Canoe

The word 'canoe' comes from the Carib kenu (dugout), via the Spanish canoa.

The 10,000 year old Pesse canoe, the world's oldest known boat, was found in a Dutch peat bog. Measuring 298 centimetres (117 in) long and 44 centimetres (17 in) wide, it was carved from a pine log, possibly using antlers as tools.

The Pesse canoe By http://museaindrenthe.nl/collectie/object/

Columbus' description of the native Indians' canoes: "In these isles there are a great many canoes, something like rowing boats, of all sizes, and most of them are larger than an eighteen-oared galley. They are not so broad, as they are made of a single plank, but a galley could not keep up with them in rowing, because they go with incredible speed, and with these they row about among all these islands, which are innumerable, and carry on their commerce. I have seen some of these canoes with seventy and eighty men in them, and each had an oar."

From 1935 to 1986 the Canadian silver dollar depicted a voyageur and an aboriginal paddling a canoe with the Northern Lights in the background.

Vietnamese farmers after the Vietnam War repurposed external fuel tanks jettisoned by American planes into river canoes, which have lasted until now.

At the age of 18, Kevin Costner built his own canoe and paddled his way down the rivers that Lewis and Clark followed to the Pacific.

Canoe traditions or stories are important to the identity of Māori (the indigenous peoples of New Zealand). They describe the arrival in New Zealand of Māori ancestors from a place most often called Hawaiki. They also refer to the construction of canoes, voyaging at sea, landing, inland and coastal exploration.

The word 'kayak' means "man-boat" or "hunter's boat" in the Inuit language. Unlike an open canoe, a kayak is a closed boat with a cockpit. Canoeists kneel and use a single-bladed paddle, while kayakers sit with legs extended and use a double-bladed paddle.

Canoeing became an Olympic sport at the 1936 Berlin Games. It had previously appeared as a demonstration sport at the 1924 Paris Olympics. Canoe slalom was added to the Olympics in 1972 and has been a permanent fixture since 1992.

North American indigenous peoples crafted canoes from birch bark stretched over a wooden frame, sealed with hot pine or spruce resin. These canoes were light enough to be carried overland between waterways — a practice known as portaging.

In 1866, Scotsman John McGregor founded the Royal Canoe Club in Britain — the world's first canoe club — after sailing across Europe and the Middle East in a canoe he called "Rob Roy." The first canoe races were also held in 1866.

French fur traders used canoes to explore and establish the fur trade across North America. Many of the large "voyageur" canoes could carry a cargo of up to 2,400 kilograms along with several crew members.