Canoe
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.
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.
[14] Several families of trees could have been used to construct Caribbean canoes, including woods of the mahogany family (Meliaceae) such as the Cuban mahogany (Swietenia mahagoni), that can grow up to 30–35 m tall and the red cedar (Cedrela odorata), that can grow up to 60 m tall, as well as the ceiba genus (Malvacae), such as Ceiba pentandra, that can reach 60–70 m in height.
Reports by historical chroniclers claim to have witnessed a canoe "containing 40 to 50 Caribs [...] when it came out to trade with a visiting English ship".
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] In recent years, First Nations in British Columbia and Washington State have been revitalizing the ocean-going canoe tradition.
The slab of bark was held in place by branches or handwoven rope, and after separation from the tree, lowered to the ground.
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.
In 1603 a canoe was brought to Sir Robert Cecil's house in London and rowed on the Thames by Virginian Indians from Tsenacommacah.
de Vries recorded a Mohawk canoe in Dutch possession at Rensselaerswyck capable of transporting 225 bushels of maize.
"[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 first explorer to cross the North American continent, Alexander Mackenzie, used canoes extensively, as did David Thompson and the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
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.
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.
[50] Royalex — a composite material comprising an outer layer of vinyl and hard acrylonitrile butadiene styrene plastic (ABS) and an inner layer of ABS foam bonded by heat treatment — was another plastic alternative for canoes until 2014, when the raw composite material was discontinued by its only manufacturer.
[51] As a canoe material, Royalex is lighter, more resistant to UV damage, and more rigid, and has greater structural memory than non-composite plastics such as polyethylene.
[citation needed] Carbon fiber is used in racing canoes to create a very light, rigid construction usually combined with Kevlar for durability.
"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.
The Chasse-galerie is a French-Canadian tale of voyageurs who, after a night of heavy drinking on New Year's Eve at a remote timber camp want to visit their sweethearts some 100 leagues (about 400 km) away.
In John Steinbeck's novella The Pearl, set in Mexico, the main character's canoe is a means of making a living that has been passed down for generations and represents a link to cultural tradition.
[55] The Māori, indigenous Polynesian people, arrived in New Zealand in several waves of canoe (called waka) voyages.
Whakapapa (genealogical links) back to the crew of founding canoes served to establish the origins of tribes, and defined tribal boundaries and relationships.
[60] In ICF wildwater canoeing, athletes paddle a course of class III to IV whitewater (using the International Scale of River Difficulty), passing over waves, holes and rocks of a natural riverbed in events lasting either 20–30 minutes ("Classic" races) or 2–3 minutes ("Sprint" races).
[62] The Texas Water Safari, at 422 km (262 mi), includes an open class, the only rule being the vessel must be human-powered.
They are typically made of heavier and tougher materials and designed with the ability to carry large amounts of gear while being maneuverable enough for rivers with some whitewater.
The Prospector is marked by a shallow arch hull with a relatively large amount of rocker, giving optimal balance for wilderness tripping over lakes and rivers with some rapids.
