Sea Kayak - History & Development

An understanding of the history and evolution of these unique boats will expand your appreciation for the features and materials you will be seeing and selecting on your personal sea kayak.

Kayaks were invented by the Inuit, the native peoples of Alaska, Northern Canada and Greenland. Kayaks are a tribute to the remarkable inventiveness of these peoples. They built their boats out of a wood frame with animal hides stretched over it and sealed with oil to make it water tight. Wood material was in short supply as the Inuit live about the tree line and they often had to make do with drift wood that they might find along the shores. The kayaks were built using very primative tools made from stone, ivory, bone, or wood. Some Archaeologists estimate that kayaks were in use as long as 4000 years ago.

The word Kayak means hunters boat. The primary purpose of these small craft was hunting animals on the many northern lakes and rivers and even on the open sea. They were used to hunt seals, walrus, and even whales.

Modern kayak development began in the late 1950's. The basic shape and principal of design has remained the same. The main changes have been in the areas of materials of construction, the development of additional convenient features, and the introduction of new kayak species.

The first new materials used were canvas and fibreglass. These replaced the animal skins which were expensive to obtain and required constant maintenance including regular oiling. So early modern boats kept the wooden frame idea and used artificial manufactured skins. These had the added bonus of being easier to build, more rugged, and easier to maintain and repair.

As time progressed, newer materials became available including plastics such as polyethylene and nylon, as well as advanced materials such as carbon fibre and kevlar. The plastics enabled kayaks to be built cheaply and quickly in a mass production style that sharply reduced prices. This appealed mainly to the area of low performance recreational boats.

The newer space-age materials including Kevlar and carbon fibre have the advantage of great strength combined with light weight. They are, however, expensive.

Additional features have been added to modern kayaks to improve performance, utility, and safety. Many of these features are made possible by modern materials of construction and methods of construction. These include interior bulkheads, watertight hatches and storage compartments, retractable skegs and foot operated rudders, tie down straps and bungies, carrying handles, adjustable seats, bilge pumps and so on. Modern instruments such as a radio, compass and GPS are often found aboard a sea kayak. Recreational kayaks and fishing kayaks are fitted with an assortment of built in recesses for drinks, food, containers, and fishing poles.

New kayak species have been spawned to appeal to specific market areas. One of these is the recreational kayak. These are usually massed produced of low cost polyethylene plastics. They are generally of the sit-on-top style or feature a very large cockpit opening that would be easily egressed in a rollover. Recreational models therefore do not require any special skill sets. In fact, they are usually a broad beamed heavy design that resists roll-over. They are available in solo or 2 person tandem models. These are often seen at resorts or on private beaches. Recreational kayaks are suitable only for short trips in the vicinity of home base. They are usually very rugged but often lack key safety features such as floatation bulkheads.

Modern plastics have also produced the inflatable kayak. These are usually designed for the recreational market. They have the advantage of being able to be stored and transported in a very small space and require no special transporting equipment. All that is required is a manual or electric pump or a healthy set of lungs to inflate the boat. Some models combine both ridgid and inflatable sections blending the advantages and features of both.

Foldable kayaks were also made possible by the use of modern materials. Again, the need to reduce the oversize of the boat for easy transportation is the idea behind the design. However, unlike the limited use inflatables, foldable kayaks are built not only in the recreational style, but also in the more advanced touring and sea kayak styles. Although expensive, folding sea kayaks have been used to complete even long open water voyages.

The fishing or sportsman kayak is another new type of boat. These are designed to enable a fisherman or hunter to get into water areas that would be otherwise unattainable in a larger fishing boat. They also enable a fisher access to lakes that prohibit motorboats. They have the advantage of being faster and easier to handle than a canoe or row boat, especially if fishing alone. They are often built from low cost polyethylene and are wide across the beam for maximum stability. A sportsman kayak is usually a sit on top design or has a very very large cockpit opening. They feature many handy accessories such as rod holders, paddle holders, and anchors.

Other models of kayaks include white water models and stunt rodeo models. These are a small segment at the extreme end of the sport. They are short and broadbeamed, being designed for maneuverability and to survive the rigors of fast turbulent white water. They require a very high level of skill and daring. The paddlers require repair as frequently as their boats, which is alot. Any paddle sport that requires a helmet, such as this, is enough to dissuade most people.

The day touring and sea kayak breeds are the models that stick most closely to the original Inuit design and purpose. These two styles look the most like the original kayaks. They are long and narrow. They sit low on the water and have small tight fitting cockpits. They require the user to attain special skill sets including roll over recovery. In the hands of a skilled paddler, they are a pleasure to watch and have attained remarkable feats of endurance and distance.

Day touring boats are the intermediate in cost and performance between recreational boats and sea kayaks. They are usually smaller than a sea kayak and have less performance for speed, capacity and handling in rough water.

Although sea kayaks not usually used for hunting anymore, they are used for long trips in even high winds and stormy waters such as on large lakes or the open sea. Advanced paddlers have used these models to set records crossing oceans, circling continents, and exploring the planet. Most sea kayaks, however, are used for less ambitious pleasure trips by paddle enthusiasts seeking refreshment in the great outdoors.

It is for this latter purpose that makes sea kayaking one of the fastest growing paddle sports. Many combine sea kayaking with camping, hiking, exploring, photography, bird watching, and so on. For these pursuits, a sea kayak can not be beat.

Frontenac Outfitters trusts you enjoyed our Sea Kayak History & Development Article. Please email us any changes or suggestions you may have.

Happy Paddling!

Larry & Christine

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