History of the canoes Essay Example

Canoes, 2009). As more inventions were made in various ways of making them, bones and wood were then used for the framework which was then covered using barks of Birch trees or animal leathers.

The leather’s hunters, gold searchers and colonists later started using canoes as a transport medium for lakes and rivers of Canada. The canoes therefore, became a very essential tool in their activities (All about Canoes, 2009). Primitive crafts were then developed in Britain in a faintly different manner. These canoes were known as coracles. They were almost round in shape with a wattle frame work which was covered by a skin. The curraghs in Ireland became the fore runners in developing modern canoes but they maintained the shape of the original primitive canoes.

The British borrowed the American canoe idea and began to make canoes which were well varnished by use of ribbons of wood which were then covered canvas in order to make them water proof. They used the canoes for touring and recreational purposes (Sanjuan, 2009). Canoeing started to meet certain basic requirements of transporting along and across water ways. It eventually became the basic mode of water transport especially over long distances throughout most regions of North America, Polynesia, and Amazon Basin among other areas.

However, in the wake of increased industrialization and technological development, canoes have faced a lot of competition in the water transport industry and have in fact been replaced by boats which are motorized. However, they are still very popular as sporting or recreational water craft (All about Canoes, 2009). Canoes were boats that were used in the oceans by Indians

who were known as Caribs who inhabited the islands of the Caribbean. They were made from huge trunks of trees which were hollowed and shaped, these canoes had to be strong enough to enable them pass through the islands (All about Canoes, 2009).

The Indians of the North America are the people who are responsible for the invention and development of the canoes; they were able to make an advanced model of the canoes. They made their canoes from wooden ribs which were in turn covered with the barks of cedar, elm or birch; however, the barks had to be light to enhance buoyancy of the canoes. These boats from the northern America Indians have virtually remained the same in design over the years. This clearly shows how suitable they are for traveling in several rivers, lakes and streams of North America (Sanjuan, 2009).

The use of barks obtained from barks of Birch trees was a perfect option of building canoes since they were not only smooth and light in weight, but they were also resilient and water proof. This made it quite easy for the communities that lived in areas with plenty of these trees to make use of them while building canoes. The Birch trees were also in plenty allover Canada apart from the sub arctic region which is in the west. The spruce barks were used in this region as a substitute of the Birch barks to make canoes.

The canoes’ joints were usually held together by use of the pine roots and then hot spruce or pine resin so as to make them water proof (All about Canoes,

2009). As a result of increased trade in North America, the demand of canoes rose sharply. The fur business increased significantly, making the French to start a factory for making canoes at trois-Rivieres in the early 1750s. This was the first known factory in the world for making canoes. Most of the canoes that were built in this facility were tailored towards meeting the needs of the fur traders.

The canoes had the capability of carrying about twelve crew members and goods weighing approximately two thousand and four hundred kilograms (Sanjuan, 2009). Types of canoes The North American natives basically made two types of canoes. The first type was known as the kayak or the K-boat. It was a vessel which was closed and decked. It was commonly used by one person as it has a single paddle for propelling it. The paddle had two blades one at each end (Sanjuan, 2009). The Canadian or C-canoe is the second type of canoe; it is more traditional compared to the kayak type.

It was made from several diverse materials which ranged from Kevlar to wood. The C-canoe was in most cases seventeen feet in length, but its weight varied depending on the materials that had been used to make it. This type of canoe was basically made for carrying two people. They had to paddle it using one blade (Sanjuan, 2009). Conclusion The history of canoes is very old dating back to thousands of years; they originated from North America due to the way of life of the native inhabitants of the region who relied on waters heavily in their daily lives.

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canoeing industry was also greatly supported by the presence of raw materials which were used in making the canoes. The canoes were basically used for transport, recreation and sporting in the early days, but due to increased industrialization and technological development, they are currently being used for recreation and for sporting since more advance water vessels have been invented which are used for transport. Even though various types of canoes have been made, their shape has remained largely unchanged and thus the design of the traditional canoes remains unaltered to date.