: Is there a short answer to "what makes a kayak a baidarka?". Or is
: this just "kayak" in another language, and we english speaking
: have started using both but with a slight difference of meaning?

: Are all greenland boats "kayaks", while all aleutian ones are
: "baidarkas"? Or did the aleutians use both names, for different
: kind of craft. Such as was the difference between kayak and umiak - the
: womens' boat.

Actually the word "baidarka" is Russian, given to the craft by the fur traders who took over and enslaved the native populations in the Aleutians and decimated the sea otter population. It is unfortunate that such a beautiful boat carries the historical baggage of such a brutal regime. George Dyson's "Baidarka" is a good read on this subject, and a worthy additon to any kayaker's library.