Do you know the origin of kayak?

kayak

Now we use kayaks for competition, leisure, and entertainment. The original kayaks were extremely functional and were hunting equipment. The powerful Eskimos used it to row on the ice sea and hunt for seals.

Ancient times

Kayaking (kayaks and rowing boats) can also be traced back to 2000 BC (at least 4000 years ago). According to historical records, the first kayak was made by the Eskimos living in the North Atlantic, North Pacific, and Bering Sea regions. Inuit), Yupic and Aleutians invented, made of whale skin, otter skin wrapped wood, or whale skeleton. The oldest existing kayak is collected in the Munich State Museum.

The meaning of the word Kayak is 'Man's ship or hunter's ship'. In the era of male hunting women, this word reflects the lifestyle of North American indigenous people based on Eskimo. Man makes the kayak body, the wood is a fir, pine, spruce, such as the sea. The tools such as some stone, iron, and the hull frame structure are made. The entire hull is suitable for men's body shape to maximize operability. Leather is mainly from the seal, and some areas are animal leather such as sea lions, reindeer, or seahorse. A woman sews on the hull, wrapped the beast, and removed the skin and then oil. According to the leather characteristics of different animals, will then re-oil once again to ensure waterproof function.

Later they also made a special leather jacket out of animal skins to prevent water from entering the boat cabin-Tuilik (from DC Hutchinson, "The Complete Book of Sea Kayaking"), and later evolved a water skirt (or The wave skirt, namely Spray Skirt or Spray Deck), is made of waterproof composite material, which is elastic and has a better sealing effect on the cabin edge. The front escape hand strap can also enable the ship's hand to release the water skirt more quickly to escape the cabin.

Modern period

Modern kayaking was born in 1865. Scottish explorer and travel writer John MacGregor used the canoe as a blueprint to create the first kayak "Rob Roy Canoe". It is 4.57 meters long, 0.76 meters wide, and weighs about 30 kilograms. From 1865 to 1867, he rowed around European countries such as France, Germany, Sweden, etc., and he can be called the father of modern kayaking.

At the end of the 19th century, kayaking spread rapidly in Europe. Initiated by Denmark, Sweden, France, and Austria in January 1924, the "International Rowing Federation" was established in Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. In the same year, a rowing exhibition competition was also held during the 8th Olympic Games. In the 11th Olympic Games in 1936, kayaking began to be listed as an official event of the Olympic Games, and a total of 9 events were held. Since then, the kayaking events have continued to change, and there are 12 events in the Olympic Games.

Many people feel that this is an activity far away from themselves, largely limited by geographical environment and equipment. However, in recent years, it has gradually become popular. As a Kayak Manufacturer, we hope that more people can experience the charm of kayaking, and we have been working hard. Please feel free to contact us if you need them.