Sea kayaks come in several different styles, materials and configurations. Wooden kayaks and fabric kayaks on wooden frames (such as the folding kayak Klepper) were dominating the market up until 1950s, when fiberglass boats were introduced, while modern plastic kayaks first appeared in 1984. Archaeologists have found evidence indicating that kayaks are at least 4000 years old. The ancient Aleut name for a sea kayak is Iqyak, and earliest models were constructed from a light wooden frame (tied together with sinew or baleen) and covered with sea mammal, (sea lion or seal) hides. Inuit hunters developed a fast seagoing craft to hunt seals and walrus. Understand Inuit seal hunter in a kayak, armed with a harpoon.Ĭontemporary sea kayaks trace their origin to the native boats of Alaska, northern Canada, and Southwest Greenland. Kayaks are also popular to bring along when cruising on small craft, allowing boaters to go ashore or generally give access to areas that larger boats won't fit. It is often combined with wilderness backpacking for exploring otherwise difficult to access wilderness areas and allows access to fishing areas that might otherwise be inaccessible. Sea kayaking is open to people of all skill levels, from renting a kayak to paddle around a small lake, to months long journeys into complex marine conditions. Canoes are an alternative for many of the areas accessible by sea kayak, but less suitable for unsheltered waters. ![]() Although sea kayaks come in variety of styles, they generally are different then their white water cousins in that they trade off the maneuverability for higher cruising speed, cargo capacity, ease of straight-line paddling and comfort for long journeys. Sea kayaking is popular around the world anywhere there are large open bodies of water to be explored: lakes, bays, calm rivers, estuaries or the ocean.
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