Well, the people here are mostly log canoe sailors, so we are basically all going to say that Chesapeake Bay Log Canoes are canoes. Technically, the boats we race as also called "Chesapeake Bay Log Sailing Canoes" (CBLSC). People tend to shorten it though.

It depends on how you define a canoe. I found two common definitions.

Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006:
>any of various slender, open boats, tapering to a point at both ends, propelled by paddles or sometimes sails and traditionally formed of light framework covered with bark, skins, or canvas, or formed from a dug-out or burned-out log or logs, and now usually made of aluminum, fiberglass, etc.

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2009:
>a light narrow boat with both ends sharp that is usually propelled by paddling


The CBLSC are formed from dug-out logs pinned together length wise, then top-sides are framed in to form the over-all shape of the hull. All the CBLSC taper to a point at both ends below the water line and most do above the water line too. If you were to look at a CBLSC without all the rigging and decking, it would look like a really big canoe.

So, are the CBLSC light and narrow? When compared to mono-hull of the same length, I would say yes. The boat I race on is 32' from stem to stern, but the beam is 6½ feet and the weight is just under 4,000 lbs fully rigged. That's light and narrow in my book.

What about kayaks? The defining characteristic of a kayak has to do with propelling with a double-bladed paddle. You might include that it is water tight except where the occupant sits. Neither of these is true for a CBLSC.

Is the CBLSC a yawl? A yawl could be synonymous with a dinghy, but CBLSC are not dinghies. The other meaning of yawl has to do with the rigging, not the hull. When someone refers to a yawl, they mean 'a mono-hull with a yawl rig'. Even if the hull happens to have a canoe stern, the hull usually fails the test of being light, narrow, and open. Does the rig match the definition of a yawl rig? No, the aft mast is stepped before the stern post.

Is the rig more like a ketch? In a very broad sense, you could say yes, but the rig is much more like a skipjack than a ketch. For this reason, the CBLSC is really considered a "two-masted sailing bateau where the canoe-style hull is formed from dug-out logs".

Basically, we just like calling them canoes. It has to do with the heritage of the CBLSC and our connection with them. They were born from dug-out canoes and will always be canoes to us. And isn't that all that really matters?

Thank you for input! For your purposes, being canoes is what really matters--I whole-heartedly agree! I've asked this question in a couple of other locales to arrive at some sort of consensus for my own purposes. When I first began Canoe Sailing Magazine, one of your fellow CBLSC piped up and claimed they were [I hadn't thought about them much at the time] and so I was open to his input and encouraged feedback. Had I been convinced they were canoes, I would have liked to include them in my magazine, however; no one replied, nor have any of your fellow sailors done so when I tried. All that being said...I'd like to consider including them in my publication, but can't without CBLSC participation.

Well I can't speak for my fellow sailors, but I'm not sure what you mean by participation. We spend months getting the boats ready for racing, then 8 weekends racing them. There is also a huge amount of logistics and support needed to get 10 people on a boat for racing. The fleet is also followed by a cadre of spectators, photographers, and Videographers who often require coordinating.

We do have an association who handles rules and measurements, plus several yacht clubs who sponsor and support the racing. The association is of the owners, skippers, and crew and is run by elected representatives.

There is no specific centralized media relations for the fleet, but there are a couple groups that are involved in the history:

Miles River Yacht Club, and
Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum

Either group would be a good contact for the history of log canoe racing on the Bay.