Derrick has a nice post up (yesterday's) about the new contraptions being produced for long open water passages in "kayaks". The problem for me (as I commented on his blog...but I digress) is that these things are not kayaks.
Look, we have a generic word for certain vehicles. We call them cars. But we note the different models with words like compact, hybrid, SUV and the like. When the vehicle gets too big to be called a car we use the label truck. Even here we distinguish between a pick up and a semi.
Now kayak/qajaq, at least for me, specifically means a skin on wood framed one man canoe-like-with-covered-deck boat. Common convention, however, now has the word referring to any like-designed boat regardless of its composition. Still, we talk about glass boats and ones made of Kevlar or carbon or wood. We talk about three piece kayaks and folding ones and inflatable ones (not to mention sit on tops...so don't mention them). All of these crafts adhere to a basic design with only subtle, albeit important, modifications to hull and deck. 
The boats featured in Derrick's post are designed specifically for long open water passages (check the photos on his site). These awkward tubs (my judgment of how they look) are to kayaks as yachts are to row boats. In either case, specific names are in order so we all know what we are talking about. I submit, however, that these new hybrids should not be called kayaks. Perhaps a hyphenated word, like kayak-yachts, or kayak-tubs would be more appropriate, although I would rather not see the word kayak in the nomenclature.
I don't mean to bad mouth these crafts or the adventures their owners take them on. In the end, however those things have little use other than to make those open water passages. Then what? I don't believe we will be seeing ads for racks to car top these things. I wouldn't choose one for a day paddle and wouldn't want one for a short passage. They have their own place in the scheme of things, and they should have their own names. Ideas?
Paddle safe...
DS
9 comments:
You're quite right. It is already bad enough that most people can't distinguish between a canoe and a kayak, which are entirely different types of crafts.
I see them labeled often as "purpose-built". I think that is how they are distinguished in the press anyway. I was pretty surprised how similar the two looked at a least superficially. It made the argument over rowboat vrs kayak seem a bit silly. But then I'm sure there are all sorts of technical differences in addtion to what kind of paddle (or oar) you use.
Kayacht?
Or how about "thneed"?
Oops. No. That was something else.
"Kayacht" is pure genius.
Just squished "kayak-yacht" down a bit!
Quick, someone send Bonnie the phone number for the trademark office :)
Too late, somebody's already been there: http://www.kayacht.com/
This is a squeaky clean blog and all class action trademark infringement law suits should be directed to Bonnie :)
OK, there already is a word for that "kayacht" -
TRAVESTY! AAAAGH!
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