cruising speed? The comfort I am referring to is the comfort cruising speed that you can paddle at for at least couple of hours and not break the energy bank.



I have wondered about this for years, and surely some factors enter in, like the gross load weight and the design the boat. Since many of us have used a gps to find out what this is, maybe we will get some interesting feedback.



I have an Old Town 14’ Katahdin/Stillwater canoe, and with a 400 pound load, it paddles comfortably at 3 to 3.5 mph. To get it up to 4 mph requires much more energy, so the new required energy proportion at 4 mph is out of the comfort zone. A couple hours at 4 mph would be exhausting, but 3 to 3.5 mph is good all day. For a day trip paddling canoe, this is good performance.



Anybody else measured their comfort cruising speed?

Clipper Sea 1
I paddle a Clipper Sea 1 Decked Canoe mostly empty. With me and day trip gear is about 250 lbs. I’m comfortable at 4.5 mph for a couple hours. 4 mph for 4 hours. I can push it to 5 mph for a couple of hours with out too much problem but I’m getting too old for that any more. The Sea 1 is not as fast as a good sea kayak in a race but for day paddles I’ll stay with them easily.

in my Pintail kayak
If I’m lazing along, I do about 3 1/4 knots (about 3 3/4 mph), and I won’t feel too tired after a day of that. If I’m trying to make miles I can do 4 knots (5.6 mph) for the better part of a day without huffing and puffing - but by the end of a day like that I’m ready for a nap and some brownies.

Corran Addison can’t drive HIS Pintail
that fast !

My fleet ranges from
3.2 to 4.5mph for all day comfort. Push any of them out of the comfort zone and you can burn out with an hour or two.

um
I have no idea how fast Corran Addison goes (isn’t he a surfer and white water boater?).



Just saying, based on measurement, what my speeds usually are, and what they can be at their best.



Give me a 15 knot headwind, and I’ll be struggling to maintain 3 knots. But during a particular training day, a coach had us doing 4 knot runs, repeatedly, for much of the day.

solo
in my Kruger k-140 i cruise comfortably at 4.9

in my Northwest Merlin " " " 4.9

A J200 " " " 4.9

Diller D2 " " " 4.9



I think the speed barrier for me is mental, as I have gotten the Merlin up over 6 for a short sprint and it is the slowest design.The three go fast boats I can hold up over 4.9 but if I stop looking at the GPS I end up at 4.9…