what is a canoe/kayak

rockyboater · Post by **rockyboater** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 9:02 pm

Craig I'd say that qualifies for sure! Looks like a lot of fun!

2opnboat1 · Post by **2opnboat1** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 11:02 pm

who cares if they are having fun using them

icyone · Post by **icyone** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 12:39 am

Here is my take: If you paddle with a single blade, you are a canoeist, period. Some canoeists break out a double blade on flatwater, just to make it easier to rack up miles. But they have the single blade skills when it counts.

If you paddle with a double blade, sitting on your butt, you are kayaking. Most kayakers, by definition, do not have the skills to paddle successfully with a single blade, so you rarely seem them trying to do so.

Some boaters have strong skills with both single & double blades, but as a general rule, a canoeist can "get by "in a kayak but the reverse is seldom true.

As for boats, with race/competitive boats there is usually a specific definition of what qualifies for what class. Other than that, it is pretty much whatever. You can create whatever you want & call it what you want, altho since kayaks are designed to be paddled sitting on the bottom (as opposed to a thwart), and canoes from a either kneeling or a thwart-type "seat", the hull designs that work most satisfactorily, at least for performance, will differ. Not that that keeps folks from trying.

Things I have seen (many of them for the hades of it): John Kennedy paddling the Ocoee in a kayak using a canoe paddle. Jon Lugbill placing second in K-1 in a slalom race -- doing all the hard moves with the left blade. Ron Lugbill kneeling in the short-lived "Kneeliac". Some OC-1ers paddlling stand-up years & years ago on flat & 2-3 water -- long before the current interest in stand-up boards.

Hey, its all water out there -- the real distinction that matters is: those who can paddle single blades & those who can't!!

Just control that upstream edge...

gumpy · Post by **gumpy** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 12:56 am

again?

RodeoClown · Post by **RodeoClown** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 1:12 am

What if you're standing up in a canoe and poling?
What if you're kneeling on a stand up paddle board (because you fell off) and paddling with a single bladed paddle?
What if you kneeled on a sit on top and used a single bladed paddle?
If you paddle a raft by your self with a single bladed paddle, are you canoeing?
High Kneeling?
Hand paddling?
What if you're hand paddling a c-1? Should you use one, or two hand paddles? If you're only using one hand paddle, can you still use your other hand, or would you be kayaking then?

Craig Smerda · Post by **Craig Smerda** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 1:30 am

see... semantics

icyone · Post by **icyone** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 1:35 am

If you do all of those things, you are a Rodeo Clown

Sir Adam · Post by **Sir Adam** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 1:36 am

That'd be C-mantics

dafriend · Post by **dafriend** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 2:07 am

I'm pretty sure we have to remove the kneeling criteria. I'm thinking that majority of boats that are unarguably canoes which have cane or other seats where your legs extended in front of you. Not that you'd be making foolKnarlz runs with them or anything. (Longboatin excepted)

ian123 · Post by **ian123** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 2:41 am

Good point(s) rodeo clown.
The kneeling point is good to but I think that criterion should stay. Even if a canoe has a cane seat, you re still supposed to kneel...

Lappie · Post by **Lappie** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 3:40 am

There is a lot of canoes that are used sited, like all marathon racing canoes, a lot of touring canoes, espacialy flat water touring boats, I'm thinking a lot of boats made by Clipper and Wenona have "tractor/bucket" seets! And what about Outrigger canoes...

Eric Nyre · Post by **Eric Nyre** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 3:58 am

The term "canoe" has been in the English language much longer than "kayak".

I think it was the Adirondacks waterway that defined it best.

"A kayak is a type of canoe"

kanukyotee · Post by **kanukyotee** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 6:25 am

... the subject is obviously thought- provoking ,
the Darwinian view....
fish, otter, kayaker, canoeist, ...

dafriend · Post by **dafriend** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 1:44 pm

kanukyotee wrote:the Darwinian view....
fish, otter, kayaker, canoeist, ...

That is so wrong. Canoes did not evolve from kayaks. Canoes and Kayaks obviously diverged from a common ancestor. The floating log maybe?

Post by **sbroam** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 2:18 pm

gumpy wrote:again?

This is one of our cyclical subjects - I haven't reviewed the archives to check the period on this one, but I'd guess 6-8 months. I wasn't going to post but I'm weak.

I don't know about defining boats, but I'm a canoeist regardless the craft I'm in.