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A kayak is a type of small human-powered boat.

They are typically propelled with a double-ended paddle. The user or paddler sits down in the kayak with their feet forward. The top of the kayak is covered with a deck. The paddler sits in a hole in the cockpit which may be sealed off with a spray skirt (or spraydeck). This makes it possible that, should the kayak become inverted ( capsize), the kayak will not fill with water, and the paddler, with skill, can right the kayak again without taking on water. This manoeuvre is known as an Eskimo Roll.

In modern times kayaks have been further developed into several types including: whitewater, playboats, surfing, sea kayaks, flat-water racing, slalom, canoe polo and recreational. These types may also be subdivided. Modern kayaks are made of plastic, fiberglass, kevlarKevlar (also produced by the Teijin Twaron company under the trade name Twaron is a type of high strength synthetic fiber first produced by the DuPont corporation in the early 1960s, following the work of Stephanie Kwolek. It is a registered trademark of, carbon fiberCarbon fiber is a strong, light and very expensive material. Generally the term "carbon fiber" is used to refer to carbon filament thread, woven carbon thread cloth. The fiber-epoxy composite made with woven carbon cloth is more properly termed carbon fib, canvasThis article is about the fabric. For other uses of the word canvas see canvas (disambiguation . Canvas is an extremely heavy-duty fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, and other functions where sturdiness is required. Artists use small (or somet or wood. They come in one and two person models. Recently some sit-on-top boats have been developed and also called kayaks and propelled with a double-ended paddle.

There are various disciplines of competitive canoeingThere are several competitive disciplines of canoeing. slalom navigating through a short course of gates, usually in a river Whitewater Racing paddling a river rapids course in the quickest time possible Canoe surfing a team of judges award points for sty.

1 Origins

Kayaks were originally developed by the indigenous peoples of the ArcticThe Arctic is the area around the Earth's North Pole. The Arctic includes parts of Russia, Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Lapland, and Norway (including Svalbard), as well as the Arctic Ocean. The 10°C (50°F) July isotherm is commonly used to define the borde regions of North AmericaNorth America is the third largest continent in area and the fourth ranked in population. It is bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific Ocea and GreenlandThis article is about Greenland, the island dependency of Denmark. For information about the town of Greenland, see Greenland, New Hampshire. Greenland ( Greenlandic: Kalaallit Nunaat "The Land of the Greenlanders (Kalaallit)"; Danish: Gronland , an Arcti commonly known as the Inuit or Eskimo. The word "kayak" meant "man's boat". These first kayaks were constructed as a wooden frame covered by an animal skin such as seal skin. They were used to hunt on the open waters of the Arctic Ocean.