Paddling, in regard to waterborne transport, is the act of propelling a

human-powered watercraft Human-powered watercraft are watercraft propelled only by human power, instead of being propelled by wind power (via one or more sails) or an engine. The three main methods of exerting human power are: # directly from the hands or feet, sometim ...

using at least one hand-held

paddle A paddle is a handheld tool with an elongated handle and a flat, widened end (the ''blade'') used as a lever to apply force onto the bladed end. It most commonly describes a completely handheld tool used to propel a human-powered watercraft by p ...

. The paddle, which consists of one or two blades joined to a shaft, is also used to steer the vessel via generating a difference in propulsion between the two

side Side or Sides may refer to: Geometry * Edge (geometry) of a polygon (two-dimensional shape) * Face (geometry) of a polyhedron (three-dimensional shape) Places * Side, Turkey, a city in Turkey * Side (Ainis), a town of Ainis, ancient Thessaly, ...

s of the watercraft. The paddle is not connected to the boat, unlike in

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...

where the oar is attached to the boat. In paddling sports such as canoeing and kayaking, the characteristics that are most important include "dynamic balance, core stability, pulling power, speed, endurance, stature, and rhythm".

Canoeing

Canoeing is the activity of paddling a

canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

for leisure, navigation or exploration. In America the term refers exclusively to using one or more single blades or

s to propel a canoe. In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and some other countries in Europe however, canoeing is also used to refer to

kayak ] A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word ''kayak'' originates from the Inuktitut word '' qajaq'' (). In British English, the kayak is also considered to be ...

ing, and canoeing is then often called '' Canadian (canoe), Canadian canoeing'' to distinguish canoeing from kayaking. There are sub-varieties of canoeing, such as touring and whitewater or wildwater canoeing, and outrigger canoeing. Traveling in a whitewater raft can involve using either paddles, or a pair of oars, or both. Outrigger canoe racing is a team paddling

sport Sport is a physical activity or game, often Competition, competitive and organization, organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The numbe ...

which uses the

outrigger canoe Outrigger boats are various watercraft featuring one or more lateral support floats known as outriggers, which are fastened to one or both sides of the main hull (watercraft), hull. They can range from small dugout (boat), dugout canoes to large ...

Kayaking

Kayaking is the use of a

for moving across water. Kayaking is differentiated from

canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. In some parts of Europe, canoeing refers to both canoeing and kayaking, with a canoe being called an 'open canoe' or Canadian. A few of the recreational ...

by the fact kayakers use a double bladed

and sit in a seat with their legs extended out in front of them. Kayakers will either sit on an elevated bench seat or kneel directly on the bottom of the boat with two knees or one knee in the "high kneel" posture. The kayak may be either "sit-in" (have a closed cockpit) or "sit-on-top" (sitting on top of the boat deck). Sit-in kayaks provide more protection from water and the elements, and are popular for day trips and touring. Sit-on-top kayaks are growing in popularity for fishing and surfing.

Dragon boating

A dragon boat is a long and narrow human powered

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size or capacity, its shape, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically used on inland waterways s ...

used in the team paddling

of dragon boat racing which originated in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. For

racing In sports, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific g ...

events, dragon boats are not rigged with full decorative

Chinese dragon The Chinese dragon or loong is a legendary creature in Chinese mythology, Chinese folklore, and Chinese culture generally. Chinese dragons have many animal-like forms, such as Bixi (mythology), turtles and Chiwen, fish, but are most commonly ...

heads and tails and are not required to carry a large drum aboard. The decorative boats are used in

ceremonial A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin . Religious and civil (secular) ceremoni ...

events. They do however use smaller and lighter dragon heads and tails and drum for racing. They are not normally used during practice.

Rafting

Rafting or whitewater rafting uses a

raft A raft is any flat structure for support or transportation over water. It is usually of basic design, characterized by the absence of a hull. Rafts are usually kept afloat by using any combination of buoyant materials such as wood, sealed barre ...

to navigate a

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

or other bodies of water. This is usually done on

whitewater Whitewater forms in the context of rapids, in particular, when a river's Stream gradient, gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that foam, froths, making t ...

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.

Paddle surfing and stand-up paddleboarding

Stand-up paddleboards (SUPs), are steered with a singled bladed paddle. Originating in Hawaii to help navigate the waves, the sport has grown to include flat water lakes, easy rivers, and spring runs. Traditional

paddleboarding Paddleboarding is a water sport in which participants are propelled by a swimming motion using their arms while lying or kneeling on a paddleboard or surfboard in the ocean or other body of water. Paddleboarding is usually performed in the open ...

is done kneeling on a board and paddling with the hands.

Surfing

Surfing begins when the surfer paddles from the shore in an attempt to catch a wave.

References

External links

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