[Paddlewise] Taxonomy

I am working on my book analyzing  native skin kayaks and would be 
interested in opinions on a taxonomy for kayaks. As a starting point I am 
offering the following;

Domain - Man made floating objects

Kingdom - Powered man-made floating objects

Phylum - Boats (Human powered man-made floating objects such as canoes, 
rowboats, kayaks)

Class -  Portable boats (includes kayaks, canoes, rowboats, etc. that the 
occupants can carry)

Order - Decked boats

 Family - Decked boats with sealable cockpits

Genus - Chined boats

Species - Skin boats (this excludes modern commercial replicas and pseudo 
replicas)

Sub-Species - Geographic type - this breaks the kayaks down into distinct 
groups with features representative of the geographical region of origin.



I am also interested in input regarding a general definition of a kayak



As a starting point I propose;

A human powered, portable watercraft, decked over most of its length with a 
cockpit or cockpits that can be sealed around the paddler, usually pointed 
at both ends and propelled with a paddle.



Suggestions and comments encouraged.



Cheers

John Winters
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