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:
While most human-powered watercraft use buoyancy to maintain their position relative to the surface of the water, a few, such as human-powered hydrofoils and human-powered submarines, use hydrofoils, either alone or in addition to buoyancy.
Oared craft.
Oars are held at one end, have a blade on the other end, and pivot in between in oarlocks.
Oared craft include:
Using oars in pairs, with one hand on each oar, is two-oar sculling. The oars may also be called sculls.
Two-oared sculled craft include:
Using oars individually, with both hands on a single oar, is sweep or sweep-oar rowing. In this case the rowers are usually paired so that there is an oar on each side of the boat.
Sweep-oared craft include:
Moving a single stern-mounted oar from side to side, while changing the angle of the blade so as to generate forward thrust on both strokes, is single-oar sculling.
Single-oar sculled craft include:
Paddlecraft.
Paddled watercraft, or paddlecraft, uses one or more handheld paddles, each with a widened blade on one or both ends, to push water and propel the watercraft.. Commonly seen paddlecrafts include:
Pedaled craft.
Pedals are attached to a crank and propelled in circles, or to a treadle and reciprocated, with the feet. The collected power is then transferred to the water with a paddle wheel, flippers, or to the air or water with a propeller.
Pedaled craft include:
Poled craft.
A pole is held with both hands and used to push against the bottom.
Poled craft include:
Other types.
Other types of human-powered watercraft include:
References.
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