tradition of skin on frame kayaks, usually with modern skins of canvas or synthetic fabric.

Inuit kayak builders had specific measurements for their boats. The length was typically three times the span of his outstretched arms. The width at the cockpit was the width of the builder’s hips plus two fists (and sometimes less). The typical depth was his fist plus the outstretched thumb (hitch hiker). Thus typical dimensions were about 17 feet (5.2 m) long by 20–22 inches (51–56 cm) wide by 7 inches (18 cm) deep. This measurement system confounded early European explorers who tried to duplicate the kayak, because each kayak was a little different.

The Spraydeck

Native builders designed and built their boats based on their own experience and the knowledge and traditions handed down from previous generations. The word “kayak” means “man’s boat” or “hunter’s boat”, and native kayaks were personal crafts, each built by the man who used it with assistance from his wife, who sewed the skins to closely fit his size. A special skin jacket, Tuilik, was then laced to the kayak, to create a waterproof seal. This allowed the ‘eskimo roll’ to regain posture after capsizing, especially important because few Eskimos could swim; their waters are too cold for a swimmer to survive for long.

Instead of a tuilik, most traditional kayakers today use a spraydeck or sprayskirt made of waterproof synthetic material stretched to fit tightly around the cockpit rim and the body of the kayaker,  which can be quickly released from the cockpit to permit easy exit.

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Modern Kayaks

Modern traditional-style kayaks owe their origins primarily to the native boats of Alaska, northern Canada, and Southwest Greenland. Wooden kayaks and fabric kayaks on wooden frames dominated the market until the 1950s, when fiberglass boats were first introduced. Inflatable rubberized fabric boats were first introduced in Europe soon after.

Rotomolded plastic kayaks first appeared in 1973, and today most kayaks are made from roto-molded Poletheylene resins. The use of plastic  and rubberized inflatable kayaks, making kayaks smaller, stronger and more resilient than fiberglass boats,probably started the development of freestyle kayaking as we know it today.

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Other Kayaking Articles:

• Cold Water Survival
• Sunset Kayaking on Lake Champlain in Vermont
• Gift Ideas For Canoers
• Canoe Trip: Equipment Checklist
• Canoe Forward Stroke: Perfect This Basic Paddle Stroke
• Kayak Paddle Strokes
• Kayak Fishing Tips
• Kayaking Safety
• Kayaks

• Kayaker’s Guide to Lake Champlain