The Dragon Boat developed from vessels designed for local competitive use in China, with written records of races and their rules and regulations, going back well over 700 years. It is from these ‘traditional races’ that the modern water sport of ‘Dragon Boat Racing’, as practised today by the IDBF Members worldwide, has been developed. This development has been carried out by Dragon Boaters quite independently from any other paddle sport. Historically, therefore Dragon Boat Racing can rightly claim to be the ‘mother’ of all paddle sports, with competitive roots over 2000 years old.
To the layman there is no doubt that visually above the water-line a Dragon Boat resembles a Canoe but beyond that comparisons are superficial and misleading. Canoes originate from bark and hollowed out logs, whilst dragon boats derive from lashed raft catamarans and bamboo.
Dragon Boats are carvel constructed, like Junks and Sampans, not ribbed lap strake or clinker built like, for example, Viking long ships or Phoenician galleys. Canoes have stems and ribs, dragon boats do not. When you build a craft without ribs, then hull integrity is maintained by having watertight bulkheads, as traditional dragon boats do. This particular design feature enables the dragon boat to negotiate a River in full flood. In similar conditions canoes become unstable and tend to capsize.
In summary, there is no evidence whatsoever to link dragon boats with North American canoes and kayaks as these terms have come to be recognised in respect of modern competitive sports or with any of the European Paddled Water Craft (EPWC). Dragon Boat Racing is certainly the oldest paddle sport activity but Dragon Boating as ‘canoeing’ does not stand up to technical, historical, cultural or geographical scrutiny and cannot be classed as such, in modern sporting terminology.
There are many different designs and sizes of wooden dragon boats used in the traditional Festival Races but as modern ‘Sport Dragon Boat Racing’ developed around the world, the IDBF took the decision to introduce a common design of Dragon Boat and Paddle for general use in Sport Racing,
The design of the dragon boat and paddle chosen by the IDBF Congress in 1994 was the standard size Dragon Boat as raced in the Hong Kong International Races (HKIR) the recognised ‘mother races’ of the modern sport.
The result was the International Racing Dragon Boat, generally constructed of glass reinforced plastic .It was felt that a common design for both Championship Races and general development, was the best way to ensure fair competition in Sport Racing.
The IDBF has developed two models of the IRDB. The Standard Model 1222, designed for a crew of 22 people maximum and just over 12 metres in length and the Small Model 912, designed for crews of 12 or less, at 9 metres in length. The Hull shape and design is the same in both IRDB models but the overall dimensions are less for the 912 model.
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