Pirogue

From Free net encyclopedia

Image:Pirogue 010.jpg A pirogue is a small, flat-hulled boat of a design associated particularly with West African fishermen and the Cajuns of the Louisiana marsh. These boats are not usually intended for over-night travel but are light and small enought to be easily taken onto land. The design also allows the pirogue to be easily turned over to drain any water that may get into the boat. The pirogue's motion comes from paddles that have one blade (as opposed to a kayak paddle, which has two). It can also be punted with a pole in shallow water.

The word comes from the Spanish word piragua. Traditionally, it was just another name for dugout canoes, but it came to refer to a specific type of canoe.

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