All things being equal (including the paddlers) can an Oru (Beach) kayak paddle as fast as a Pungo?
Which kayak tracks faster and are they even in the same ballpark, exclusively in terms of speed/glide?
The Pungo is a specific kayak and Oru is a brand. So to answer we’d need to know which Oru you are talking about. But my guess is that all things being equal the Oru Coast or Bay would both run away from the Pungo, but all the other Orus would be equal or maybe slower.
If you are talking a race to the bottom (glub, glub,glub) the oru would be my bet.
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Sorry, but “speed” and “race” are not terms that I have ever heard associated with either a Pungo or any Oru model.
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The different Oru models that I saw are typical, 9’ x 32", 12’1" x 29", 12’3" x 25, and 16’ x 25" and a few others. One advantage of the Oru is the light weight of the boats, which are nearly half the weight of roto-molded Wilderness Systems boats like the Pungo.
Displacing 25 lbs less boat weight iscequivalent to 3 gallons of water. That means less wetted surface
An exception is the mid-2000 model Pungos offered for a few years in Duralite. They are considerably lighter and would probably be more competitive with the Oru series. However, the difference would only amount to a few tenths of a mph.
If you use hull speed as a rough guide, the 12’ models should top out at around (+/-) 5.4 mph. Comparing the 120 Pungo to the 12’1" x 29" Oru as an example; both are nearly identical, but the Oru is half the weight, so it draws less water and should be faster. You can argue about which hull form is faster, but at 29" wide, you won’t see much difference. At that level, primary considerations are price, convenience, comfort, portability, transporting/storage, carry weight, and durability.
Ultimately, the difference will be with the strength of the paddler. “Few” recreation level paddlers will be able to push a 12’ by 29" kayak past 4 mph. While in my 145 Tsunami, my course intersected with a guy in a 120 Pungo. I followed him to the launch and was surprised that he held a steady 4.5 mph for over 1/3rd of a mile.
Someone posted an excellent reference citing kayak features that influenced kayak speed. The load water line length accounted for 90% and all other factors, such as hull form, chine configuration, width, and displacement contributing about atb10% (at 5 mph that is only .5 mph).
Of course, sone modern hull designsare able to exceed the hull speed fomukas
I have no experience with the pungo, but we do have an Oru Coast. We can keep up with our other kayaks easily, those are P&H Cetus MVs. But we do not race, so there is that.
I will say the Oru is noisy, as the folds cause water turbulance. And it feels like a lot more work to keep up, compared with the Cetus.
My guess is the pungo would win.
What do you think of the Oru Beach?
I had to look at my calendar. When I read the original post, I thought it was April 1 already.
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Racing - something I do very much.
and I’ve seen them out on the lake a lot so here’s what I have observed.
the Oru kayaks though having pretty good lines Bob a lot.meaning when the paddler makes the catch the nose of the kayak dives a significant amount then at the exit of the stroke the nose bobs back up just as high as it bobbed down at the catch. then between strokes returns to neutral.
the Pungo, basically having zero rocker doesn’t exhibit this bobbing motion visibly. (all boats do just some do less than others.)
This bobbing motion is effectively wasted energy used in the nose going up and down as opposed to the nose going forward.
wasted energy translates to lost speed.
Having said this which model are you comparing to which model. It matters.
What length Vs what length.
An oru coast vs a pungo 12’ft probably same or slightly faster. (to be fair Ive never seen a coast)
A coast vs a tsunami or tempest, would be getting curb stomped by either.
A pungo vs oru lake maybe up to the inlet model the pungo probably is faster.
it also has to do witht he paddler as well and the only way to know for sure is to put your butt in one and paddle it using GPS speed data to compare both a pungo and Oru
but from what i’ve seen as the lake I paddle on rents lots of pungo’s and most people who bring their own boats use Oru’s the pungo seems to be faster.
but at the end of the day if you are racing I’d select neither of these boats.
If I was racing Rec class Id chose any rigid boat 15’ or under probably a Tsunami 145. (full disclosure I’ve raced one.) and did well.
If I was going touring class I’d want any boat 18’ to 15.1 preferring the longer boat. In my case Id want a Tempest (full disclosure here Ive race one and won.)
and for Race or performance class (over 18’ and surfskis.) I’d want an EPIC or Stellar.
so it depends also on the type of race you plan to enter in.
The length/width specs of the Oru Beach are basically the same as a Pungo 120 and 125. The length and width are primary drivers of speed, so they should be comparable. But given that the Oru has folds and the like which add to drag, the Pungo likely is slightly faster than a Beach.
The Oru Beach may be faster than the shorter/wider Pungo 105.
In general, folding kayaks have limitations as compared to hard shell kayaks. If you can deal with the storage and transport requirements of a hard shell kayak, that is usually the better option.
In the Oru’s case, the ability to get back in to it in deep water is the main limitation. They don’t have enough built in flotation. The Pungo has a sealed hatch in the back that is built in flotation, so it may be possible to get back in if you flip in deep water (though it won’t be easy without a sealed hatch in the front to add flotation there). Both Oru Beach and Pungos are recreational so really are meant for protected water close enough to shore to swim to safety if you flip.
Issue #10 of California Kayaker Magazine (PDF can be read online for free at California Kayaker Magazine - South West's source for paddlesports information) has an article on the basic types of kayaks.
Re the Orus: A 12’ long and 29" beam kayak is still a barge. My 13’ canoe is 2" narrower than that (and only 4 pounds heavier). And the angular structure has to cause more turbulence than a smooth hull. I’ve only paddled an Oru once, for about 10 minutes (all I could tolerate). Felt like i was paddling an orange crate, though I am used to semi-angular hard-chined folders and skin-on-frames. And the width meant I was massacre-ing my knuckles on the gunwales with every stroke.
While I understand why a lot of folks like Pungos - great pond and slow river boat for relaxed sight-seeing with a huge cockpit for easy access – they have to also be a hell of a lot of work to propel with any kind of speed. The weight of Pungos has always seemed daunting to me for their size. My 18’ x 22" Northwest Discover composite sea kayak is only 9 pounds heavier. And the 16’ x 22" Avatar (also composite) is the same weight (49 #). (lest anyone want to throw the “kayak snob” epithet at me for owning those boats, they cost me $300 each plus about $100 for parts to restore them, less than a third of the price of a new Oru Coast).
I suppose if you put a couple of athletic teenaged boys in a Coast and a Pungo, hyped up on caffeinated energy drinks and with cute girls lined up to watch (and impress) along the shore, you might get a “contest” out of racing them for a short distance. But it would not be pretty.
You could try to pedal the Tour de France on coaster brake “fixies” but, again, more painful than pretty.
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I have no experience with the Beach and I don’t know anyone who does. I did see one being paddled on Yellowstone Lake last year, but didn’t get to talk to the man in it for long. He liked it from what he told me, but we were going towards our truck and he was going out, so our time talking was maybe 20 seconds.
My friend Steve M had an Oru Bay and I got to paddle it several times, Very prone to windage and weather cocking because of it’s flat bottom and no skeg or rudder, but that’s what would be expected from the design. But if you can use a paddle well, it was not real hard to control in winds up to about 20 MPH. Steve M. used it for 2 years and then bought a Hurricane Tracer, and never went back to the Oru. He sold it to another of my friends named Rich N. who used it enough to come to like it, but he likes it because of it’s back-packable feature and he takes it into back country lakes, so his love for it is more “mission specific”. Rich also owns a few hard shell kayaks and tell me all his other kayaks have advantages over the Bay for actual paddling, but none can be back-packed in 3-4 miles. So that’s his reason for the appreciation of the Oru Bay.
I never paddled one but have heard glowing reports about the speed of. The origami kayaks. That’s why I pointed out that sleed os not the primary atribute - convenience, portability and storage is. There is much to becsaid about hull rigidity.
Thanks forcyour insight.
Here is one comparison test that included an Oru Bay against a bunch of inflatables. It wasn’t quite as fast as the Sea Eagle Razorlites and 0.76 mph slower than a homemade plywood hardshell. The Oru Beach will be slower. My money would be on the Pungo.
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Disagree about the Pungo model being slow, based on owning two 140 Pungos, albeit they are duralite models. I installed bulkheads in both of my 140 Pungos and have traveled the 21.5 miles round trip of open water across the Chesapeake Bay many times in the 14 foot Pungo. The multi-chine hull used in both the Pungo and Tsunami provides incredible primary stability despite the Tsunami being several inches narrower. The main advantage of the Tsunami is greater seaworthiness and control from the tighter cockpit.
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I also have a Pungo 140 as does my paddling partner. No longer made. Great boats for long paddles .