A small, double-ended open craft propelled with paddles. There are two main types: a vessel carrying three or four people, made from a light wooden framework, traditionally covered with birch bark or hides, but latterly using thin wooden planks; and the Pacific dugout canoe, often fitted with an outrigger, which could be made capable of ocean voyages. Maori war canoes were up to 20 m/70 ft long, fashioned from a single pine tree, fitted with one inverted-triangle-shaped sail, and propelled by c.60 paddlers. Many modern canoes are made from aluminium or plastics.
Canoes are pointed at both ends and usually open on top, but can be covered.In its human-powered form, the canoe is propelled by the use of paddles, with the number of paddlers depending on the size of the canoe (most commonly 2). In this way paddling a canoe can be contrasted with rowing, where the rowers face away from the direction of travel.
Sailing canoes (see Canoe Sailing) are propelled by means of a variety of sailing rigs. Common classes of modern sailing canoes include the 5m² and the International 10m² Sailing canoes. The latter is otherwise known as the International Canoe, and is one of the fastest and oldest competitively sailed boat classes in the western world.
Ambiguity over the word canoe
The sport of canoeing, organised at the international level by the International Canoe Federation, uses the word canoe to cover both canoes as defined here, and kayaks (see below for a brief description of the differences between a kayak and a canoe). This use of canoe to generically cover both canoes and kayaks is not so common in North American usage, but is common in Britain, Australia and presumably many parts of the world, both in sporting jargon and in colloquial speech.
Design and construction
Parts of a canoe
Bow Stern Hull Seat (whitewater canoes may have a foam 'saddle' in place of a seat) Thwart - a horizontal crossbeam near the top of the hull Gunwale (pronounced gunnel) - the top edge of the hull Deck (under which a floatation compartment or foam block may be located which prevent the canoe from sinking if capsized or swamped)Optional features in modern canoes (not shown in diagram):
Yoke - a thwart across the centre of the boat to allow one person to carry the canoe, and is sometimes molded to the shape of the shoulders. Keel Flotation bags - inflatable air bags to prevent swamping the canoe in rapids Spraydeck - cover to prevent water entering the canoeThe portion of the hull between the waterline and the top of the gunwale is called freeboard.
Canoe materials
The earliest canoes were made from natural materials:
Early canoes were wooden, often simply hollowed-out tree trunks. Modern wooden canoes are typically strip-built by woodworking craftsmen. Many indigenous peoples of the Americas built canoes of tree bark, sewn with tree roots and sealed with resin.Modern technology has expanded the range of materials available for canoe construction.
Wood-and-canvas canoes are made by fastening an external canvas shell to a wooden hull formed with cedar planks and ribs. These canoes evolved from birch bark construction but the transition record is not clear. In areas where birch bark was scarce, other natural materials such as cedar had to be used and there was known success in patching birch bark canoes with canvas or cloth because these materials were readily available. Efforts were made in various locations to improve upon the bark design such as in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada where rib and plank construction was used by the Peterborough Canoe Company, and in Old Town, Maine in the U.S where similar construction was used by the Old Town Canoe Company. Gerrish, of Bangor, is now recognized as the first person to produce wood-and-canvas canoes commercially, but other Maine builders soon followed, including, B. Composites of fiberglass, Kevlar and carbon fiber are used for modern canoe construction. These compounds are light and strong, and the maneuverable, easily portaged canoes allow experienced paddlers access to some of the most remote wilderness areas. Royalex is another modern composite material that makes an extremely flexible and durable hull suitable, in particular, for whitewater canoes. Royalex canoes have been known to pop back into their original shape with minimal creasing of the hull after having been wrapped around a rock in strong river currents. Polyethylene is a cheaper and heavier material used for modern canoe construction. Graphite canoes are the lightest boats on the market and tend to be 3-6 pounds lighter than a kevlar boat.Depending on the intended use of a canoe, the various kinds have different advantages. For example, a canvas canoe is more fragile than an aluminum canoe, and thus less suitable for use in rough water; However, canoes made of natural materials require regular maintenance, and are lacking in durability.
Shape
Many canoes are symmetrical about the centerline, meaning their shape can be mirrored along the center. A further improvement may be found in canoes with a straighter hull profile aft and rocker forward which improves tracking.
A traditionally shaped canoe, like a voyageur canoe, will have a tall rounded bow and stern.
Cross section
The shape of the hull's cross section significantly influences the canoe's stability under differing conditions.
For a given beam, a rounded-bottom canoe will have less initial stability than its flatter bottomed cousin.
In between the flat and rounded bottom are the more common shallow-arc and "V" bottom canoes which provide a compromise between performance and stability.
Many modern canoes combine a variety of cross sections to suit the canoe's purpose.
Keels
Keels on canoes improve directional stability (the ability to 'track' in a straight line) but decrease the ability to turn quickly.
In aluminum canoes, small keels occur as manufacturing artifacts when the two halves of the hull are joined. In wood-and-canvas canoes, keels are rub-strips to protect the boat from rocks and as they are pulled up on shore. Plastic canoes feature keels to stiffen the hull and allow internal tubular framing to lie flush with the sole of the canoe. Specialized canoes for whitewater play have an extreme rocker and therefore allow quick turns and tricks.
Types of canoes
In the past, people around the world have built very different kinds of canoes, ranging from simple dugouts to large outrigger varieties.
Traditional designs
Early canoes have always incorporated the natural materials available to the local people. The different canoes (or canoe like) in many parts of the world were:
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Dugout - formed of hollowed logs; On the west coast of North America, large dugout canoes were used in the Pacific Ocean, even for whaling. |
Birch-bark canoe - in the temperate regions of eastern North America, canoes were traditionally made of a wooden frame covered with bark of a birch tree, pitched to make it waterproof. |
Voyageur canoe - traditional voyageur canoes were similar to birch-bark canoes but larger and purpose built for the fur trade business, capable of carrying 12 to 16 passengers and 3000 lbs of cargo. |
Canvas canoe - similar to the birch-bark canoe in frame construction and size but covered with canvas, and painted for smoothness and watertightness. |
Modern designs
Modern canoe types are usually categorized by the intended use. Many modern canoe designs are hybrids (a combination of two or more designs, meant for multiple uses). The purpose of the canoe will also often determine the materials used. Most canoes are designed for either one person (solo) or two persons (tandem), but some are designed for more than 2 persons.
Touring canoe (or tripping canoe) - made of lighter materials and built for comfort and cargo space; Prospector canoe - a popular type of touring canoe marked by a symmetrical hull and a continuous arc from bow to stern; Whitewater canoe (or river canoe) - typically made of tough man-made materials, such as ABS, for strength; Some canoes are decked and look very much like a kayak, but are still paddled with the paddler in a kneeling position and with a single bladed paddle. Playboating open canoe - a subgroup of whitewater canoes specialized for whitewater play and tricks or for competitive whitewater slalom. Square stern canoe - asymmetrical canoe with a squared off stern for the mounting of an outboard motor; Racing canoe (or sprint canoe) - purpose-built racing canoe for use in racing on flat water. Sprint canoes are paddled kneeling on one knee, and only paddled on one side; Marathon canoe races use a similar narrow boat. Inflatable canoe - similar in construction and materials to other inflatable boats but shaped like a canoe;Differences from other paddled boats
Kayak - The main difference between a kayak and a canoe is that a kayak is a closed canoe meant to be used with a double-bladed paddle, one blade on each end, instead of a single bladed paddle. Kayaks are more commonly enclosed on top with a deck, making it possible to recover from a capsize without the kayak filling with water in most cases, although there are also closed canoes, which are common in competition. Rowboat - Not considered a canoe. Adirondack guideboat - a rowboat that has similar lines to a canoe. Dragon boat - while it handles similar to and is paddled the same way as a large canoe, a dragon boat is not considered a canoe since its construction is markedly different.Use
Canoes have a reputation for instability, but this is not true if they are handled properly. Canoes can navigate swift-moving water with careful scouting of rapids and good communication between the paddlers.
When two people occupy a canoe, they paddle on opposite sides.
Gunwale bobbing
A trick called "gunwale bobbing" or "gunwaling" allows a canoe to be propelled without a paddle. The canoeist stands on the gunwales, near the bow or the stern, and squats up and down to make the canoe rock backward and forward.
Steering
The paddling action of two paddlers will tend to turn the canoe toward the opposite side that on which the sternman is paddling. Thus, steering is particularly important, particularly because canoes have flat-bottomed hulls and are very responsive to turning actions.
Among experienced white water canoeists, the sternman is primarily responsible for steering the canoe, with the exception of two cases. Also, in the case of backferrying, the bowman is responsible for steering the canoe using small correctional strokes while backpaddling with the sternman.
Among less-experienced canoeists, the canoe is typically steered from the bow.
Paddle strokes
Paddle strokes are important to learn if the canoe is to move through the water in a safe and precise manner. After the strokes are mastered, they can be combined or even changed so that handling the canoe is smooth and done in an efficient, effective, and skillful manner. It is used mainly by the bowman to simply propel the canoe forward without turning. The paddle blade is brought forward along the side of the canoe, dipped into the water, and drawn back. This stroke is used to make the canoe go backward or to stop the canoe. It begins like a standard stroke, but towards the end, the paddle is rotated and pushed away from the canoe with the power face of the paddle remaining the same throughout the stroke. This conveniently counteracts the natural tendency of the canoe to steer away from the side of the sternman's paddle. Unlike the J-stroke in which the side of the paddle pushing against the water during the stroke (the power face) is the side which is used to straighten the canoe, this stroke uses the opposite face of the paddle to make the steering motion. A gentle prying motion is applied, forcing the canoe in the opposite direction of the paddling side. The paddle is inserted vertically in the water at arm's length from the gunwale, with the power face toward the canoe, and is then pulled inward to the paddler's hip. The cross-draw stroke is a bowman's stroke that exerts the same vector of force as a pry, by moving the blade of the paddle to the other side of the canoe without moving the paddler's hands. The arm of bottom hand crosses in front of the bowman's body to insert the paddle in the water on the opposite side of the canoe some distance from the gunwale, facing towards the canoe, and is then pulled inward while the top hand pushes outward. The sweep is unique in that it steers the canoe away from the paddle regardless of which end of the canoe it is performed in. If in the stern, the paddler pulls from the waist to the stern of the canoe.
Complementary strokes are selected by the bow and stern paddlers in order to safely and quickly steer the canoe.
One of these techniques involves locking or nearly locking the elbow, that is on the side of the canoe the paddle is, to minimize muscular usage of that arm to increase endurance. It allows the canoe to move through water too shallow for a paddle to create thrust, or against a current too quick for the paddlers to make headway.Image gallery
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Aluminum canoe, Upper Klamath Lake |
Canoeing on the Concord River |
A dugout canoe of pirogue type in the Solomon Islands |
Canoeing on the Shenandoah River, Winchester, Virginia |
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Inflatable canoes |
Spearing Salmon By Torchlight, an oil painting by Paul Kane |
War canoes coming across the line at the 2005 Canadian Canoe Championships. |
Canoes stored at Lake Harriet |
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Front profile of woodstrip canoe under construction. |
This man makes canoes along the river in Tortuguero, Costa Rica. |
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