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 *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
John foolishly asked :-) ...."I am also interested in input regarding a general definition of a kayak" I suggest: A water borne disease masked as pleasure, but ultimately causing great distraction in the human carrier. Direct reactions include delirium and/or contentment followed by a decrease in heart rate. Dependant upon the climate and conditions during a "kayak breakout", one could also experience increased levels of adrenalin and a rapid heart beat. Other symptoms include lost time at work, neglectfulness of duties at home, and unless both parties of a marriage are equally infected, the slow deterioration of the harmonious union between man and woman. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
>I am also interested in input regarding a general definition of a kayak You say; "a human powered, portable watercraft;" so does that mean as soon as you raise a sail or launch a kite the boat ceases to be a kayak? "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." This description can just as easily be applied to some canoes. I think my own definition of "kayak" is more along the lines of; "a light skin on frame boat designed to be propelled with a paddle by a person or persons seated beneath the deck." I do not feel that rollability or even the use of a sprayskirt are necessary to define the boat. And yes, I do feel that a "true kayak" has to be skin on frame in construction - everything else is a kayak variant. Scott So.Cal. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
John wrote: (I put >> in front of the things I'm suggesting a change to and put my suggestion on the next line) >>Domain - Man made floating objects Domain - Man-made things designed to float one or more humans >>Kingdom - Powered man-made floating objects Kingdom - Human powered human floaters (oar powered ships, pedal boats, row boats, canoes, rafts, inner tubes, and kayaks) >>Phylum - Boats (Human powered man-made floating objects such as canoes, rowboats, kayaks) Phylum - Paddle powered human floaters (Canoes, kayaks, wave-skis, or paddle rafts) >>Class - Portable boats (includes kayaks, canoes, rowboats, etc. that the occupants can carry) Class - Human floaters paddled from a sitting position near bottom of the hull with legs outstretched forward (kayaks) Sub-Class - Decked with sealable cockpit, Decked without sealable cockpit, Sit-on-top) >>Order - Decked boats Order - Kayak type or purpose (whitewater play-boat, whitewater slalom, wildwater, Olympic flat water, surf-ski, wave-ski, sea touring, recreational, fishing, hunting) >>Family - Decked boats with sealable cockpits Family - Hard or soft outer hull material (a flexible skin or a hard shell kayak) Sub-Family - Type of hard shell kayak materials (wood, roto-molded plastic, thermo-formed plastic, or fiber/resin composite) Types of skin kayak materials and shaping component (vinyl inflatable, animal skin-on-frame, skin-on-frame folding) >>Genus - Chined boats Genus - Manufacturer of the kayak (Necky, Old Town, Home-built, etc.)(for native-built kayaks this could be the region such as Aleut (or a major characteristic such as multi-chined) or Greenland (single-chined) or the tribe and/or historical time frame of a particular design) >>Species - Skin boats (this excludes modern commercial replicas and pseudo replicas) Species - Model name of kayak (or a kayak type made by an individual native builder or a particular tribe or from a local area--such as Hooper Bay) >>Sub-Species - Geographic type - this breaks the kayaks down into distinct groups with features representative of the geographical region of origin. Sub-Species - variations among the Specie (rudder or drop-skeg option , High or Low volume version, cockpit size variations, etc -- often identified with a multi-letter code such as HV following the Specie name)(for native kayaks - individual variations on the same theme within a particular Species category) [Note: In my "spreadsheet collection" of kayak types I organized those kayak types included down in a way that would prevent much overlap and duplications of manufacturers into different categories (since manufacturers rarely cross the following boundaries to do both types--and I'd already excluded all whitewater and specialized racing kayaks from my spreadsheets), my categories are: Hard shell oil based kayaks (roto-molded, thermoformed, and composite), Wooden hard shell kayaks and wood kayak kits, Skin kayaks (with subcategories for folding, non-folding skin-on-frame kayaks, and true native designs found in museums). The hard shell category is the largest, so I have it organized further by Hemisphere, Continent and the country of origin before getting down to the manufacturers and model names] 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. How about: A watercraft that is propelled while sitting on or very near the bottom of the hull, most commonly using a paddle with a blade on each side. Note: this definition is broad enough to include sit-on-tops and even the pedal-powered Hobie Mirage (and maybe even Dyson's six-man monster of "The Starship and the Canoe" fame), but it might relegate some large Alaskan "kayaks" such as those from King Island (which I believe are commonly paddled from a kneeling position with a single bladed paddle) to the status of a "decked canoe". While that may be the category where they really belong they have commonly been called kayaks and that may be a particular problem for you, John since your focus is to be on native kayaks. Matt Broze www.marinerkayaks.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I found some old Wilderness Camping magazines from the late 1970's in my basement (and also some more Canoe magazines from that era). In an article on canoe design in Wilderness Camping's Wilderness Adventure '77 publication the editor, Harry Roberts, uses the terms initial stability and final stability but not secondary stability. Matt Broze www.marinerkayaks.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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