The Origin & History of Kayaking

Kayaking has been enjoyed for centuries, with its origins dating back almost 5,000 years. The Inuits and Aleut individuals that lived in Greenland, Alaska, the northerly parts of Russia, and northern parts of Canada invented kayaks originally.

Kayaks enabled people to journey quickly across the sea, and tribes would build them with any resources they had, including wood, animal hide, and bones. The Inuit applied melted whale blubber to the kayaks in order to make them waterproof.

Kayaks today, similar to those of the past, vary in size, ranging anywhere from wide and stubby to long and slender. Kayakers were able to use the kayaks to get back into the vessel if they capsized.

Table of Contents

Who Invented the Kayak?

It is recorded in history that the Inuit, Aleut, and Yup’ik tribes were responsible for the invention of the kayak. The Eskimo people is an umbrella term that is used to describe various tribal groups.

It is essential to be aware that the term Eskimo encompasses several different tribes located in the Arctic region, even though it could appear to be a harmless expression.

The Eskimos inhabited the northern parts of the globe. Up to the present time, certain tribes continue to live in the untamed areas of Greenland, Siberia (in eastern Russia), the US, and Canada. The Eskimos would employ kayaks to get around on the water during the summertime.

It is believed that these tribes created kayaks specifically for the purpose of hunting. Mariners employed kayaks in the pursuit of fowl, walrus, seals, and whales. The kayaks had a combination of characteristics; they were very light and silent, had great agility and were able to be managed well, but were also sturdy enough for harsh ocean swells.

The term ‘kayak’ originated in the old Greenlandic language, signifying a ‘hunter’s vessel.’ It was used by hunters to be able to stealthily follow targets on the shoreline, in a way that permit ancient peoples to transfer their prey from the hunting regions to their settlements.

Kayaks from long ago were not constructed with as robust materials as the kayaks of today. The tribes did not have the resources or tools to construct molded polyethylene kayaks or inflate ones made out of rubber.

The original kayaks made by the tribes are quite comparable to the sit-in kayaks in use today. Despite a minor variation in the process, the core construction of the Eskimos’ olden-day methods of engineering persists to this day.

When out hunting, the person manning the kayak would be clad in sealskin (tuilik); a jacket that’s tight and comfortable, held to the jaw and face, wrists, and the front of the vessel to ensure water doesn’t get through.

The tuilik gave the hunters a feeling of coziness and flexibility while they navigated the waters. The tuilik enabled the hunters to roll the kayak with ease, and it was an added safety feature if the paddler fell out of the kayak as the tuilik would lift their legs into the air and provide buoyancy.

Killing whales had a certain significance to the Inuit people. It formed part of their ancient tradition. The Inuit would have perished without hunting, since they had a diet that was focused mainly on meat.

Whales represented a balance between humanity and the environment. The reason for this is that one whale would be enough to sustain a lot of individuals over a prolonged period of time.

Kayakers who had the responsibility of their loved ones and belongings utilized bigger kayaks, which were also recognized as umiaqs. The umiaqs were as large as 60 feet. People started making umiaqs 5000 years ago.

These ships were employed in distant northern regions such as the Aleutian Islands, Greenland and Siberia in North America.

Families with more members favored umiaqs due to their ability to handle rough waters and their capacity to transport up to a dozen individuals. To date, people still use umiaqs.

where Was the Kayak Invented?

The Arctic inhabitants of North America are credited for the invention of kayaks. At the moment, the region was known to have two kinds of kayaks. One was constructed using light pieces of driftwood, and another was created by covering frames of whalebone with animal hides.

Between the early and mid 1800s, the kayak was introduced to Europe as an inflatable boat, and not long after this, individuals in Germany and France began using them in a recreational manner.

Kayaks stayed in use in freezing seas by those going to the Arctic and Antarctic during their journeys.

As days went by, kayakers became more adventurous. In 1931, Adolf Anderle achieved a first by navigating the Salzachofen Gorge in his kayak. This move later birthed modern-day whitewater kayaking.

In 1936, kayaking became an Olympic event at the Berlin games, gaining popularity and recognition worldwide. Kayaking held on to its popularity as a smaller scale sport in the US until the 1970s, when it moved to becoming a widely accepted sport.

Kayaks as we know them today originated in the 1900s when people of European descent began modifying the hunting boats used by Inuit peoples.

The availability of simpler components for constructing the vessels caused their manufacture to become less difficult. The rise of technological advancements and an ever-increasing public fascination with kayak racing had an immense impact on the evolution of kayaks. To date, the transformation continues. We can only anticipate more excellent models of kayaks.

Kayak Evolution

From what we have discovered, we can get an idea of what kayaking was like in the past and its current state. It is now known that the Inuit put together kayaks out of whatever materials they could find to build these boats.

Kayak Evolution: United States

Kayaking in white water has become a thrilling experience, with daredevils tackling rivers such as the Colorado in the US and the Salzachofen Gorge in Austria – some of the most demanding rivers on the planet.

In the 1950s, fiberglass kayaks rose in popularity and reigned supreme for more than three decades until polyethylene became the more popular choice. Polyethylene proved to be cheaper and easier to manufacture.

The purchasing of kayaks increased, causing kayaking to transition from a sport to an inexpensive leisure activity.

Sea Kayaking in the United States began to gain in popularity during the mid to late 1970s. The sport spurred on a lot of producers to make narrow kayaks, flatten them out, and add an distinctive tool referred to as the controllable rudder.

Kayaks maneuvered by rudder could trace a course, direct the vessel, and adjust for gusts and streams. No matter where they are manufactured, these kayaks are considered to be modeled after North American designs.

Raw Materials

Many people who are conscious of their impact on the environment find the concept of crafting a kayak hull out of recycled plastics to be very attractive. The primary ingredient of a plastic kayak is polyethylene. Polyethylene has a waxy texture and is highly durable, as it is not affected by moisture or most chemicals.

It can be made softer by repeatedly warming it up and harder by cooling it down. The features of the material make it ideal for creating kayaks. Sufficient amounts of refurbished polyethylene from plastic beverage containers are present, possessing enough strength and resilience for the construction of kayaks.

Kayaks have seats manufactured from polyethylene. Floating aids, dividers, and cushioned padding for the kayaker’s hips, knees, and heels are typically constructed out of a closed-cell foam such as Ethafoam.

The rudder pedals or foot braces tend to be constructed out of an especially lightweight and corrosion-resistant metal, such as aluminum, and the rudder is normally made of the same material. The grab loop could consist of a piece of nylon rope attached to either a plastic or wooden handle, toggle, or grip.

The Manufacturing Process

A polyethylene kayak’s shape is a lengthy, empty chamber with an even thickness generated through a method called rotational molding. The construction of the shell is done first, followed by the manual assembly of the seat and other components.

The outer covering could either be fashioned as one continuous form or created from two distinct components that are combined later on. Rotational molding necessitates curves that are fairly smooth, therefore one-piece shells are unable to have sharp intersections between their surfaces.

For a meeting point that needs to be more exact, such as where the hull meets the deck, a two-piece shell construction is used. This text explains how to create a two-piece shell.

Loading the mold

1 Measured amounts of powdered or granulated polyethylene plastic are mixed with coloring agents, and an exact amount is loaded into the bottom of a two-piece, thin-walled aluminum mold for either the hull or the deck.
The mold is then closed and the two halves secured tightly.

Molding the hull or deck

2 The mold is held by a mechanical arm which can rotate the mold in two directions at the same time. The arm can also move, or index, the mold from one process station to another. After the mold is loaded, it is moved to the heating station where an oven heats it to 480-840°F (250-450°C).
As the heat from the mold melts the plastic, the mold is slowly rotated in two directions. Gravitational force causes the melted plastic to flow to the front and rear and up the sides of the rotating mold, eventually covering the entire surface with a uniformly thick skin of plastic.
Continued heating then fuses the plastic into a solid layer that attaches itself to the mold.
3 Next the mold is indexed to the cooling chamber. By continuing to rotate the mold and gradually cooling it with carefully directed sprays of air and then water, the kayak hull or deck further hardens and shrinks away from the mold.
Repeated cycles of heating and cooling may be required to form the kayak properly. After the final cooling, the hull or deck is removed from the mold.

Assembling the shell

4 The hull and deck are designed so that they fit together at a single seam running horizontally along the length of the boat. Careful sealing ensures that the shell acts as a single structural unit. After sealing, a decorative strip can be added to conceal the seam.
On some designs, a keel stiffener is bonded along the length of the shell to give it added strength.

Final assembly

5 Closed-cell foam flotation aids are inserted into each end of the kayak and held in place with adhesive. Some kayaks use inflatable flotation bags instead. These flotation aids keep the kayak level and floating on the surface should the craft capsize. If the kayak design uses bulkheads, then those pieces are bonded in place and sealed with a polyurethane sealant.
The seat is either suspended from straps attached to the sides or supported by a piece of foam bonded to the inside of the bottom of the hull. Adjustable foot braces or rudder pedals are attached to the inside of the shell, forward of the cockpit, using non-corrosive metal fasteners.
The hatch covers have waterproof gaskets installed before they are put in place and the grab loops are installed. Finally, a drain plug is inserted in a molded hole in the shell.

Shipping

6 Kayaks are relatively large, but light-weight. Packaging to protect the shell from abrasion is more important than providing a strong support. Traditional methods of preparing a kayak for shipping include shrink-wrapping in plastic or placing the kayak in a cardboard box.
One environmentally sensitive approach uses heavy, tarp-like cloth bags.

Quality Control

The majority of the assessments for ensuring a rotomolded kayak is of excellent quality take place during the molding phase. It is essential that the speed of rotation and temperature of the oven are kept at the right levels in order to make shells with consistent thickness.

Warning should be taken while cooling to prevent deforming the outer part. It is necessary to be very exact in monitoring the length of time for both warming and cooling processes, as well as the amount of time in between the two.

The Future

The popularity of kayaking as a form of amusement as well as an organized event is increasing. Better success in competitive kayaking depends on the utilization of modern techniques for constructing and designing new items, which may include the use of new materials.

Many passionate kayakers will insist that the materials used to make their boats be eco-friendly, like recycled plastics.

Final Words

All participants in kayaking nowadays should be grateful to the Inuit tribe from Greenland who invented the boat type known as a kayak. This process that began as a gradual process ended up leading to the development of an extensive compendium and repository of information about the sport of paddling, which is still utilized by enthusiasts today.

The Inuit and Aleut people showed fabulous engineering brilliance from the start with kayaking, which still evidences their inventive abilities in the making of today’s kayaks.