A Sea kayak or touring kayak is a kayak developed for the sport of paddling on open waters of lakes, bays, and the ocean. Sea kayaks are seaworthy small boats with a covered deck and the ability to incorporate a spraydeck. They trade off the extreme maneuverability of whitewater kayaks for cargo capacity, ease of straight-line paddling, and comfort for long journeys. Inuit seal hunter in a kayak, armed with a harpoon. ... For activities involving paddles, see canoeing. ... A spraydeck (or spraycover or sprayskirt) is a flexible cover for a boat, in particular for a kayak or a canoe. ... Whitewater is formed in a rapid, when a rivers gradient drops enough to form a bubbly, or aerated and unstable current; the frothy water appears white. ...

Sea kayaks are now used around the world for marine journeys from a few hours to many weeks, as they can accommodate one or two (occasionally three) paddlers together with room for camping gear, food, water, and other supplies. The sport of sea kayaking (sometimes called ocean kayaking) combines much of the appeal of hill-walking with a maritime aspect, few access issues and an almost infinite area to enjoy.

History

Main article: Kayak

Contemporary sea kayaks trace their origins primarily to the native boats of Alaska, northern Canada, and Southwest Greenland. Wooden kayaks and fabric kayaks on wooden frames (such as the Klepper) were dominating the market up until 1950s, when fiberglass boats were first introduced. Rotomolded plastic kayaks first appeared in 1984. Inuit seal hunter in a kayak, armed with a harpoon. ... Official language(s) English Capital Juneau Largest city Anchorage Area  Ranked 1st  - Total 663,267 sq mi (1,717,855 km²)  - Width 808 miles (1,300 km)  - Length 1,479 miles (2,380 km)  - % water 13. ... A folding kayak is a direct descendant of the original Inuit kayak made of animal skins stretched over frames made from wood and bones. ... Rotomolding is a very versatile process of creating vertually all kinds of mostly hollow Plastic Parts. ... Household items made out of plastic. ...

Design

Kayaking in a double on Lake Union in Seattle, USA

Modern sea kayaks come in a wide array of materials, designs, and sizes to suit a variety of intended uses. The primary distinction is between rigid kayaks and folding kayaks. While many modern kayaks carry the design features of traditional craft, recent design innovation includes: ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 447 KB) Summary Kayaking on Seattle, Washingtons Lake Union Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 447 KB) Summary Kayaking on Seattle, Washingtons Lake Union Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... A folding kayak is a direct descendant of the original Inuit kayak made of animal skins stretched over frames made from wood and bones. ...

• Recreational kayaks, shorter sea kayaks with wide beams and large cockpits;
• Sit-on-top kayaks, rotomolded boats without an enclosed cockpit, but with some other sea kayak features;
• Inflatable kayaks, sometimes employing a rigid frame with inflatable sponsons; and
• Surf skis, long, narrow boats intended for open ocean racing.

A Recreational Kayak is a special type of Kayak that is marketed toward the more casual paddler. ... Sponsons are flat projections from the sides of a watercraft, for protection, stability, the mounting of armaments, etc. ... A surf ski is an elongated open cockpit kayak used for surf lifesaving or flat-water racing. ...

Size

Most production sea kayaks are between 12 feet and 24 feet in length, the larger kayaks often built for two (or in rare cases, three) paddlers. The width (beam) of typical kayaks varies from 18 inches to 28 inches, though specialized boats such as surf skis may be narrower. The length of a kayak affects not only its cargo capacity (for both gear and paddlers) but may also affect its "tracking" ability -- the ease with which the boat travels in a straight line. While other design features also impact tracking, very long kayaks are easier to paddle straight (and harder to turn). The width of a kayak impacts the cargo capacity, the maximum size of the cockpit (and thus the size of the paddler in that cockpit), and (to a degree that depends on the design of the hull) the stability. The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point, or a point alongside the ship at the mid-point of its length. ... A surf ski is an elongated open cockpit kayak used for surf lifesaving or flat-water racing. ... The word stability has a number of technical meanings, all related to the common meaning of the word. ...

Material

A sea kayak constructed from plywood, epoxy and fibreglass

Most rigid production kayaks are now made from fiberglass, rotomolded polyethylene, or carbon-kevlar, though there are more exotic materials, such as carbon fiber and foam core, and hand-built systems from as plywood or wood strip covered with fiberglass. Skin-on-frame kayaks are built on wood or aluminum frames covered in canvas, dacron or other fabrics, and may include inflatable tubes called sponsons. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 1943 KB) Summary I took this photo myself. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 1943 KB) Summary I took this photo myself. ... Bundle of fiberglass Fiberglass or glassfibre is material made from extremely fine fibers of glass. ... General Name, Symbol, Number carbon, C, 6 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 14, 2, p Appearance black (graphite) colorless (diamond) Atomic mass 12. ... Chemical structure of Kevlar. ... Carbon fiber composite is a strong, light and very expensive material. ... Foamcore is a strong lightweight, easily cut material useful for backing, mounting photographic prints, framing, 3D design and painting. ... Toy constructed from plywood. ... Bundle of fiberglass Fiberglass or glassfibre is material made from extremely fine fibers of glass. ... Canvas is an extremely heavy-duty fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, and other functions where sturdiness is required. ... 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. ... Sponsons are flat projections from the sides of a watercraft, for protection, stability, the mounting of armaments, etc. ...

Bow, stern, and deck

There are many design approaches for the bow, stern, and deck of kayaks. Some kayaks have upturned bows, with the intention of better performance into wave and better wave-shedding ability, while others aim to achieve this through increased buoyancy in the bow. Kayaks with unobstructed stern decks may ease certain types of self-rescue. Waterproof bulkheads in modern kayaks provide flotation in the event of capasize, and sea kayak decks typically include one or more hatches for easy access to the interior storage space inside. Kayak decks often include attachment points for deck lines of various kinds, which are aids in self-rescue and attachment points for above-deck equipment. // In physics, buoyancy is the upward force on an object produced by the surrounding fluid (i. ... Hatch may refer to: Common nickname for gentlemen named Prachet Hatch, Utah Hatch, New Mexico Orrin Hatch Richard Hatch A hatch (door) is a door in a floor or ceiling. ...

Other

Many sea kayaks have steering gear or tracking aids in the form of rudders or skegs. In most cases rudders are attached at the stern and operated, via wires, from foot peddles in the cockpit. Rudders are typically retractable for beach landings. Skegs are straight blades that drop from a well in the stern of the boat. Both devices assist in paddling when a strong wind is coming from a direction other than directly in front. The worlds oldest depiction of a rudder. ... In surfing, a skeg is a stabilizing fin located at the rear of the surfboard. ...

Paddles

Sea-kayak paddles, and the associated paddling styles, fall into two basic classifications: A paddle is a tool, originally a propulsion implement for mixing or pushing against liquids, typically in order to propel a boat. ...

• European: two roughly spoon-shaped blades at either end of a cylindrical shaft. This paddle style was developed for fast acceleration and sudden maneuvering in Whitewater kayaking, and then back-ported to sea-kayaking. Euro paddles can be made of aluminum, plastic or even wood, but the best are usually formed of more expensive materials like carbon-fiber for lightness. Often the two blades are feathered, or set at an angle relative to each other (both for ergonomic efficiency, and so that as one blade moves backwards through the water, the opposite blade moving forward through the air presents its edge, rather than its face).

A European style kayak paddle, (a) top view, (b) axial view

• Greenland: Relatively narrow blades which are rounded and full near the loom and blade roots, and becoming oval near the blade tips. Some paddles feature a "shoulder", or abrubt transition between the loom and blade roots. Greenland paddle blades are most often not feathered. Short Greenland paddles (generally one arm-span in length), called storm paddles, are used with a sliding stroke, where the hands are shifted along the blades for each stroke. Storm paddles are often used as spares and in very windy locations, as there is very little outboard blade to catch the wind.

A Greenland style kayak paddle

• Wing: The paddle is shaped with a profile like a wing. This makes it bite better in the water, and thus it is more efficient in producing a very powerful stroke. The paddling technique is different from both European style paddles and Greenland style. It is most often used in racing, but also sees some use in recreational paddling such as touring.

Whitewater kayaking is the sport of paddling a kayak on a moving body of water, typically a river. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1644x160, 24 KB) Summary Cleaned up rotation of [1] Licensing Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1644x160, 24 KB) Summary Cleaned up rotation of [1] Licensing Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ...

Trips

Sea Kayaking at Wilsons Promontory in Victoria, Australia

Weekend trips with overnight camping are popular amongst recreational kayakers, and many people combine kayaking with watching wildlife. Modern sea kayaks are designed to carry large amounts of equipment, and unsupported expeditions of two weeks or more are conducted in environments from the tropics to the arctic. Expedition kayaks are designed to handle best when loaded, so it may be necessary to ballast them on shorter trips. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 1313 KB) Summary I took this photo myself. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 1313 KB) Summary I took this photo myself. ...

Notable Expeditions

• In November 2005 the first kayak circumnavigation of South Georgia in the Southern Atlantic was completed in 18 days, a distance of 600 km[1].
• In 1977, Paul Caffyn was the first person to circumnavigate the South Island of New Zealand. He describes it in his book Obscured by Waves.
• In his book Cold Oceans (1999), Jon Turk describes his solo circumnavigation of Cape Horn.
• Adventurer Chris Duff has circumnavigated both Ireland and New Zealand.
• Eric Stiller and Tony Brown attempted circumnavigation of Australia. Described in the book Keep Australia on your left.

Motto: Leo Terram Propriam Protegat (Latin: Let the Lion protect his own land or May the Lion protect his own land) Official language English Capital Grytviken Commissioner Alan Huckle Area  - Total  - % water not ranked 3,903 km² - Population  - Total (2006 E)  - Density not ranked ~20 n/a; Currency GBP Time... The South Island The South Island is one of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the North Island. ... Cape Horn from the South. ... Eric Stiller, author and kayaker based in New York, USA. Eric Stiller is the co-founder of a Manhattan Kayak Company in 1995 and author of Keep Australia on your left. External links Manhattan Kayak Company ... Tony Eion Brown (born January 17, 1975) is a New Zealand rugby union player (fly half). ...

Safety

A sea kayak's primary safety device is its paddler. Some modern kayakers consider a well-practiced self-righting move called an Eskimo roll to be essential to safe open-water kayaking, though this move can be difficult in a heavily-laden boat. While there are a number of technique for unassisted righting and re-entry of a kayak after a capsize, most paddlers consider it safest to paddle with one or more others, as assisted rescues are more likely to succeed. Nonetheless, experienced paddlers do attempt open water crossings unaccompanied, and several major long-distance kayak expeditions have been carried out "solo". There is a strong culture of self-sufficiency amongst sea kayakers and extensive safety equipment such as towing lines, repair kits and survival gear is routinely carried. The Eskimo Roll is the act of uprighting a capsized kayak or canoe by use of the paddle and body motion. ... Capsizing refers to when a boat is inverted such that the bottom of the boat is on top. ...

See also

• Kayak
• Recreational kayak
• Whitewater kayaking
• Folding kayak
• Kayak polo
• Kayak racing
• List of kayak clubs
• Sea Kayak Maintenance

Inuit seal hunter in a kayak, armed with a harpoon. ... A Recreational Kayak is a special type of Kayak that is marketed toward the more casual paddler. ... Whitewater kayaking is the sport of paddling a kayak on a moving body of water, typically a river. ... A folding kayak is a direct descendant of the original Inuit kayak made of animal skins stretched over frames made from wood and bones. ... Canoe polo (called kayak polo in some countries) is a competitive ball sport played on water, in a defined field, between two teams of 5 players, each in a kayak. ... // This article is about flatwater canoe racing. ...

External links

• The Kayaking Journal