| g is like canoeing, only better. They were originally | | | | from the way they are designed to harness the |
| invented by the Inuit in Alaska and used for hunting (the | | | | energy of fast-flowing rivers. If you go on a kayaking |
| word means “hunter’s boat”). The defining | | | | trip, the chances are that this is the kind of kayak you |
| characteristic of a kayak is the way the boater sits | | | | will be riding in. |
| centrally in a long, thin boat and gets along using a | | | | Racing kayaks, on the other hand, are neither slow nor |
| paddle. Today they are used for sport. Kayaks are | | | | stable. They are expensive, lightweight boats, built for |
| made differently to handle different boating | | | | speed and nothing else, and barely even wide enough |
| environments, such as calm seas and whitewater. | | | | to hold a person. It is these kind of kayaks that you will |
| There are also special racing kayaks, designed for | | | | see in the Olympics and other kayaking competitons, |
| speed. | | | | as what they lack can be made up for by highly-skilled |
| Sea kayaks are long, stable boats with steering | | | | boaters. |
| mechanisms that can keep a straight path through the | | | | When considering kayaks, a general rule is that the |
| water. They are larger and more dependable than | | | | longer the kayak is, the faster yet less manoeuvrable it |
| other kayaks, but this comes at the cost of | | | | will be, and vice versa. However, this is not the only |
| manoeuvrability. They are also often big enough to | | | | factor, as the overall shape of the kayak will also have |
| hold more than one kayaker, unlike whitewater kayaks. | | | | some effect. |
| Whitewater kayaks are smaller, sportier boats. They | | | | There are also some unusual kinds of kayaks. The |
| are very easy to steer precisely and quickly, but they | | | | inflatable kayak, for example, is often used by casual |
| are not very fast. What speed they do have comes | | | | hobbyists, as it can be transported so easily. |