Kayaks - A Brief History

The word "kayak" actually means "hunter's boat" or "man's boat", and original native kayaks were
each personally built by the man who would use it. His wife would assist in the process by sewing the skins together. The end product was a well fit craft that fit his size and provided the best maneuverability.

After the kayak was finished, a special skin jacket called a Tuilik was laced onto the kayak. This provided a waterproof barrier and allowed the eskimo roll to become the ideal way to regain ones posture after being turned upside down. The term "capsize" may better refer to the actual separation of the paddler and the boat. This is important because few Eskimos could swim, mostly because the waters were far too cold for anyone to survive for long.

Kayaks got their start when indigenous Arctic people began developing them to hunt on lakes, rivers, and coastal waters around the North Atlantic, Bering Sea, North Pacific Ocean, and Arctic oceans. Some of the first kayaks were built from stitched animal skins such as seal, and then stretched across a wooden frame. These frames were made from driftwood, due to the fact that many of their habitats were without trees.

A variety of different types of boats were constructed by native people. For instance an umiak is a large canoe suited for the open sea, and ranges anywhere from 17 to 30 feet long. It is made out of wood and seal skins, and in the beginning was guided by the use of a single-bladed paddle, but typically featured more than one paddler.

Kayaks are small boats that are powered by humans, which typically feature a covered deck and at least one cockpit that seats the paddler who strokes a double-bladed paddle. A spraydeck will usually be present to prevent water from getting inside the boat, as well as keeping the paddler's lower body dry.

These spraydecks can be called different things and can be made of different materials, but all of them simply attach to the edges of the cockpit to keep any spray from entering. In some kayaks these spraydecks make it possible for the kayak to be flipped over in the water and then righted again without the kayak being filled with water, or the kayaker falling out.

What separates a kayak from a canoe is the position of the paddler as well as the number of blades that the paddle contains. Kayakers make use of a two bladed paddle in addition to facing forward while paddling. Canoes on the other hand allow the paddler to face forward or backward, and the paddler will either sit or kneel, as well as using a single bladed paddle.

Generally the longer the kayak is, the faster it will go, but it may take longer to turn the kayak. Kayaks that have been built to cover long distances, such as sea kayaks are usually between 16 to 19 feet long. Touring kayaks typically have a more defined keel (this helps the kayaker track in a straight line) than that of sea kayaks, whereas whitewater kayaks are usually short and are rarely longer than 8 feet.

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