Watercraft paddling

With regard to watercraft, paddling is the act of manually propelling or navigating a small boat using a blade that is joined to a shaft, known as paddle, in the water. The paddle is also used to steer the vessel and may either be a single blade or a double blade affair.

The main differences between paddling and rowing is that the item used to manually propel or 'row' the boat, known as an oar or sweep, is mechanistically connected to the boat (mechanism is referred to as an oarlock) whereas with paddling, the paddle is not connected.

Paddling is indigenous to boaters in Africa, the Americas, Australasia and Asia. Rowing has an ancient history in the Meditteranean, Scandinavia and in Egypt (which is in northern Africa.)

Generally, rowers face towards the back or aft end of their craft, whereas paddlers always face towards the front or bow of their craft.

Rowers can face forward and row the boat forward either by means of a special mechanism, or else by using a different technique of oar handling. Examples of this are in Italy during an historical re-enactment of a rowing ceremony known as the Vogalogna (the long row) that takes place annually in (Venice?). Small boats in Asia can be seen where the boat operator is standing, facing forward and manning a pair of blades.

Oars must be paired with one oar applied to each side of the boat. When two hands of one person man a single oar, this is referred to as rowing using a sweep oar. Whereas, when one person mans a pair of blades, one hand controlling each, this is referred to sculling using a pair of sculls rather than oars. A scull refers to a boat that is rigged for skulling. So there are sculling and rowing techniques within the broader generic activity known as "rowing" a boat.

Therefore, another main distinction between paddling and rowing is that a person holding only a single blade can propel a boat forward IN A STRAIGHT LINE (and backward and sideward) whereas there generally must be a pair of oars or sculls (held by either one or two persons) in order to move the boat forward in a straight line efficiently.

There is also a technique for propelling a small boat forward by hand power using just a single sweep oar, that is referred to as sculling. For this technique, the sweep oar is projected over the back or aft end of the boat, or stern, sometimes resting in a notch formed in the transom of the boat or else pivoting and held within a pair of small guide posts called thole pins. In single blade sculling, the blade moves transversely behind the boat whereas in rowing and double blade sculling, the blades move longitudinally alongside of the boat.

Chinese sampans (small boats, still scene in the waters off Hongkong) utilize a specialized sweep oar called a yuelo (pronounced: you-low). It is S shaped and the handle is usually tethered to a post on board the boat.

In Burma (Myanmar) single oars are controlled by fishermen by using one of their legs while in a standing position facing forward.

There are also double oar rigs used in Asia where the blades are controlled and powered by the legs alone, leaving the hands and arms of the rower free.

Double bladed paddles were developed to propel kayaks in Alaska, Canadian Arctic region and Greenland.

Gondolieries propel gondolas forward in a straight line using a single blade oar while in a standing posture. The oar is connected to the gondola towards the aft end of the boat and the blade is handled more like a paddle than a conventional sweep oar to gain purchase in the water. The blade moves underwater similar to a single canoe paddle forward propulsion stroke, such as the "J" Stroke and the Canadian Stroke.

Therefore, gondolas and sampans combine aspects of both rowing (single blade attached to long shaft which is connected to the boat) and paddling (forward propulsion achieved by a single blade).

Canoeing

Canoeing is the activity of paddling a canoe for the purpose of leisure time recreation (also called a canoe trip or "tripping"), sport competition, or transportation or navigation, and exploration.

The term usually refers exclusively to using one or more single blades i.e. paddle to propel a canoe forward with only human muscle power utilized.

However, in British english, canoeing is used to refer to kayaking and Canadian canoeing is used to refer to canoeing. The International Olympic Committee and the International Canoe Federation both use the term "Canadian Canoeing" and "Kayaking".

There are sub-varieties of canoeing, such as whitewater or wildwater canoeing, outrigger canoeing, in North American parlance. Travelling white water in a whitewater raft can involve using either paddles, or a pair or oars, or both.

Outrigging

Outrigger Canoe Racing is a team paddling sport which utilises the outrigger canoe an North American and European terminolgy. The sport is also known as "Va'a (Wa'a) racing" in some parts of the Pacific and "Waka ama" (Māori) in New Zealand.

Kayaking

Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving across water. Kayaking is differentiated from canoeing by the fact that a kayak has a closed cockpit and a canoe has an open cockpit. Kayakers use a double bladed paddle. Another major difference is in the way the paddler sits in the boat. Kayakers sit in a seat on the bottom of the boat with their legs extended out in front of them. Canoeists will either sit on an elevated bench seat or kneel directly on the bottom of the boat. However, racing canoeists kneel on one knee in the "high kneel" posture.

Dragonboating

A Dragon boat (zh-tsp|t=龍舟or 龍船|s=龙舟 or 龙船|p=lóngzhōu, lóngchuán) is a very long and narrow human powered boat used in the team paddling sport or "Dragon boat racing" which originated in China.

For racing events, dragon boats are always rigged with decorative Chinese dragon heads and tails and are required to carry a large drum aboard. At other times the decorative regalia is usually removed, although the drum often remains aboard for training purposes.

Rafting

Rafting or whitewater rafting is a recreational activity utilizing a raft to navigate a river or other bodies of water. This is usually done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water, in order to thrill and excite the raft passengers. The development of this activity as a leisure sport has become popular since the mid 1970s.

urf Skiing & Paddle Boarding

These two watercraft sports involve sitting atop a long narrow craft and using a double blade paddle to negotiate surf and more tranquil waters.