History of Kayaking

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History of Kayaking


The first kayaks, circa 4000 years ago, were made of drift wood and seal skin, and used primarily for hunting,more specifically seals. The driftwood used was typically fir, pine spruce, and willow. The boats were shaped from tools made of chipped or grounded stones. Seal skin, typically from the bearded seal, was wrapped and sown onto the complete frame. Sinew was used to to hold the frame and stitch the seal skin. The Seams were waterproof because the stitch did not completely pass through the seal skin. The skins were oiled every 4-8 days to treat the boats for waterprofness. Boats that were used daily were removed from the water once a day which allowed them to dry out.

Native Kaykers lived in the arctic of North America from the Aleutian Islands to the East coast of Greenland.In many places where the native kayakers lived they had to turn to the water for food because the land was not fertile enough to support their population. Many of the nomadic natives were constantly searching for better hunting ground others lived in the same location year round. Some of the non nomadic groups had only 90 days a year of open water to hunt. Hunters typically used javelins, harpoons, or lances