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Canoeing a recreational activity |
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Canoeing is a recreational activity in which the canoe is paddled. It is carried out for the purpose of recreation also known as a float trip, transportation or sport. Canoeing mostly refers to utilizing a paddle to thrust a canoe with the help of the human muscle power alone. In canoeing a kayak is shoved by the utilization of a paddle with two blades wherein the paddler is supposed to sit with his legs typically extended in front of them, while canoes are pushed with the use of single or double bladed paddles where the paddler – the canoeist or the canoer is kneeled or seated on a thwart or seat, with the knees bent in such a way that the legs are more or less underneath them. The kayaks are usually the close decked boats with a spray deck, whereas canoes are mostly open boats. But there can also be closed canoes and open kayaks. Technically speaking a kayak can also be viewed as a special kind of a canoe. But a canoe cannot be easily called as a kayak. The term canoeing is internationally used as a common term for both the sports but the terms canoe or kayak and paddle sports are used individually as well. But in North America the term canoeing is used with strict reference to canoes only and not for both canoes and kayaks. The paddling of kayaks is called as kayaking.
In the modern day canoeing both the canoes and the kayaks are usually close decked. Other than the specifications of the competition like the width (beam) and length and the arrangement for seating it is very difficult to distinguish between the two sports. But the most general difference between canoeing and kayaking is that in kayaking the participants are seated and paddle with a double bladed paddle whereas in canoeing the participants are usually kneeled and they paddle with single bladed paddles. But there are exceptions to this fact as well such as the Canoe Marathon of the American and European competitive forms and the sprint canoeing which is the high kneeling position. The most ancient and traditional canoes did not had seats and therefore the participants had to simply kneel on the surface of the boats. The recreational kayaks and canoes make use of the whitewater rodeo and the seats while the surf variants mostly make use of the saddles in order to provide greater boat control under intense conditions. The other recreational facets of canoeing are not clearly defined, and the distinctions available are quite artificial and are increasingly growing blurred as new fusion kayaks, canoes and similar such crafts are being manufactured. Few of such types can be nominally organized at national levels but mostly are group, club or individual activities. Many of the groups are there which do not emphasize on the training and their main objective is to use the boats to have fun in water. Hence Canoeing is not only a sport which attracts people to indulge in competitions but it is also widely practiced as an adventure sport for people to have fun. |
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