Kayak or Canoe or something else ?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/11/29/3078886.htm?section=justin To answer your question, read this !!! That beats any response here in repelling a pirate attack (cannot operate a "complex" boat...) - - - YET ???

Pirates attack, abandon Turkish ship

Pirates boarded a Turkish freighter in the Indian Ocean but abandoned the vessel after not being able to locate its crew who had hidden in a secret place, authorities said in a news report. Pirates attacked the 'August 26' on Saturday, 150 nautical miles (about 270 kilometres) north-east of the Yemeni island of Socotra as it was leaving the Gulf of Aden, the Anatolia news agency reported, citing a government statement.

"As the ship's personnel had hidden themselves in a secret and safe place, the pirates left the boat," said the statement from the maritime authority's rescue cell. "This morning (Sunday), a NATO patrol ship reached the aforementioned ship and started communicating with it. It was established that the boat was secure and its crew in good health," it added.

NATO is conducting an anti-piracy operation in the area, where Somali pirates are active. Pirates are holding about 30 ships and more than 500 sailors, according to the Ecoterra International group which tracks piracy in the region.

 

Nice, Fanie, looking forward to seeing how it comes out.

 

It's a kayak if you have paddle it with a double bladed paddle and a canoe if you have a single bladed paddle

 

this statement and all the others on this list is false, there are many northern villages that used singled bladed paddles on fully enclonsed kayak hulls.

A kayak is an Eskimo word for "boat", a kayak is a boat, a type of boat. And after having paddled many miles in various canoes and kayak, and many different types, I would say a decked canoe is NO kayak. I think the operative word is that a kayak can be rolled, with either a single bladed paddle, or a double, or with no paddle at all! They have contests in Greenland to see who can right their kayak first without a paddle, most of them are sucessful.

Canoe is also a native American word, but a very different kind of boat, usually a large open cargo hauler as compared to a kayak. But size is not the only issue, because there are many native Alaskan two and three person kayaks that can also be rolled successfully (it takes the crew working together, and lots of practice).

The wiki article is bogus and who ever wrote is ignorant of the history of the kayak. It is my opinion and observation, after having built some 10 or 11 true kayaks, that the large hard shell "kayak" sold to most people are really "white man boats", reduced size large deep hulls with rudders, foot pedals, and other junk to separate people and their money. They are too deep to paddle properly (I feel like the coaming is up under my arm pits), they are too wide so proper paddling rhythm is almost impossible, and too heavy and difficult to roll, especially with those stupid fat, curved "euro" paddles. Give me a nice light skin on frame 19" wide, 6" deep and a proper Aleut or Greenland paddle anywhere and I am happy. Native water craft do NOT have rudders, nor foot pedals, all are hindrances to proper technique and learning good kayak skills.

 

Nowadays, a kayak might, according to numbers sold, be a (usually) "short, wide, sometimes covered boat, usually for one person, where the person sits on the bottom or very close to it and paddles with a double paddle having a single shaft".
We'd like it if our own definition of a "narrow, light boat with a tight-fitting cockpit opening (allowing eskimo rolling) and single paddle was the proper one---- but with language, the vast majority of nautically uneducated masses may change the definition in time. It is irksome to see the least qualified defining the word but that's what they're doing.
I don't think there needs to be a true definition anyway. It's a pointless question because there are many canoes with more kayak-like qualities (double-paddle, covered, narrow and long, single person, etc., and many kayaks with open decks, short and fat. etc..
I've seen lots of posts asking for definitions and discussion is good but that's because we all eventually develop a feeling for what defines a thing to us and our peers, to the point where everything has to be qualified and we realize we're talking about a very slippery subject after all.
The more you learn about a subject, the more you realize that you can only suggest what a thing is called and hope it comes close to creating an understanding of what it is exactly. Look back in history for the meaning of words like "barge", or "sloop", or 'yawl" for example.

 

There is a huge variety in both modern kayaks and traditional kayaks.

Below is a 22'x28" East Arctic Kayak made by David Zimmerly, along with directions to make one yourself.

Harvey Golden has built replicas of many dozens of different arctic kayaks and paddles. Notice that not all the kayak paddles are double-bladed.

Here is a map of the arctic showing where different traditional kayak styles came from. Some of the kayaks have rather large cockpits and thus weren't suitable for rolling.

 

Yes

And you can participate in those competitions in Greenland if you wish.

After the introduction of the rifle, rudders, or perhaps more properly a skeg, were developed to stabilize hunter's kayaks when they were preparing to shoot seals, etc. Undoubtedly they would have used a full-fledged rudder if they'd had the technology to build them. See page 31 and following.

 

I've read through the various responses before responding to the original question.

There is no single, universal authority on boat type terminology. It depends very much on context, location and user. Language is defined by usage and evolves with time.

The International Canoe Federation has classes for canoes - "C" boats, and kayaks - "K" boats. While the rules vary somewhat for different types of competitions the general theme is kayaks are propelled by double blade paddles with the competitors sitting in the boat, and canoes are propelled by single blade canoes with the competitors kneeling in the boat. Some canoes classes are required to be essentially undecked and open while others can be decked. Anyone interested in competiting in ICF sanctioned events needs to abide by these definitions.

Other organizations and agencies may have their own defintions or rules which are applicable to those who are governed by a particular organization or agency.

Publications, particularly periodicals, may have their own usage.

Then there is "common" usage which is anything but uniform.

So a question for the original poster. What is the context of your question, and what location are you asking about?

 

I think not, on the later longer three hole kayaks they actually put in pivot joints in the keel in several places. I suspect this was used to flex the long hull in an arch to make tighter turns. I can see no other reason for the joints.

These larger three hole kayaks were a later development after there were both russian and american explers and hunters that would pay the natives to take them to good hunting grounds.