A canoe is a relatively
small human-powered boat. It is propelled by one or more people
(depending on the size of canoe), using single-bladed paddles.
The paddlers face in the direction of travel, in either a seated
position, or kneeling on the bottom of the boat. Canoes are
open on top, and pointed at both ends. They are generally
fairly rigid.
Ambiguity over the word Canoe
Confusingly, the sport of canoeing, organised at the top level
by the International Canoe Federation, uses the word canoe to
cover both canoes as defined here, and kayaks (see here for a
brief description of the differences between a kayak
and a canoe). In
fact, the sport of canoe polo is exclusively played in kayaks.
This confusing use of canoe to generically cover both canoes
and kayaks is not so common in American usage, but is common
in England, Australia and presumably many parts of the world,
both in sporting jargon and in colloquial speech. In these cirumstances,
the canoe as defined here is sometimes referred to as an open,
Canadian, or Indian canoe, though these terms themselves do have
their own ambiguities. |
A Typical Open Canoe |
