average speed of kayak

im still slow
at 2.9 mph and when im lazy even slower soon as i fix seat i think ill do beter plus i just use arms some reason i cant get used to usesing body to

start by pretending you’re a cat

– Last Updated: Sep-17-10 3:50 PM EST –

You know how cats do that massage thing with their front paws... Every stroke, just give a little massage push on the foot pedal of the stroke side. After some while, your torso will want to get in on the rhythm. Then you'll find yourself pushing a bit harder with your feet, and doing more work with you torso. If you have a GPS running, you'll see an uptick in speed.

Whenever you notice you're not doing it, start with the cat massage. At some point it should become automatic.

Wow!
5,6,7mph in rec boats! Some of you guys must be world class paddlers to get that kind of speed from a rec. boat. Ragz, do not believe half of what is written in this post. To paddle faster you need to increase your cadence plain and simple. However not at the expense of technique. To paddle faster you dont paddle harder your cadence gets faster. Surprised some of these pros didn`t tell you that.

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yep gps here
glad i bought this thing when it was on sale comes in handy for hikeing and kayaking im glad i got a yak with them feet rest

my goal is 3.5
i figure ill keep that goal but some day im for sure going to get a faster yak and one with dry storage

Zero
"Unless it’s in a pretty good wind. Add in the speed that a person can paddle and it tends to get faster… :slight_smile:

Absolutely spot on Celia, well said :slight_smile:

It really depends on the color
The red ones are fast.



jim :slight_smile:

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Speed
I just did a 7.8 mile loop around a lake in my Placid Boat Works Spitfire 12 and averaged 3.6mph according to my Garmin GPS.

About 3 knots

– Last Updated: Sep-27-10 5:48 PM EST –

3.6 mph equals about 3 knots which is the most often cited figure I've encountered as average (or normal) cruising speed for a sea kayak. However, for a solo canoe it sounds fast... but then again I can't paddle a canoe straight at any speed ;-)

Celia's response of 'Zero' is my fav on this thread, as a kayak has no inherent speed....

Close to zero
When you average out 70+ miles per hours on the roads, 3 mph on the water for trips, and then all the time they are stored in the garage, it’s slightly above zero, but practically zero. The more you drive it around and paddle, the higher the average.



Based on the last month, my kayak went about 200 miles on the roads, 8.5 miles on the river, so 208.5 miles in 720 hours is about .29 miles per hour.



jim

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Flames

– Last Updated: Sep-27-10 7:02 PM EST –

I read somewhere that painting flames on the hull will help increase the speed. I think I will give that a try.

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Finally got some rain last night
my Explorer filled up in less than 12 hours - drought is not over but it is a start

avaerage speed
i am sure the question was a serious one.



If you crossed a lake that is 2 NM accross in 2 hours back and forth then you did 4nm in those 2 hours. Or 2 knots. and i am thinking for navigational purposes that maybe a good number.

average speed of kayak
So is mine :slight_smile: www.orukayak.com

5mph

– Last Updated: Oct-03-16 10:41 PM EST –

7mph.. yeah, either your GPS is broken or you just won the Olympics! :)
In my opinion 3mph cruising is about the average without wind, current for normal human beings in a non-racing kayak. 4mph is pulling hard, 5mph is vigorous and quite an achievement for longer than an hour.

I have a 14" recreational Perception America, it's not a racing one for sure, but I am more athletic than the average. I can cruise with 3-4mph for several hours, 5mph is about the max.

Like some others wrote, don't worry about speed, just enjoy paddling!

I have a 10’ Lifetime Kayak and have been averaging 3.15 mph. However I have encountered some waves and had to work harder and have reached a speed of 5.30 mph. Plus I will admit I do like to see how fast I can go.

Today I did a 5 mile in 01:39:02, but I do make stops in the water, so my splits range anywhere 17:00 min mile to a 25:00 min mile.

FSKA…a sea kayak club…depends upon how you measure it. GPS gives us speed , average moving and average trip (includes stops) For club it varies with the paddlers, ie whoose on the trip. Basically the trips, including stops, average in the 3 to 3.5 mph range for planning purposes. Most paddle sessions are more 4 mph moving averages.

Then again I haven’t been there much this summer…

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Paddling solo in a Necky Arluk 1.9, 18’ x 22", in calm conditions and no current, 3.7- 4.25 mph normal cruising speed for doing distance measured by GPS. Any faster in this boat I’m getting into sprint mode and cannot maintain this pace for a long period of time.

I used to be a bit faster, but 70+ years takes a toll.

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I like your math. I have a 20 foot expedition canoe that did about 7,000 miles this summer, only about 300 miles of that on rivers. I’d bet my average is like your, 0.19 kph. My truck is an expat Canadian truck, liters and kilometers. Really confuses cops when I tell them I was going 100 !! Their radar only showed me going 62 mph. I like 100 better It’s faster. And fuel mileage pffft. Tank is so big I get like 145 liters in it, and it can travel about 1,000 on a single tank. (F-150’s get a nearly 40 gallon tank for Labrador/Newfoundland, 'cause it can be 125 miles to the nearest gas station. And after 9PM? Just pull over and sleep, wait for morning parked at a dark gas pump.

As to everything being discussed here, the one thing I have not seen, waterline length IS the only determinant of speed of any given craft with a displacement hull. 20 foot canoe is faster than a 17 foot canoe, for the same effort. Thanks for putting up with me, It was fun.

Much like hiking, people over estimate their speed all the time. A GPS is honest if you measure your progress for say an hour or two. All bets are off in the wind, in currents and tides.

Some days you might make 40 miles downstream. Some days you will be lucky to make 6-7 miles on a lake.