Committing to the single blade

[Guest]

I didn't race that electric paddle doohickey. Seems kind of slow. And it just looks like a sheltered prop.

I think it's pretty common for people to use electric trolling motors on canoes. Pretty sure that's what I've seen. Probably 1-2hp.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

I am not a canoeist because I use a double blade on the ocean in my sea canoe? Or kayak..

You are not a canoeist WHILE you are using a double blade no matter what you call the hull you are in.

This is so dang easy. Why do I have to keep explaining it on so many forums? Here is the correct analysis from the United States Canoe Association website:

"Am I paddling a canoe or a kayak?

"The right questions are: Are you canoeing or kayaking? How many blades does your paddle have?
Canoeing uses a single-bladed paddle. Kayaking uses a double-bladed paddle."

There, that's the answer.

If you are using a single blade, you are canoeing . . . no matter the hull.

If you are using a double blade, you are kayaking . . . no matter the hull.

If you are using a pole, you are poling . . . no matter the hull.

If you are using a sail, you are sailing . . . no matter the hull.

If you are using an outboard motor, you are motor boating . . . no matter the hull.

If you are leaning over the bow and propelling the hull by scooping and pulling the water with your hands, you are swimming . . . no matter the hull.

Now if any of you boys or girls wants to jump in any hull -- call it a canoe, a kayak, a SOT, a raft, a coracle, a pirogue, a bateau, a john boat, a scanoe, a whatever -- you can use any or all of these methods of propulsion you want. To your heart's desire. Ad libitum. Ad infinitum. But you are only CANOEING the bloody thing when you are using a SINGLE BLADE.

That's not a value judgment or moral judgment. It's simply a rational use of proper terminology.

As to Sophia Loren, you had to be a boy of a certain age. If you were 13 when Sophia emerged from the Mediterranean in Boy on a Dolphin in that soaking wet, gossamer peasant dress, you were not thinking of canoeing by the end of the film.

 

[Guest]

Per Olympic whitewater competition I have noted the same thing as what Glenn is saying. They call single blade 'canoe' and double blade 'kayak'. The hulls look identical to me.

 

[yellowcanoe]

No they are not. Nor is a kayak always propelled by a double blade. Look at the hunting history of kayaks and look up King Island kayaks. This is no judgment at all Its history.

http://www.arctickayaks.com/paddles.htm

http://wolfgangbrinck.com/boats/tales/kingisland.html

 

[Alan Gage]

The dictionary says a kayak is a canoe.

 

[Guest]

I don't think this artist's rendition of Sophia Loren has much tie to his reference, but I like it:

Oddly enough, I find the Keith Richards rendition from the same artist surprisingly accurate.

As for the quibbles. Here is what is clearly a 'kayak' hull being propelled by a single bladed stick. They call this a sport 'canoe':

I'm thoroughly confused...

 

[Odyssey]

Paddling a what, with what?
Last night we were babysitting our 8 month old grandson. My wife "just popped out" for awhile to do some last minute grocery shopping. Nice timing. Dinner time. While my own dinner was getting cold I was frantically trying to feed the little guy. I was deftly handling the baby spoon scoop the food-insert the food-swipe the dribble-repeat...I could barely keep up, but eventually he filled up and stopped squawking. He went from an angry little bird with an open mouth to a dazed euphoric little babe with pursed lips. Then I ate my cold dinner. The hard part done we moved on to the fun and games, bath time. He's outgrown a baby bath chair, so grandpa puts 2-3 " of warm water in the big people tub for him, where he can crawl and play and splash. He gets dazzled by the running water as I adjust the depth and warmth of the paddle pool. (Aaahh, paddle. There's that word.) His laughs and giggles gets me laughing too. While he sits his tiny little bottom in the middle of the enormous enamel tub, I swish the water around him with my hands...and I remember.
I remember sitting in the "stern" of our old family tub as a child, listening to the directions from my older brother in the "bow" telling me to swish-paddle the running hot water round in one direction and "Don't stop paddling! Hey! Are you playing back there? Keep paddling!" (Not only did we share beds as young children, but we shared brotherly baths as well. Yes, those were the old days, and they were good ones.)
SPLASH and I was back to the present, bathing my grandson. And I was still paddling. And I was paddling a bathtub, it was most definitely a bathtub. There's talk of maybe someday soon giving this little tyke a brother or sister. That would be nice. Maybe he'll start bathtub paddling tandem, sitting in the bow shouting orders "Don't stop paddling! Hey! Are you playing back there?"

 

[oldie moldy]

Ah Brad, you write such good memories. And a nice break from obsessive rules on what you're allowed to paddle with. And what you must call your craft and under what conditions.
Really, what's going on here? Everybody's got the right to go to heck in their own fashion. If somebody tries a double blade, single or bent blade and it works for them, good on 'em. If it doesn't, well, they wouldn't have known if they didn't try it for themselves.
All this rule making: that's one of the reasons I've never thought much of professional preachers and priest, behind all the rules and edicts is a mean spirited guy trying to bend folks to his will.

That's what I think anyway....

Rob

 

[ppine]

Thanks to all for clearing up the confusion about paddling.

We just heard last week of the new Tesla gigafactory going in about 50 miles from my house. They will be manufacturing more lithium batteries than the rest of the world combined. Battery technology is really just starting to take off.

The electric paddle would be handy in some conditions as an aid, not as a replacement for a paddle. How far are you going to get with a 2-4 hour battery life? I have seen a propeller designed to go on a portable electric drill for use on float tubes and small inflatable pontoon boats. All of these contraptions will probably be ignored by trippers. I used to have a wood drift boat that I ran rivers with and used an old 6 hp Mercury from 1962 on lakes. I never liked being stuck in that awkward position of holding the tiller and looking forward. Going forward it will be harder for we dinosaurs that value the old ways. It takes more and more discipline to focus on the traditional.

 

[pblanc]

Per Olympic whitewater competition I have noted the same thing as what Glenn is saying. They call single blade 'canoe' and double blade 'kayak'. The hulls look identical to me.

Olympic slalom canoes (C-1 = solo, C-2 = tandem) are decked boats, like kayaks, but they are paddled from a low kneel position using a single-bladed paddle. Although the minimum length and width requirements for Olympic K-1 and C-1 boats is currently the same, many recreational C-1s tend to be a bit wider than K-1s because of the paddler's higher center of gravity. The cockpit opening shape is usually also different. Also, many C-1s have lower front decks, because there is no need to accommodate the paddler's legs and feet underneath.

Three days ago, Fabien Lefevre won the gold medal for C-1 slalom at the World's competition at Deep Creek. Here is a link to a nice video done by friend Dale Briggs showing his semi-final run. I suspect Fabien might have had some difficulty getting his legs beneath the front deck of that boat:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXNnlUtclwk

 

[Alan Gage]

This is so dang easy. Why do I have to keep explaining it on so many forums? Here is the correct analysis from the United States Canoe Association website:

"Am I paddling a canoe or a kayak?

"The right questions are: Are you canoeing or kayaking? How many blades does your paddle have?
Canoeing uses a single-bladed paddle. Kayaking uses a double-bladed paddle."

There, that's the answer.

If you are using a single blade, you are canoeing . . . no matter the hull.

If you are using a double blade, you are kayaking . . . no matter the hull.

If you are using a pole, you are poling . . . no matter the hull.

If you are using a sail, you are sailing . . . no matter the hull.

If you are using an outboard motor, you are motor boating . . . no matter the hull.

If you are leaning over the bow and propelling the hull by scooping and pulling the water with your hands, you are swimming . . . no matter the hull.

Now if any of you boys or girls wants to jump in any hull -- call it a canoe, a kayak, a SOT, a raft, a coracle, a pirogue, a bateau, a john boat, a scanoe, a whatever -- you can use any or all of these methods of propulsion you want. To your heart's desire. Ad libitum. Ad infinitum. But you are only CANOEING the bloody thing when you are using a SINGLE BLADE.

That's not a value judgment or moral judgment. It's simply a rational use of proper terminology.

The more I think about this the more I like it. It's not perfect but it does a better job than any other definitions I've heard over the years.

Alan

 

[yellowcanoe]

Its a never ending discussion... the best definition of a kayak for me is a boat that fits you like perfectly skin tight pants; and you are one with it. Not at all unlike Sophia Loren and her pants.

I heard this from Maligiaq.. the noted Inuit kayak builder and roller par excellence. Note the single blade among the collection on the deck

http://www.maligiaq.com/

 

[Alan Gage]

Its a never ending discussion... the best definition of a kayak for me is a boat that fits you like perfectly skin tight pants; and you are one with it. Not at all unlike Sophia Loren and her pants.

I take it that the USCA isn't defining the hull type, but rather paddling style. A kayak doesn't turn into a canoe when single blading but if you're single blading a kayak you're canoeing. If you're double blading a canoe then you're kayaking.

Alan

 

[yellowcanoe]

Alan a bunch of us canoeists/kayakers long ago had a campfire discussion at a paddling event. In the end the only agreement was that the pants were the best definition of a kayak but as you know not perfect. Some of those rec kayaks make low rider "diaper dump" jeans a better analogy. I don't know a thing about the USCA and its derivation of what it uses to make the discrimination.

Back in the late 80's I remember when the Keowee came out. My first kayak. It was not marketed as a kayak but a cross between canoe and kayak.

 

[Alan Gage]

I agree that the fat rec kayaks don't really fit into what I think of as a kayak. Just as a decked canoe doesn't fit what I think of as a canoe.

What I like about the USCA definition Glenn linked to is that it's more about paddling style than hull type. When I single blade a kayak I'm using the same mechanics and correction strokes that I do in my canoes. But if I told someone I was out kayaking they'd assume that I was using a double blade. Same for double blading a canoe. It's closer to kayaking than what most people think of as canoeing.

Perhaps canoeing and kayaking should be tossed out the window all together and we should switch to single blading and double blading, which, to bring this back on topic, is exactly what the OP did.

Alan

 

[Holmes375]

This is certainly an interesting and colourful forum

My decision to go single blade is not really a purist kind of thing, more of a seeking the manner that I find the most pleasing. Its an extension of my decision to focus on the canoe instead of the touring kayak for backcountry camping and day trips.

The sea kayaks are incredibly efficient in the wind and the waves and I can make many miles in a day with them. But I'm tired of being stuck in one position while paddling. I'm tired of wearing a neoprene skirt that I must deal with every time I want to get out and explore some little nook of the natural world. The nature sealed cockpit calls for an expedition style PFD to hold the little things one wants easy access to. In a canoe I wear a minimalist whitewater vest that holds nothing and affords a wonderful degree of physical freedom. The small items are readily available to me in the open boat.

Having a nice backwoods lunch from a kayak is much different than when in a canoe. The former is an exercise of necessity, the latter a moment of pleasure.

Got a couple nights of nasty rainy weather? No worries you have a good tent. In the kayak I have a high tech single person tent that packs to the size of a Starbucks cup and has all the elbow room of an MRI machine. In the canoe I have a nice 3-person tent that allows me to spread out, relax and actually enjoy the experience of Mother Nature as she wreaks havoc in the skies. I've enough room and comfort to enjoy writing in my journal.

Want to take pictures while paddling? In a kayak I have the latest small digital camera in my vest pocket. No viewfinder and that hi-rez LCD is useless in the daylight. I take a bridge camera and keep it in a case between my legs in the cockpit. Secure the long paddle, break the skirt loose, try not to rain skirt water on the camera case, dry hands as much as possible, retrieve camera. Take the pics and re-assemble oneself to paddle on. Pics from a canoe.... a much more pleasant pursuit.

Fifth day in on an 8 day kayak trip, fixin' dinner. Dehydrated foods have come a long way but I long for something more substantial. But cargo space is at a premium thus I get by with the basic necessities. The canoe allows me to satiate my desire for excess.

Trippin' in an area where one is required to contain and haul personal waste? That's always a treat with a kayak. What to do with that boom tube?

I'm gettin' old and lazy and spoiled. I'd like a little more comfort, a little better cuisine and a more peaceful mode of backcountry paddle camping. And I'm willing to go a little slower, a little less far each day and I'll get off the water when the weather deems it necessary.

The double blade in a canoe just doesn't fit my new plan of action. Its not a purist thing, its a personal thing.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Holmes be assured there is no body here that is pure..

 

[Odyssey]

Holmes be assured there is no body here that is pure..

Well, I still blame Sophia Loren for that.

I don't think I've heard anyone describe as eloquently the many reasons for tripping in a canoe, as Holmes has done. I'm looking forward to his discoveries. I know we all are.

 

[daveo4]

Hey YC,
I don't see any single bladed paddles on any qajaqs in that site you posted. What might look like a single blade is a harpoon throwing stick (norsaq) on a harpoon shaft. Alaskan tribes used single blades a lot in their qayaqs but Greenlanders never did except in umiaqs before they learned about oars from whalers.
Dave