A Watt At A Time

How much power does it take to force a kayak over water? My body got very weary after wielding a paddle for five hours. I likened my efforts to working like a horse. So could I measure my expended energy in terms of horsepower?
Horsepower was used to measure energy output for centuries before James Watt came along. It just took somebody like him to write little itty bitty notes and calculations for others to contemplate and make a record of history. He studied a steam engine he was given to repair. Like all critical minds he imagined improvements to effect the machine's efficiency. He added a wheel here and a cog there. Puttring around was probably frustrating, especially when he wasn't all that satisfied with his changes.
But he couldn't sit around fiddling with steam. He had to eat. Making extra money didn't hurt, Scotsman that he was. He worked in construction and in mines when ponies began to replace children and women in hauling coal. I suppose Watts was trying to design the best way to transport ponies down into the mines so they could pull the cars of coal back to the surface.
He learned that a pony working one eight hour shift might haul 30 tons of coal in tubs on the underground narrow gauge railway. He was good at math and was intrigued when he found on average, a mine pony using a pulley could lift 22,000 foot-pounds per minute. Pony power didn't sound very impressive so he figured the additional size of a horse and called the results horsepower.
Now we call each power unit a watt. Pretty cool, huh? Can you imagine a label showing how many horses power your toaster? Or your razor?
I found those facts interesting but they helped like so much smoke to shed light on how much power it takes to push a kayak. Not just for anyone either. Me.
My aching muscles tell me it takes lots.
Naomi Sherer