Keeping the peace
The shorter boat might be slower given the SAME PADDLER paddling it as the longer boat. But it sounds like your wife is just a slower paddler. Switching boats, as someone suggested, would help figure this out, though someone might not like the answer.
She could get a “faster” boat. Or you could paddle a double together (seems to be a common solution to the same problem). Or you could just resign yourself to solo paddles for exercise and together paddles for the company.
What I used to do if I was going out with slower cyclists or paddlers was I would get there early and do a lap on my own first. But this would be hard to do with a spouse, assuming you both live together!
I’ve noticed
men and women race in different divisions
I suspect that men are built such that they are faster
it’s not rocket science
if one wants to go walking WITH someone you walk with them and not away from them. If one wans to ride a bike WITH someone ,you don’t ride away from them. The same happens paddling. If you can’t paddle the same speed as someone else then you’re paddling away from them.
Expecting the slower paddler to meet the speed of the faster paddler makes no sense. One might as well put the “faster” paddler in the company of a fast paddler and watch them get burned up. When they catch up you can say “maybe we should get you a faster boat so you can put out even more effort to keep up because you’re just not keeping up”.
Yes Lee, and
– Last Updated: Jul-21-07 11:09 PM EST –
this is why for years shops have sold women 18 ft. kayaks that require more energy to propel, and get blown all over the place. Put her in a Mystic or composite Eliza, or Vela, or Rumour maybe, and she'll go faster. QCC 600 may, as JackL pointed out also be a great option, albeit an entirely different type of boat. Depends on her overall objectives.
agree with grayhawk
on trying a different paddle. As a beginner, I’ve been totally amazed at the HUGE difference in how a paddle works for me or doesn’t. When you don’t have a lot of upper body strenght, the weight and shape of a paddle becomes even more important. So, in addition to all the other good advice, do give her the advantage of having the best, lightest paddle she can find, at the right lenght and the right shape. Instead of feeling like you’re plodding away, it can make you fly.
Absolutely…great advice!
In fact probably far more important than the boat! Not unlike the huge importance of boots in skiing. You can have the finest ski’s but if your boots suck, it’s mute. Better to have super good fitting boots and good skis.
clear coat WS Sealution
I remember launching from Richardson Bay in Sausalito and a couple were launching a pair of superlight clear coat Sealutions,the wife was about 135lbs. “yeah it’s light but not good on windy days”.
Another time a couple had taken a class and the big strong husband was complaining he wasn’t as fast as his wife. He had garbage technique and hers was good. We went through all the variables at which point I gave up. “maybe she’s just faster”
then there’s the couple where the husband becomes the instructor in a class.
If a stronger person NEEDS to go at X energy output then they will ONLY be paddling with other paddlers going at that level. But if they are paddling WITH another person they could just as well turn it into a Tai Chi like experience with slow breathing and perfect technique. The idea someone can’t paddle slower is like two people walking and the faster person is saying “I don’t get it, I can’t stop, Help, HELP,I’m out of control!” as they walk ahead .1mph faster
Paddles…
I’ve had people on tours ready to give up and saying that they didn’t think they could make it. So trying to avoid towing I would give them my personal paddle and take their rental one. They would perk up, smile and take off.
Boat size + Paddle
I think boat size could be part of it. If her boat is 2 feet shorter than yours (Chatham 16), that could definitely be a factor, especially, as you say, she is very fit. I have a Capella 173 and my wife has a Capella 163 (a foot shorter). Regarding paddles, I have the Werner Shute 215 and hers is a 210. Though her boat is a foot shorter and her paddle a tad shorter, she never has trouble keeping up with me. In a group paddle, she is always where she intends to be - up front, or further back, depending on her mood. But she can move from back to front pretty well. It looks like you have a 2 foot different in your boats. That could make a difference in the speed. An 18 ft. boat makes for a pretty speedy ride over a 16 ft. boat. Also, is there is a difference in the beam widths? As you know, a lesser width (on a relatively long boat) will provide better speed. You can also look at the paddle. She can try a longer paddle with a lower angle stroke. In a recent personal comparison, I saw that a longer paddle (at low angle) to a shorter paddle (at medium to high angle) made the difference of 1 1/2 strokes to 1 stroke for the same difference. Just some suggestions.
Correction - For the same DISTANCE
Quick correction - in my last post, at the end, I said “for the same difference”. I mean for the same Distance. Sorry.
Give her a longer, lighter boat
I got my wife a Seda Swift (17’) in glass, 46 lb. with a good paddle and immediately she shrieked in glee as she outraced me! (Prijon Seayak 16’ plastic 61 lb).
cadence?
how does she like to paddle? does she like ‘paddling’, for it’s own sake, like the stroke, like the glide, or does she just like to ‘be out there’? is she out there really just to be with you, or because she likes it for her own sake?
kayaking as an activity, vs kayaking as a sport seems to me to be a big difference between friends, partners, and groups.
having been married to a woman who at first sorta liked doing outdoors stuff with me (got engaged on a ww river trip), then changed her mind a year into it, this kind of issues strikes me as having huge potential for conflict and heart ache. tread very very gently, and good luck.
Chatham 16 slow, 18 fast
I didn’t read all the other posts, but,
the 16 has BIG rocker over a short distance, like a Romany 16
the 18 has rocker over a longer hull, like an Explorer
Get her a 16 w/zero rocker for calm days, say a QCC or something like that
The 16 is a slow kayak
Glenn
his & her speed
Get a tandem!
Or maybe you should trade your 18 for a 17 - it might slow you down. For speeding up your spouse consider some differenct paddle options - shorter shaft, bigger blades. Maybe her stroke’d be more efficient with if she used a paddle with a straight shaft instead of those bent things the Kayak Center sold you.
Size matters…
– Last Updated: Jul-27-07 12:38 PM EST –
Of course the boat length has something to do with speed. But -- excluding other factors such as rocker, wetted surface, and windage - the major determinant is probably the length of the waterline. I've noted that some shorter boats can outpace longer ones -- and the comparison is usually between more classic greenland style boats and those with plumb bows and sterns that create more ample waterline. It makes sense that some here are recommending one of the QCC boats for your wife.
It's also a matter of matching weight to the boat...to push the boat down to get the optimal waterline without overwhelming it with too much wetted surface.
I certainly agree that skills, strength, and paddling technique are important. But the boat itself matters...a lot.
Funny
I hear that all the time about the 16 and few can keep up with me when I’m in mine. It’s a coastal play boat and in high wind and rough seas it is not slow at all…
These threads illustate two things to me as follows:
- A growing number of people in this industry are getting more technically savvy about hydrodynamics and moving beyond old school rhetoric.
- A few are still spouting absolutist statements such as longer is faster without qualifying that comment. That is often not true, and is demostrative of a clear lack of knowledge about the science of hull design as it relates to the power supply.
hp boat combo
like they say above… longer boat has potential to go faster… you have to really hump it to reach that potential… at cruising speeds, you are just pushing extra weight… so with same horse power you would actually be slower in the heavier boat…
it’s a horse power technique thingy… go do your excercise on Tuesdays and just float with the wife the other days…
i went two weeks ago with my wife and her girlfriend… they paddled steady, always… i would take two strokes and coast… they were playing catch up all day… i probably paddled one forth as much as either of them… so i ran down river and scouted ahead… back up river to advise the best lines… over to the edges to check out the beaver huts… play in the waves… then back to visit… kept me in shape and happy, while they managed to get down river eventually…