Canoe-kayak

History

In the canoe, the boat which comes us from the Indians of North America, the propulsion and the direction are ensured by a simple paddle. In kayak, the boat, which comes us from the Inuit S (name that the more known people under the name of Esquimaux are given), in particular of the Aléoutes, a double paddle is used. The qualification of canoe or kayak thus holds more paddle and position of base that with the number of its occupants: there are simple canoes and two-seater kayaks for example.

One finds others practical of the paddle through times, the people, the areas: dugouts (Americas), skisurf (Polynesia)… And they are practiced for various uses: means of transport, appendices with larger boats, leisures of walks, sport with feeling, of slip.

These practices evolved/moved much since the end of the 20th century by the use of new materials and manufactoring processes in the boats themselves, but also in the paddle or the accessories of safety. The boats took characteristics specific to new practices, with the development of technical and demanding disciplines ( freestyle , high river…) or extended to more a general public (nondecked boats, i.e. the paddler sat on and either in, with or without autovidor…). The current form of the canoes and kayaks depends more practice for which they are intended than of their origin. It is thus easy to confuse a canoe with a kayak of leisure out of running water so much their forms are close. Only the sitting position or with knees of the paddler still makes it possible to differentiate them.

Technological development

The first floating materials were wood, in the form of trunk dug for the dugout monoxyle or in the form of dependant light branches for the dugouts in reeds or Balsa.

Then assemblies of planks of wood or bark made it possible to modify the forced shapes of the trunk dug. The construction of structures of wood covered with skins involved a lightening of the floats and uses other than transport, for example hunting in the kayak in the seas of the Scandinavian areas.

Goatskin bottles of inflated skins of air were also used for the crossing of rivers, preceding the modern inflatable impregnated rubber fabric floats or synthetic products.

In several areas of the world in 2003, these traditional boats continue to be used, for example the balsa dugouts of the Lac Titicaca.

Today the boats of competition as of pleasure are built with more modern materials, even if wood is always appreciated for its beauty and its lightness (one will find more of the wood boats in practice sport at the noncompetitive level). Thus one uses glass fiber, the kevlar and carbon to build solid and light boats. Mixtures ipoxyque or of polyester are used to solidify materials. A stucco of color will be often applied to give a beautiful color to the boat.

Moreover, there are not only the materials which changed with time, but also the shape of the boats. Thus, with the years the canoes passed from a form known as " peanots" to adopt a more frayed line. To note that the payments of the ICF (International Canoe Federation) oblige the boats to have a length and a minimum weight. Before the years 2000, there was also a payment over the width of the boats. When the engineers tried to profile the boats a little more, they started to create wings at the ends of the canoes and kayaks to respect the payment of width. The business became ridiculous and the ICF withdrew this prohibition, which brought very thin boats, but much less stable (however, the disappearance of the limit of width is effective only in Race on Line, the Slalom, the Kayak-Sports shirt or the Descent preserving such a limitation).

Practical of the calm water sport

The water canoe-kayak calms is practiced of course in two different ways. The two types of boats obliges the kayaker or the canoeist to adopt different techniques, even if very often the concepts are the same ones.

Kayak: The kayaker sat in his boat and its foot rests on a bar commonly called " Bar with pied". The latter is perforated on its length to let exceed the bar of control surface which controls its rudder. It is there a major difference between the two types of boats, since the canoe is entirely controlled by the oar. The kayaker sat enough close to the bar to foot, his legs being passably bent to allow the push. It should be understood that it is not the kayak which advances on water, but the water which advances under the kayak. All the movement is thought to draw the boat, not to push it.

The force of traction of the kayak as opposed to what one can believe is not created by the arms which are in fact accessories with the movement. All the force comes from two very effective axes of the human body, that is to say the legs and the trunk. Quickly, the movement can be dissected in three parts. The " catch" who consists in entering a palm of the paddle water with strength and the good angle to allow a good catch in water. Then the " comes; bloc" who consists to block his arms, to harden his trunk and using his leg on the side of the palm used to start a traction while pushing on the bar. The discounted effect is to push the hip which will make turn the trunk. That with the synergy of the block of the arms will make it possible the paddle to draw from water. The image that the trainers use to describe the movement is that the paddle must enter to each blow a concrete block split to let there pass the paddle. This one will not move, it is the kayak which will advance with the assistance of the traction of the trunk and the hip. Finally, the movement is finalized by the " sortie" who consists in raising the elbow at the end of the movement of leg to prepare the other blow.

The Canoe: The movement of the canoe is different, but the concept is the same one (to think of the concrete block). The movement is started by the hip on the side of the oar (one rows only one side in the canoe) who advances to the maximum forwards. The goal is to go to seek the most possible distance forwards. Then, the canoeist drops his weight in water. At the time or the oar is completely immersed, it is raised. By the fact even it will draw its boat using this support in water. As soon as this movement starts, it already starts to envisage the next one by repropulsant its hip forwards. The direction is ensured by blows more broad or one of the blows of wrist at the end of the blow (" blow in J" or " running J").

The difficulty of the sport comes from the instability of the boats. Indeed, the technical movement would not be so hard to apply if the boat were not if overturning. But the goal of the sport is to go as quickly as possible, from where the need for shaped boats. The kayaker or canoeist is thus in constant unstable situation and even the best in the world has losses of balance, especially in the ends of the road or the body is tired by the effort.

Many a type of boats are available for the race. Single-seat boat, with the two-seater, the four-seater one. In the jargon one qualifies the type of boat by his first letter and his number of place. For example, a two-seater kayak will be called K-2 or C-2 for a two-seater canoe. The goal of the race is to arrive the first at the end while remaining in its boat and not leaving its corridor. The official ones follow the races in motorized boats and can disqualify boats during the race.

Organization of the activity in France

The French federation of canoe-kayak (FFCK) categorizes the activities of canoe and kayak according to the nature of the aquatic environment where they are practiced: running water, calm water, sea. Running water corresponds to the aquatic environments of river types or river with water movements having a direct effect more or less extremely on the boat: rapids, pots, drossages, waves, swirls. Calm water makes it possible any beginner to act on the handiness of its boat without being disturbed in addition to measurement by the aquatic environment where it is. The sea gathers the activities in ocean, sea or estuaries of rivers.

According to these aquatic environments, the practices, the material, the techniques differ. The French federation listed them as follows:

Out of running water, is practiced:

the slalom (descent of part of river (naturalness or artificial) with constraints),
descent (consists in traversing a portion of river in the shortest possible time),
the Nage out of running water (it strictly speaking does not act any more a kayaker, but swimmers equipped with a float also being used as protection),
the kayak '' freestyle '' (to carry out figures on a series of waves),
the raft (to go down from the rapids on a pneumatic boat in team),
the high river (descent of rapids very hard to cross).

Out of calm water, is practiced:

the Race in line (to traverse a distance specifies as soon as possible),
the Kayak-sports shirt (a sport of team which is played on a particular ground equipped with cages; it approaches to the tennis shoe and handball),
the marathon (to descend a long distance in canoé or the kayak, on a river or out of calm water, with obstacles sometimes requiring to carry the boat),
the Dragon boat, the excursion.

At sea, finally, is practiced:

the Wave-ski (kayak surfing of sea, approaches surfing on the level of the competitions),
the Merathon (marathon version sea), the dugout (Va' a).

This federal classification forgets a great number of kayakers and canoeists which practices with an aim of leisure on rivers whose level of difficulty varies the very easy one with very difficult according to their level and their interest. It is “the elite” of these practitioners which makes high river.

Canadian specificity

Canada is the only country in the world to have in its list of boat of competition a canoe of 15 oarsmen. Commonly called " War Canoë" it comes from the first inhabitants of America, Iroquois for example who moved on the rivers Canadian to make the war. Their boat was seems it very fast and similar to C-15. Of course, today this last is conceived exclusively for the race and underwent major recastings to optimize its speed.

The boat is in fact a large canoe of 14 oarsmen (7 left-handeds person, 7 droitiers) and of a cox upright to the back. This last deals with the direction, but occupies also the post of head of boat (often the trainer). It is a fast boat considering its weight, and it wood is still the material more spread and more snuffed for these boats.

Races of " War Canoë" are very impressive because of the size of the boats which coursent in the same corridors that the remainder of the boats.

Competitions

The competitions are managed primarily by the International federation of canoe, recognized by CIO and AGFIS.

Olympic. Two disciplines:
1. speed on 200m 500 m and 1000 m in corridors of flat basin, the final is accessible through eliminatory races. in France for more than 10 consecutive years a club of the North of France has dominated this discipline St Laurent Blangy (beside ARRAS)
2. the slalom out of running water basin; the course of 300 m to 400 m against the watch includes/understands passages of doors which can involve penalties in the event of incorrect passage.
nonOlympic: the FIC manages the descent of running water river against the watch, the Kayak-sports shirt, the dragon-boat, the marathon, freestyle, kayak-surfing, the rafting in certain countries, and the canoe with veil.

Discussions concerning the va' has (Pirog with beam of the Pacifique) are in hand.

Complements

The term of canoe-kayak in France recovers the practices of the sports of the paddle which is the lever of propulsion of boats very diverse “floats” in forms, materials and denominations; the boats driven with the paddle are among the oldest human means of displacement, using water the ways, well a long time before the wheel on the dirt tracks.

The canoe-kayak in 2003 recovers the Olympic competitive sport, nonOlympic competitive discipline and practice of leisure and free or commercial tourism.

The traditional dugout is a boat of transport and festivals in many areas of Africa and Asia.

The canoe-kayak of leisure or tourism is practiced in spaces of sea or big lakes, running river and running water. Safety requires the control of the direction of the boat, a technical and physical drive and an alternative item of equipment according to the foreseeable difficulties of the course: information on the conditions of the course will be to seek.

The shapes of boat-floats used in leisure and tourism are primarily the canoe, the kayak or the raft.

See too

Kayak of sea | Canoe | Kayak | Kayak-sports shirt | Race in line
Tony Estanguet, Olympic champion of canoe (2000,2004)
Fabien Lefèvre, world champion of kayak (2002,2003)
Benoit Peschier, Olympic champion of kayak (2004)
Canoe-kayak with the Olympic Games

External bonds

French federation of canoe kayak
Canadian Federation of Canoe-Kayak
Québécois Federation of Canoe-Kayak

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