Water vessels and boating have been present in human lives for a long time. This is especially for communities which lived near water bodies. People were interested in living close to the water bodies for the fish which they could harvest for food. They also used the water bodies as a source of water.
In the early days man did not have advanced water vessels as we have today. At the very beginning man probably would use logs to travel over the water. He probably then realized that he could tie several logs together for a more comfortable ride and this led to the first man made water travelling vessel known as the raft.
The raft was a great invention at the time. The raft was navigated using a long pole and later paddles or oars were made. The raft allowed more than one person to travel over water with relatively more comfort and allowed the people to ferry goods across the water. This opened up people’s boundaries and allowed people to venture into more ground in search of food. Having a raft also made it possible for the people to have more access to marine, river, and lake food such as fish.
After the invention of the raft, man was able to gradually come up with more advanced water vessels. One of the most notable water vessel that man created was the kayak.
The kayak is an invention of the Inuit people of Greenland. The kayak stands out from other water vessels due to its unique design and its superiority in many avenues as compared to other boats.
One of the advantages that the kayak has over other water crafts is the fact that the kayak is much more navigable than other crafts. When the Inuit people were making the kayak, they put a lot of emphasis on making the vessel very navigable.
The kayak was made of a light frame made up of whale bones or light drift wood. It was then covered by tight seal skins that were made waterproof using seal or whale fat. The light vessel was very buoyant and the design allowed the pilot to use his body to steer the vessel. It was, and still is, not easy to sink the kayak made in the original design since water cannot get into the hull.
Due to the fact that water cannot get into the kayak, an experienced kayak pilot is able to right the vessel when it has capsized without the risk of drowning.
The kayak is also quite slender as compare to other crafts and this allows the pilot to access very narrow water channels. Since it is very light, the pilot is also able to get to water channels that are very shallow. A kayak can sail through places that are only six inches deep.
Due to its light weight, a kayak is very portable as compared to other water vessels. One person can easily carry a kayak from one place to another. This was quite important for the nomadic Inuit people and today this advantage has made the kayak an ideal vessel for recreational purposes.
