Blue Water Kayak Club Stranraer - Introduction into kayaking</font>

Sometimes confused with canoes. Kayaks have spray decks and are generally used on rougher water including sea kayaking.

Kayak

* noun a canoe of a type used originally by the Inuit, made of a light frame with a watertight covering having a small opening for the seat.

* verb - Kayaks, Kayaking, Kayaked

* noun - Kayaking - travel in a kayak.
The kayaker sits, usually with a small lower back support, and footrests.

The paddling rhythm in a kayak is steady and unchanging (for long flat-water travel) and the muscles are in constant use, left-right-left-right.

When it comes to overall speed, kayaks have an advantage. They sit lower in the water, with less wind resistance, which means more speed.

Kayak paddles are double-bladed.
Sea kayaks are lighter and longer than canoes.

Canoe

* noun - a narrow keelless boat with pointed ends, propelled with a paddle
* verb - Canoes, Canoeing, Canoed - travel in or paddle a canoe
* Derivatives - Canoer, Canoeing, Canoeist

A normal canoeing position for a canoeist is on the knees with your back resting on the thwart.

The canoeist, using a steering stroke in the stern (two paddlers) or midships (solo canoeing)

can paddle on one side for a good length of time, and then switches sides.

A canoe use's single-bladed paddles

Canoes are in general are wider and flatter than kayaks, so they tend to have more contact with the water and sit deeper.

This way the canoe will have to cut through the water, whilst the kayak floats on top.

Blue Water Kayak Club-Stranraer