and how do people wear a
so called SurfSki kayak or a Sprint kayak?
Seems to me they are pretty loose.
And kneeling is a more effective way of controlling a boat than sitting.
contact points
Many fast sit and switch boats are fitted with adjustable foot braces and many have molded tractor seats that provide fairly solid points of contact. It is also quite possible to attach minicell knee bumpers to the inside of the hull at the points at which your knees contact the inwales.
Canoes can be rolled like kayaks (although the roll is quite different) but unless the boat is fully decked it comes up with hundreds of pounds of water in it which is a very important difference.
Whether you prefer paddling in a low sitting, high sitting or kneeling position and whether you use a single or double-bladed paddle usually comes down to a matter of individual preference.
Some boats, like the Placid Rapidfire and Bell Rob Roy are blurring the traditional distinctions between canoes and kayaks. These are canoes which have become somewhat “kayak-like”.
But the typical rec kayak with an enormous open cockpit paddled without a sprayskirt is a very far cry from the traditional craft that the Inuit developed and paddled as well.
Kneeling more effective?
So I guess for thousands a years the Inuits and Aluetians had it all wrong?
Gary
“kneeling is a more effective way
of controlling a boat than sitting.”
How would he measure that? I must be missing something. Seems like these guys are pretty effective at controling their boats http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZ3xYno4HrU . You can find 1000 more examples on youtube like that.
Check out Warren
Here’s a fellow in a very difficult to control sea kayak 
Enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT1Cl_oi0ow
obviously he’s out of control
or he wouldn’t keep tipping over
even the Inuit have been known
to kneel in their so called Baidarkas…
Really?
Look again…
He’s playing like a kid in a swimming pool, only this pool has millions a gallons of water surging through it.
Canoe vs Kayak
Kayak medic says:
“Mastering all the things you can do with a kayak blade seems to take longer. Perhaps its just the mass of the double blade. I am trying hard still to place my boat exactly where I want it with the double blade.
I was musing while paddling wondering why kayakers seem more inclined to take instruction and canoeists not.”
Interesting that you say that progression is slower in the kayak rather than canoe, I feel the opposite. I believe that skilled canoeing, paddling with a single blade is much more about finesse than paddling a kayak. Of course, I learned kayaking first.
I would love to trade you a day of kayak lessons for a day of canoe lessons. Contact me if that is amenable to you.
My belief is that people don’t think instruction is necessary for canoeing as most people have seen it done, whether in person or in the movies and it just look simple. Kayaking looks different as you are “inside” and there is “the roll”…
Suz
Perhaps
– Last Updated: Jul-12-10 11:25 AM EST –
But this would have been after the Russian traders came. Russian influence led to Aluetian kayaks becoming less of a hunting craft and more of a gear hauler or transport tool. This explains the larger volumes we see later on. The earlier Baidarkas (named so by the Russians) were of lower volume and could not be paddled while kneeling. Examples of these sleek earlier designs can be found if one were to do some research.
Gary
controlling boat heel
I don’t think there is any doubt that the heel of an open canoe is easier to control from a kneeling position than it is sitting up high on a seat.
But a properly fitted kayak in which one’s feet are anchored by footpegs or a bulkhead, and in which one can make solid contact with the under surface of the deck with one’s knees and thighs can be controlled just as effectively.
And with a double-bladed paddle one has an effective brace on both sides of the boat, which makes a big difference.
Been all three routes the past 40 years
Tandem canoe, solo canoe(pack 11’), and currently kayaking.
Ease of access, go when I want to, was the deciding factor for me. As well as handling the craft by myself.
The yak requires a lot more consideration to space. The upside is all the NEAT new equip. to try, and buy.Mostly have adapted other watersport equip. to satisfy kayak needs, and have even made some of my own. Big fun, and mind is always churning to do it better, cheaper.
All things considered… I do miss the pack canoe. HOWEVER…this boat…
http://www.nativewatercraft.com/ult_14.cfm
May be the answer, and I can camp in luxury once again.
Have you looked at Folbot?
NM
I love those Native Watercraft boats
Someone on another forum suggested one of their boats for wildlife photography. I saw a video of a guy using one and he had one of those really nice huge telephoto lenses ON A TRIPOD in the boat! They’re actually stable enough that you could set up a full blown, high quality tripod in them in front of the paddling position. Alas, I don’t have any place to store a hardshell and even if I did, I can’t afford one of those. Still, a very nice boat.
I’ve checked a few folders
Folbot, Nautiraid, Feathercraft, and Pakboats. They all look nice and have their good points and bad points. Unfortunately, they’re all WAY too expensive for me.
Traditional distinctions between
canoe and kayak?
Birchbark canoes were made for hundreds of years and were paddled with single sticks.
If that is what you call tradition I agree. Equipment was dictated by materials at hand and tools at hand…ie trees and hand tools.
But along about 1880 rec canoeing took off with the advent of new mass manufacturing techniques and one of the first canoes that appeared was the double blade pack canoe. They are not new…they are a reprise of something very old.
The ACA initially was built around sailing and double bladed canoes as most of their members used them and the open canoe was not so popular. There was initially a Canadian component. They split for form the CRCA as they believed the open canoe the proper canoe.
Just a diversion…
Yost design
For your uses, it looks like a Yost Yarra LC (large cockpit) design might work. I’ll echo what was said above - email Tom. He may suggest stretching the design or a different one.
and
And don’t forget, you can always use a double paddle in a canoe if that style suits you better and the canoe isn’t a tub.