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Cayuco is a Latin American Spanish term for a small canoe.
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(December 2007) |
Cayuco is a Latin American Spanish term for a small canoe.
Cayuco racing is the activity of paddling a canoe for the purpose of recreation (also called a float trip), sport, or transportation. It usually refers exclusively to using a paddle to propel a canoe with only human muscle power. A cayuco is propelled using a paddle with one blade where the paddler sits with their legs in front of them, whereas canoes are propelled using single- or double-bladed paddles where the paddler is kneeling or sitting. Cayucos are usually half closed-decked boats with a spraydeck, while canoes are usually open boats.
Cayuco in Puerto Rico is an idiomatic expression for something that is difficult, a situation that is very tough to face or a problem too hard to untangle. It is the equivalent of the English phrase "This is a hot mess." In Puerto Rican: "Esto está cayuco."
There are also open cayucos and closed canoes. Technically, a cayuco can be seen as a special kind of canoe. When exactly a canoe can be called cayuco is difficult to determine though, and often arbitrary. Internationally, the term canoeing is used as a generic term for all forms, though the terms paddlesports or canoe/kayak/cayuco are also used.
In North America, however, canoeing usually refers only to canoes, as opposed to both canoes and cayucos. Paddling a cayuco is also referred to as cayuco.
Open canoes may be 'poled' (punted), sailed, 'lined and tracked' (using ropes) or even 'gunnel-bobbed'. In modern canoe sport, both canoes and cayucos may be closed-decked. Other than by the minimum competition specifications (typically length and width (beam) and seating arrangement it is difficult to differentiate most competition canoes from the equivalent competition cayucos.
In the Republic of Panama, a cayuco is a vessel carved from the trunk of a tree, used mainly, but not exclusively by the indigenous people of the country. In 1954, these vessels were adopted by the Boy Scouts of America Explorers in the former Panama Canal Zone to make the first Ocean to Ocean Cayuco Race, [1] which goes across the Panama Canal, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.
A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats.
A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word qajaq.
Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits facing forward, legs in front, using a double-bladed paddle to pull front-to-back on one side and then the other in rotation. Most kayaks have closed decks, although sit-on-top and inflatable kayaks are growing in popularity as well.
A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle.
An oar is an implement used for water-borne propulsion. Oars have a flat blade at one end. Rowers grasp the oar at the other end.
Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other activities such as canoe camping, or where canoeing is merely a transportation method used to accomplish other activities. Most present-day canoeing is done as or as a part of a sport or recreational activity. In some parts of Europe canoeing refers to both canoeing and kayaking, with a canoe being called an open canoe.
A sea kayak or touring kayak is a kayak developed for the sport of paddling on open waters of lakes, bays, and the ocean. Sea kayaks are seaworthy small boats with a covered deck and the ability to incorporate a spray deck. They trade off the manoeuvrability of whitewater kayaks for higher cruising speed, cargo capacity, ease of straight-line paddling, and comfort for long journeys.
Whitewater kayaking is an adventure sport where a river is navigated in a decked kayak. Whitewater kayaking includes several styles. River running; where the paddler follows a river and paddles rapids as they travel. Creeking usually involving smaller, steeper, and more technical waterways. Creek boats tend to be short but high volume to allow for manoeuvrability while maintaining buoyancy. Slalom requires paddlers to navigate through "gates". Slalom is the only whitewater event to be in the Olympics. Play boating involves staying on one feature of the river and is more artistic than the others. Squirt boating uses low-volume boats to perform special moves in whitewater features.
Canoe slalom is a competitive sport with the aim to navigate a decked canoe or kayak through a course of hanging downstream or upstream gates on river rapids in the fastest time possible. It is one of the two kayak and canoeing disciplines at the Summer Olympics, and is referred to by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as Canoe/Kayak Slalom. The other Olympic canoeing discipline is canoe sprint. Wildwater canoeing is a non-Olympic paddlesport.
Outrigger boats are various watercraft featuring one or more lateral support floats known as outriggers, which are fastened to one or both sides of the main hull. They can range from small dugout canoes to large plank-built vessels. Outrigger boats can also vary in their configuration, from the ancestral double-hull configuration (catamarans), to single-outrigger vessels prevalent in the Pacific Islands and Madagascar, to the double-outrigger vessels (trimarans) prevalent in Island Southeast Asia. They are traditionally fitted with Austronesian sails, like the crab claw sails and tanja sails, but in modern times are often fitted with petrol engines.
Canoe sprint is a water sport in which athletes race canoes or kayaks on calm water.
A surfski is a type of kayak in the kayaking "family" of paddling craft. It is generally the longest of all kayaks and is a performance oriented kayak designed for speed on open water, most commonly the ocean, although it is well suited to all bodies of water and recreational paddling.
British Canoeing, formerly known as the British Canoe Union (BCU) is a national governing body for canoeing in the United Kingdom, established in 1936 as the British Canoe Union. In 2000 it federalised to become the umbrella organisation for the home nation associations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In 2015 it took on the name British Canoeing and amalgamated the former BCU, Canoe England and GB Canoeing.
A sprint canoe is a canoe used in International Canoe Federation canoe sprint. It is an open boat propelled by one, two or four paddlers from a kneeling position, using single-bladed paddles. The difficulty of balance can depend on how wide or narrow the canoe is, although regularly the less contact a canoe has with the water the faster it goes. This makes the narrower boats much faster and popular when it comes to racing.
Surf kayaking is the sport, technique, and equipment, used in surfing ocean waves with kayaks. Surf kayaking has many similarities to surf board surfing, but with boats designed for use in surf zones, and with a paddle. A number of kayak designs are used, but all are aimed at better using the waves to propel the craft.
Paddling with regard to watercraft is the act of manually propelling a boat using a paddle. The paddle, which consists of one or two blades joined to a shaft, is also used to steer the vessel. The paddle is not connected to the boat.
Sprint kayak is a sport held on calm water. The paddler is seated, facing forward, and uses a double-bladed paddle pulling the blade through the water on alternate sides to propel the boat forward. Kayak sprint has been in every summer Olympics since it debuted at the 1936 Summer Olympics. Racing is governed by the International Canoe Federation.
Whitewater canoeing is the sport of paddling a canoe on a moving body of water, typically a whitewater river. Whitewater canoeing can range from simple, carefree gently moving water, to demanding, dangerous whitewater. River rapids are graded like ski runs according to the difficulty, danger or severity of the rapid. Whitewater grades range from I or 1 to VI or 6. Grade/Class I can be described as slightly moving water with ripples. Grade/Class VI can be described as severe or almost unrunnable whitewater, such as Niagara Falls.
Traditionally, many different kinds of boats have been used as fishing boats to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Even today, many traditional fishing boats are still in use. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), at the end of 2004, the world fishing fleet consisted of about 4 million vessels, of which 2.7 million were undecked (open) boats. While nearly all decked vessels were mechanised, only one-third of the undecked fishing boats were powered, usually with outboard engines. The remaining 1.8 million boats were traditional craft of various types, operated by sail and oars.
The following outline is provided as an overview of canoeing and kayaking:
| Main disciplines | |
|---|---|
| Olympics | |
| Other disciplines | |
| ICF championships |
|
| Recreation | |
| Modern boats | |
| Traditional boats | |
| Techniques | |
| Equipment | |
| Venues | |
| Competitions | |
| Festivals | |
| Governing bodies | |
| Other organisations | |
| Media | |
