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Old Town

Old Town Canoe

An open, paddled boat continuing one of the oldest forms of watercraft.

Old Town Canoe — Canoe and Kayak
Christiaan Briggs · CC BY-SA 3.0
Old Town Canoe — Canoe and Kayak
Taro Taylor from Sydney, Australia · CC BY 2.0
Old Town Canoe — Canoe and Kayak
Gustave Doré · Public domain

Overview

A canoe is an open-decked boat used with a single-bladed paddle. Its power comes entirely from a person, which places it not in a separate category from motor vehicles but at the simplest end of the same catalogue.

Hull form follows purpose directly: a flat-bottomed hull is stable in still water, a round-bottomed one agile in current. Very different behaviours emerge from the same material.

The history of materials describes the type well: from bark to wood-and-canvas, then to aluminium and polyethylene. Each shift raised durability, changed weight and opened the boat to a different user.

Details

Brand
Old Town
Category
Canoe and Kayak
Body
Canoe
Propulsion
kurek
Produced
1898–