A folding kayak is a direct descendant of the original Inuit kayak made of animal skins stretched over frames made from wood and bones. A modern folder has a collapsable frame made of some combination of wood, aluminium and plastic, and a skin made of a tough fabric with a waterproof coating. Many have integral air chambers inside the hull, making them virtually unsinkable. The Inuit Circumpolar Conference defines its constituency to include Canadas Inuit and Inuvialuit, Greenlands Kalaallit people, Alaskas Inupiaq and Yupik people, and Russias Yupik. ... Two whitewater kayakers running the Numbers section of the Arkansas River. ...

The earliest commercial folding kayaks were developed in the late 19th century in Rosenheim, Germany by Johannes Klepper, and were very popular for their compact size and ease of transport. Klepper's Faltboot, was introduced in 1906, many years before hardshell boats were commercially produced. Their Aerius II model was introduced in 1951 and was still in production in 2003. In 1956, Dr. Hannes Lindemann crossed the Atlantic Ocean in an Aerius II, proof of the folding kayak's integrity and seaworthiness! Their light weight and non-metallic construction has made them the choice of many military Special Forces. Nautiraid of France produces a special model for military use, as do Klepper and Long Haul, who supply German and US Special Forces, respectively. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Rosenheim is a town in Bavaria (Germany) on the river Inn, at 47°51′ N 12°8′ E. It is seat of administration of the district of Rosenheim, but is not a part of it. ... 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The cover of Life Magazine from July 1957, featuring Linemanns crossing. ... Special forces or special operations forces are military units which are formed and trained to conduct missions involving unconventional warfare, counter-terrorism, reconnaissance, direct action and foreign internal defence. ...

There are about ten major folding kayak manufacturers today, and a handful of small, one-off makers. In addition to Klepper the best-known brands are Feathercraft, Folbot, Long Haul, Nautiraid and Pouch. Long Haul double kayak hulls are identical in form to Kleppers, so a Klepper Aerius II frame can be used with a Long Haul MK-II skin, and vice versa.

Framework of a 2-men-kayak

Most folding kayaks have very similar construction, even though the materials may differ. Some boats use frames made of spruce and marine plywood, while others use aluminum tubing and various plastics, and a few newer boats such as Fujita and Firstlight use carbon fiber or fiberglass composite tubing. Typically there are solid bow and stern pieces, and anywhere from three to seven ribs connected via some sort of flexible attachment to a number of longerons. Many boats follow the basic design pioneered by Klepper in having a folding set of floorboards and gunwales as well as additional longerons to add stiffness and shape. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1338x2134, 894 KB) Beschreibung Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: Folding kayak ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1338x2134, 894 KB) Beschreibung Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: Folding kayak ... A Longeron is a thin strip of wood or metal, used in aircraft construction to support the skin of the fuselage or the wing. ...

Most folding boats have two-part skins, with different materials used for the deck and the hull. Decks can be made of a breathable cotton/hemp blend, as Klepper has done since their early days, or of coated synthetics, as Feathercraft, Folbot, Nautiraid and Pouch do. Each approach has its own particular benefits and drawbacks; all work well in practice. Hulls are generally made of a heavily coated synthetic fiber. In the early days, rubber coated cotton canvas was used, while the modern boats use a synthetic rubber — Hypalon, polyurethane or PVC— over a synthetic (typically Dacron) cloth. Hypalon is a trademark for a kind of synthetic rubber noted for its resistance to chemicals, temperature extremes, and ultraviolet light. ... A polyurethane is any polymer consisting of a chain of organic units joined by urethane links. ... Polyvinyl chloride, commonly abbreviated PVC, is a widely-used plastic. ... The term plastics covers a range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic condensation or polymerization products that can be molded or extruded into objects or films or fibers. ...

Folders are known for their durability, stability, and longevity: The Klepper Aerius I (a single-seater) has been was successfully for white-water kayaking (before the era of modern polyethelyne boats), due to its durability and excellent manoeuvrability, while many Kleppers have been in frequent use for more than 20 years.

Although some hardshell kayakers are critical of folding boats and do not regard them as true kayaks, they exhibit many of the same paddling characteristics as the original skin-and-frame vessels of the circumpolar north. Some folding kayaks, like the Feathercraft Khatsolano, are equal in performance to the fastest hardshell kayaks. Other than contemporary replicas of Inuit, Aleut, and Eskimo kayaks and baidarkas, they are the closest relatives to the skin-and-frame boats of the past. The Aleuts (self-denomination: Unangax, Unangan or Unanga) are the indigenous people of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, U.S.A. and Chukotka, Russia. ... It has been suggested that Esquimaux race be merged into this article or section. ...

See also

• Operation Frankton

During World War II, Operation Frankton was a British Combined Operations raid on shipping in Bordeaux harbour, France in December, 1942, by 12 men of the Boom Patrol Detachment, Royal Navy, in two-man Cockle MK II kayaks, (*the Cockleshell Heroes). ...

External links

• FoldingKayaks.org (from which some of the text above was adapted, with permission)
• Faltboot.de A non-commercial site on folding kayaks in German

• The Kayaking Journal