Pirogue

A pirogue (or piragua or piraga) can be one of several kinds of small boats. One kind is associated particularly with the Cajuns of the Louisiana marsh. The early Cajun pirogues were cypress dugouts but today they are usually flat-bottomed boats. Pirogues are not usually intended for overnight travel but are light and small enough to be easily taken onto land. The design also allows the pirogue to move through the very shallow water of marshes and be easily turned over to drain any water that may get into the boat. A pirogue has "hard chines" which means that instead of a smooth curve from the gunwales to the keel, there is often a flat bottom which meets the plane of the side. The pirogue is usually propelled by paddles that have one blade (as opposed to a kayak paddle, which has two). It can also be punted with a push pole in shallow water. Small sails can also be employed. Outboard motors are increasingly being used in many regions. In West Africa they were used as traditional fishing boats.

The word comes from the Spanish word piragua [piˈɾaɣwa], which comes from the Carib "piraua." Traditionally, it was just another name for dugout canoes, but it came to refer to a specific type of canoe. Naturally, in Louisiana the boats were constructed of cypress, but suitable natural lumber is no longer readily available.Plywood is the common material for modern pirogues. Many modern duck hunters and fisherman in the swamps of south Louisiana use pirogues made of fiberglass, some of which are outfitted with small outboard motors or trolling motors.

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