Canoe 12 Download
Giorgio Aguilar
A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles.[2]
In British English, the term canoe can also refer to a kayak, whereas canoes are then called Canadian or open canoes to distinguish them from kayaks. However, for official competition purposes, the American distinction between a kayak and a canoe is almost always adopted.[3]
Canoes were developed in cultures all over the world, including some designed for use with sails or outriggers. Until the mid-19th century, the canoe was an important means of transport for exploration and trade, and in some places is still used as such, sometimes with the addition of an outboard motor.
Where the canoe played a key role in history, such as the Northern United States, Canada, and New Zealand, it remains an important theme in popular culture. For instance, the birch bark canoe of the largely birch-based culture of the First Nations of Quebec, Canada, and North America provided these hunting peoples with the mobility essential to this way of life.[4]
The intended use of the canoe dictates its hull shape, length, and construction material. Although canoes were historically dugouts or made of bark on a wood frame,[5] construction materials later evolved to canvas on a wood frame, then to aluminum. Most modern canoes are made of molded plastic or composites such as fiberglass, or those incorporating kevlar or graphite.
There is still much dispute regarding the use of sails in Caribbean canoes. Some archaeologists doubt that oceanic transportation would have been possible without the use of sails, as winds and currents would have carried the canoes off course.[17] However, no evidence of a sail or a Caribbean canoe that could have made use of a sail has been found. Furthermore, no historical sources mention Caribbean canoes with sails. One possibility could be that canoes with sails were initially used in the Caribbean but later abandoned before European contact. This, however, seems unlikely, as long-distance trade continued in the Caribbean even after the prehistoric colonisation of the islands. Hence, it is likely that early Caribbean colonists made use of canoes without sails.[18]
Native American groups of the north Pacific coast made dugout canoes in a number of styles for different purposes, from western red cedar (Thuja plicata) or yellow cedar (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis), depending on availability.[7] Different styles were required for ocean-going vessels versus river boats, and for whale-hunting versus seal-hunting versus salmon-fishing. The Quinault of Washington State built shovel-nose canoes with double bows, for river travel that could slide over a logjam without needing to be portaged. The Kootenai of the Canadian province of British Columbia made sturgeon-nosed canoes from pine bark, designed to be stable in windy conditions on Kootenay Lake.[19]
Australian aboriginal people made canoes from hollowed out tree trunks, as well as from tree bark.[21] The indigenous people of the Amazon commonly used Hymenaea (Fabaceae) trees.[citation needed]
Some Australian aboriginal peoples made bark canoes.[21] They could be made only from the bark of certain trees (usually red gum or box gum) and during summer. After cutting the outline of the required size and shape, a digging stick was used to cut through the bark to the hardwood, and the bark was then slowly prised out using numerous smaller sticks. The slab of bark was held in place by branches or handwoven rope, and after separation from the tree, lowered to the ground. Small fires would then be lit on the inside of the bark to cause the bark to dry out and curl upwards, after which the ends could be pulled together and stitched with hemp and plugged with mud. It was then allowed to mature, with frequent applications of grease and ochre. The remaining tree was later dubbed a canoe tree by Europeans.[22]
Because of the porosity of the bark, these bark canoes did not last too long (about two years[22]). They were mainly used for fishing or crossing rivers and lakes to avoid long journeys. They were usually propelled by punting with a long stick.[23] Another type of bark canoe was made out of a type of stringybark gum known as Messmate stringybark (Eucalyptus obliqua), pleating the bark and tying it at each end, with a framework of cross-ties and ribs. This type was known as a pleated or tied bark canoe. Bark strips could also be sewn together to make larger canoes, known as sewn bark canoes.[24]
Many indigenous peoples of the Americas built bark canoes. They were usually skinned with birch bark over a light wooden frame, but other types could be used if birch was scarce. At a typical length of 4.3 m (14 ft) and weight of 23 kg (50 lb), the canoes were light enough to be portaged, yet could carry a lot of cargo, even in shallow water. Although susceptible to damage from rocks, they are easily repaired.[25] Their performance qualities were soon recognized by early European settler colonials, and canoes played a key role in the exploration of North America,[26] with Samuel de Champlain canoeing as far as the Georgian Bay in 1615.
In 1603 a canoe was brought to Sir Robert Cecil's house in London and rowed on the Thames by Virginian Indians from Tsenacommacah.[27] In 1643 David Pietersz. de Vries recorded a Mohawk canoe in Dutch possession at Rensselaerswyck capable of transporting 225 bushels of maize.[28][29] Ren de Brhant de Galine, a French missionary who explored the Great Lakes in 1669, declared: "The convenience of these canoes is great in these waters, full of cataracts or waterfalls, and rapids through which it is impossible to take any boat. When you reach them you load canoe and baggage upon your shoulders and go overland until the navigation is good; and then you put your canoe back into the water, and embark again."[30] American painter, author and traveler George Catlin wrote that the bark canoe was "the most beautiful and light model of all the water crafts that ever were invented".[31]
The indigenous peoples of eastern Canada and the northeast United States made canoes using the bark of the paper birch, which was harvested in early spring by stripping off the bark in one piece, using wooden wedges. Next, the two ends (stem and stern) were sewn together and made watertight with the pitch of balsam fir. The ribs of the canoe, called verons in Canadian French, were made of white cedar, and the hull, ribs, and thwarts were fastened using watap, a binding usually made from the roots of various species of conifers, such as the white spruce, black spruce, or cedar, and caulked with pitch.[37][38]
In 19th-century North America, the birch-on-frame construction technique evolved into the wood-and-canvas canoes made by fastening an external waterproofed canvas shell to planks and ribs by boat builders such as Old Town Canoe, E. M. White Canoe, Peterborough Canoe Company and at the Chestnut Canoe Company[39] in New Brunswick. Though similar to bark canoes in the use of ribs, and a waterproof covering, the construction method is different, being built by bending ribs over a solid mold. Once removed from the mold, the decks, thwarts and seats are installed, and canvas is stretched tightly over the hull. The canvas is then treated with a combination of varnishes and paints to render it more durable and watertight.[40]
Although canoes were once primarily a means of transport, with industrialization they became popular as recreational or sporting watercraft. John MacGregor popularized canoeing through his books, founding the Royal Canoe Club in London in 1866 and the American Canoe Association in 1880. The Canadian Canoe Association was founded in 1900 and the British Canoe Union in 1936.
Sprint canoe was a demonstration sport at the 1924 Paris Olympics and became an Olympic discipline at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.[41] When the International Canoe Federation was formed in 1946, it became the umbrella organization of all national canoe organizations worldwide.[citation needed]
Hull design must meet different, often conflicting, requirements for speed, carrying capacity, maneuverability, and stability[42] The canoe's hull speed can be calculated using the principles of ship resistance and propulsion.
Inflatable canoes contain no rigid frame members and can be deflated, folded, and stored in a bag. The more durable types consist of an abrasion-resistant nylon or rubber outer shell with separate PVC air chambers for the two side tubes and the floor.[49]
Modern canoes are generally constructed by layering a fiber material inside a "female" mold. Fiberglass is the most common material used in manufacturing canoes.[51] Fiberglass is not expensive, can be molded to any shape, and is easy to repair.[43] Kevlar is popular with paddlers looking for a light, durable boat that will not be taken in whitewater. Fiberglass and Kevlar are strong but lack rigidity. Carbon fiber is used in racing canoes to create a very light, rigid construction usually combined with Kevlar for durability. Boats are built by draping the cloth in a mold, then impregnating it with a liquid resin. Optionally, a vacuum process can be used to remove excess resin to reduce weight.
Before the invention of fiberglass, aluminum was the standard choice for whitewater canoeing due to its value and strength by weight.[43] This material was once more popular but is being replaced by modern lighter materials. "It is tough, durable, and will take being dragged over the bottom very well", as it has no gel or polymer outer coating which would make it subject to abrasion. The hull does not degrade from long term exposure to sunlight, and "extremes of hot and cold do not affect the material". It can dent, is difficult to repair, is noisy, can get stuck on underwater objects, and requires buoyancy chambers to assist in keeping the canoe afloat in a capsize.[52]
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