Canoes are such gentle craft, who would ever think to race them? Americans of course... the people who also race beds, babies, turkeys, and lawn tractors. Americans will race anything that moves, and some things that don't.
Truthfully, marathon canoe racing originated in Canada where it enjoys a glorious history. But today it's become international with a World Championship and plenty of gurus. No longer a Canadian phenomenon, the epicenter of canoe racing has migrated to the United States.
Marathon races are long-distance events -- typically 20 miles or more -- on flat water, often with portages.
There are two major categories (sanctioned and unsanctioned) and several sub-categories. Sanctioned races use rules from the United States Canoe Association (USCA), the American Canoe Association (ACA), or the International Canoe Federation (ICF). Unsanctioned races use rules set by an individual race sponsor, be it a person, a canoe club, or other groups. These rules may not follow USCA or ICF practices, and may differ from one event to another and from one year to the next. This doesn't mean unsanctioned racing is always disorganized; it can be well organized if the sponsors themselves are well organized.
The most prevalent events are USCA MARATHONS. Formed in the 1960's to govern sit-down style amateur events, the USCA has flourished and now sponsors hundreds of races leading to a national championship annually.
The USCA recognizes four classes of canoes. They are: Tandem Cruisers, Solo Cruisers, Standard-Class Tandem and Aluminum Tandem. For each type, the length, width and depth are defined. You may use a slower hull than specified, but the competition is such that it has slim hope of winning locally much less nationally.
When the USCA first defined Cruisers, they envisioned high performance recreational hulls. That was true at first and is the reason the canoes are called "Cruisers." But the hulls quickly evolved into pure racing craft suitable only for skilled paddlers to use on calm water.
Tandem Cruisers must be 18'6" long or shorter. At the 4" waterline the hull must widen to at least 14.375% of its length. The widest point must be within a foot fore or aft of midship. Minimum center and stern depths are 111/2". Self-bailers are allowed, but spray covers aren't. Outwales can't be wider than 11/2".
Cruisers can be narrower if they're shorter, but nearly all tandems are 18'6" long by 32" wide at the water line. This has proven to be ideal for high speed performance in a tandem. With a width-to-length ratio of .14375-to-1, these are often called 14% canoes.
Although Solo Cruisers use the same rules, in practice most are shorter than 18'6" and narrower than 32". This is faster for solo use. A 16'6" hull can be just 281/2" wide at the water line.
Soon after the USCA defined Cruisers, the canoes evolved to be useless for recreation. In response, the USCA created a new category called Standard-Class. These are more like recreational hulls but are also evolving toward pure competition designs. Today, however, standard canoes are still useful for general paddling.
Standard Class canoes must be 18'6" or shorter. At the 4" water-line the hull must widen to at least 15% of its length. The widest point must be within a foot of midship. Bow and stern depths must be 16". Minimum center depth is 12". Self bailers are allowed but not spray covers. Outwales can't be wider than 11/2".
The We-no-nah 18' Jensen is very competitive in the standard class although it is primarily a superb recreational hull. Most competitive paddlers will use the Jensen SCR (Standard Class Racer) which Gene Jensen designed solely for competition. At 18'6" by 33" it meets the Standard-Class rules, but looks and performs so much like a Cruiser that some local race officials may reject it. The 18' Jensen looks like a standard hull yet nearly paces the SCR. It may be a better choice unless you intend to compete nationally.
The last category -- Aluminum -- was created so owners of these canoes could compete among themselves. Early on it became apparent that aluminum hulls couldn't match those made from composites or wood. Thus, aluminum hulls were nearly useless for competition until a special class was created for them.
PRO-CLASS is unsanctioned, yet well organized with clear rules. The class evolved for 30 years becoming the standard for marathons in Canada. Oddly enough, the fact that this class is unsanctioned means that it's unlikely the rules will ever change since no organization has the authority to change them.
No longer limited to Canada, "Pro" races are held by many groups in the U.S., chiefly in the northern states. Prize money is often awarded which is the reason the class is called "Pro-class" and the boats "Pro-boats."
Pro-boats have a maximum length of 18'6". The overall width must be 27" or more at any point on the 3" waterline. Gunwale width must be 33" or more at any point. No minimum depth is defined. Self-bailers are allowed. Spray covers are usually allowed in Pro events.
Pro-boats have little use other than racing. A few people use them for recreational paddling but this requires highly advanced skills.
OPEN CLASS EVENTS. In competitive paddling, many events are "open." The sponsors of an event may use (or modify) rules from a group such as the USCA. Or they may adopt rules from some other unsanctioned event. Or they may write their own rules. A maximum length and/or minimum width may be specified. Many event sponsors use a combination of weight and length to specify class. For example a class might be defined as "18', 50 lbs." At times, acceptable hulls are limited to certain models from specific builders. Almost any rules are possible, and there might not be rules to govern what canoes are allowed. Even if there are rules, they are sometimes so poorly defined or enforced as to constitute no rules at all. The only way to be certain of using an approved canoe may be to obtain a copy of the rules -- or learn there are none -- from the sponsors in advance.
OUTRIGGER CANOE RACING is one of the fastest growing categories of
competitive paddlesports. Throughout Polynesian and the south pacific,
paddlers raced outrigger canoes for centuries as the native Americans did in
North America.
In the past 15 years there are been a tremendous growth in outrigger canoe
clubs and events in Hawaii and throughout the mainland with the founding of
new paddling clubs and events. Contributing to this growth has been the
introduction of a variety of solo, one person outrigger canoes. These canoes
allow you to paddle and train on a variety of water conditions from calm
water to offshore surf and bumps.
In competitive paddling, the fun is in the competition, no matter what the class or rules. We-no-nah Canoe is proud to support competitive paddlers of every type.
|
