I would never have graduated from college if I had not been the head lifeguard...but
I did master what I needed to know for SCUBA Diving and competitive swimming.
Resistance in water is speed times mass CUBED. That means the resistance increases EXPONTIALLY as speed increases.
An old Navy SEAL explained it to me this way:
A destroyer has four boilers. One boiler gives you 10 knots, two gives you 15, three gives you 17.5, and kicking in the last one only gives you less than one more Knot!
Same with kayaks. They are all pretty much equal at about 2.5 MPH, but lenght and design start makes a really big diference if you want to push the limits to 6-7 MPH.
You are currently operating at about optimal cruising speed. To increase much more you need to paddle a LOT harder and get a much longer boat.
Feel free to correct any part of this. It's not like I really know what I am talking about...
you mean fast for any human Really, if you put an outboard motor on the back of any kayak it could go pretty darn fast.
And yes, I had lots of help from the current!! It was roaring around the bend at Hell’s Gate, which leads out towards the LI sound, and around a few other islands, causing some fun and at times near white water conditions (yes, that is definitely a sea kayaker’s opinion).
This was the weekend before but I have friends who went to Tubby Hook on a Taco run and ran into such a large group of kayakers that they said there were 30 kayaks on the tiny beach there.
I took my first weekend off the water all summer. The weekend weather has been perfect all season.
replying to myself I re-read my message and certainly didn’t mean to imply that my normal paddling pace was 8+ knots. Hahhh…wishful thinking. I meant in that part of the river where the current typically exceeds 5 knots, that’s about my pace. And only then, believe me.
Cobra Tourer… Cruise fairly easily at 3.2 to 3.5 mph, with more effort , above 4 and almost all out effort above 5, but not sustainable for too long. For fishing, and an enjoyable paddle, cruising speed is fine and relaxing.
I owned a Cobra Expedition briefly and it is a good bit smoother and faster than the Tourer. Its hull shape is more like a sea kayak and the Tourer and its little siblings have more of winged design for great initial stability and some hull slap.
I also had an Ocean Kayak Prowler 15 last year, and the speed numbers are very similar to the Tourer, giving only the slightest edge to the Prowler. I was a little disappointed in the Tourers numbers, since I thought I was going faster, but most plastic sit on tops under 16 feet I think will be in this speed range.
If you have time, check out the new Hobie Adventure 16 on their website now. It has a similar hull shape to the Tarpon 160, but also has the pedal drive for using your legs like the Mirage Outback. So far on the prototype demo, testers have gotten it up to about 6.5 mph just by pedaling alone. Supposed to be a good paddling yak as well, based on the Hobie Quest hull design. Looks a little out of my price range. I’ll be looking to pick up a used Cobra Expedition again next year if I can find a good deal.
It’s hard to compare speed… when one takes into account not only the difference between paddlers(motors), hull shapes, weather/water conditions etc. My two yaks (a ScupperPro T/W & a QCC600) both get alot of use, but for different reasons. Some would say that the Scupper is one of the best “old school” SOT’s & I put it to use as a fishin’ machine. I know that a 8 mile day is a full workout in the Scupper, on the other hand with the QCC600 an average training ride will be 18-22 miles which should take less than 4 hours (half in the ICW, half in the Gulf). A GPS is a constant training aid on my QCC. For me, my usual cruising speed, which I can keep up for as long as I want to (4-5 hours) if stay focused is 5.2-5.4mph, a fast exercise/race pace would be around 6.0-6.2mph. (if I go much harder than that, I have a chance of falling out of my 600, thanks again Jack for helping me back in.) Later this fall I should have a pretty good idea of how a QCC600 compares (to me) with a 700, as I just placed an order with Phil today for a new 700…WooHoo!
13 mph… Down river on the Columbia above the Hanford reach, paddling a 22ft. double - Necky - with to strong male paddlers. We averaged 4 mph upriver against a 5 mph current. My wife and I can paddle this boat at 8 mph in textured seas for an hour or so at a time (GPS). But, longer hull length does make a difference.
There’s a strange effect where a boat with a higher potential speed can actually be harder to paddle at slower speeds. This is true for me over long paddles, when comparing my regular touring boat (Mariner Elan) with my fast touring boat (P&H Spitzbergen, similar to a Glider).
Why’s everyone using miles per hour for boats? Here’s a vote for using knots. When navigating and when communicating with harbormasters or other boats, a nautical mile is the standard unit of distance, and a knot is the standard unit of speed. GPS units can output knots if asked. To convert these figutes to mph, multiply by 1.15.
that’s quite zippy doing 8 mph in a conventional double is quite impressive, impressive enough that you and your wife would undoubtedly win the overall best time in any of the major kayak or surfski races in the usa, beating all of the male singles and doubles, including mr barton or chalupsky. goodness, if you could find a fast double surfski to paddle, you might have a decent chance in the k2 races in beijing! what are you waiting for?
SanJay I noted the same thing a few weeks ago when someone posted the actual speeds at different effort levels for several common boats.
I got a quick response from someone on the board which on investigation turned out to be true. What I noted that when I compared two boats and their speed potentials, several of the boats with higher speeds at design hull speed were actually slower when half or three quarter max effort was applied.
The answer has to do with several factors, the main one being the amount of wetted surface. All displacement type hulls, (as apposed to a planning hull), has a design hull speed. It take approximately 1.45 times the effort to move a displacement hull to 1.1 times its design hull speed. In other words it is very difficult to move a displacement hull faster than its design speed.
At slower than hull speed rates, less than hull speed effort applied, other design characteristics have more effect. In this case wetted surface plays a large comparative roll at speeds less than hull speed. So a boat, say a QCC 600 will not have as high a hull speed as its big sister, the QCC700. However, less effort will be required to move the 600 to 3/4ths speed as compared to the 700.
Length & speed At an hours training pace, I’m about 1.5 mins faster in my 21’ “Thunderbolt” than in my 17’ “Wave Piercer”. When I drop down to a 14’9" downriver kayak, the difference is approx. 3 mins & my 13’10" “Delta” is 5.5-6 min slower than the 21 footer.
That’s not much difference in time for that much difference in boat length. Not enough to be concerned about when just out with a group of paddlers at a non-racing pace.
In my Acadia 12.5 I average 3.5mph on most outings which is usually 5-7 miles. This is my second year paddling and have noticed a .5 mph increase in my average speed from last year. My tops speed on a calm lake is 5.5 mph. I track every trip with my e-trex legend. I’m sure if I had a longer kayak like a 17ft, my speed would increase a bit. I think working out with cable and free weights has increased my strength and stamina as well.
