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This article is from the Sea Kayaking FAQ, by Todd Leigh with numerous contributions by others.

24 Is a folding kayak a sea kayak?

Yes, in every sense of the term, i.e. it's a kayak that is at home on
open water. Since they first started a small-boating revolution in the
early part of this century, folding kayaks have been paddled safely
and successfully on every body of water from the Arctic to
Antarctica. While they were first conceived as a convenient,
knock-down craft to take in the overhead luggage compartments of
trains heading to Alpine lakes and streams, intrepid types turned
their prows to the sea almost from the very beginning. For example,
the English Channel was crossed in one of the first ones in 1909.

Since then, they have proven time and time again that they are the
quintessential open water boat, particularly for extreme conditions
and expedition use. They have crossed 3,000 miles of the open
Atlantic, first in 1928 and then later in 1956; neither voyage with
any support craft hovering nearby. In the 1920s, adventurers paddled
folding kayaks in journeys following the coastlines from Europe to
India and beyond. These seaworthy kayaks were used in long-distance
open-water races during the 1920 and 1930s. For example, in 1933
Fridel Meyer paddled her folding kayak to win a contest involving more
than 1,000 miles of exposed waters off the British coastline.

Paddlers today suffer from a "born yesterday" syndrome. They tend to
think that sea kayaking only began in the late 1950s with the advent
of the first workshop-built British hardshells and the factory
production boom that followed in the mid-1970s, but between the World
Wars, hundreds of thousands of folding kayaks were being built and
paddled everywhere by ordinary people. While the sport is currently
growing by the proverbial leaps and bounds, it still pales by
comparison to the impact and ubiquitous presence folding kayaks had
during that earlier period.

 

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• next: 25 Should you consider a folding kayak only if you require its foldability feature?

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