Does anyone ever clock the top speed at which they get their canoe moving along? I am not obsessed with breaking the sound barrier or anything but find it amusing to see just how fast we can get the boat going.
We just got back from our second paddle of the year and briefly had the Spirit II up to 4.5 mph against an 8-10 mph headwind. We managed to get in a good 7+ mile paddle, half upstream against some much stronger current than we anticipated. A beautiful spring day to spend out on the water.
Tom
We do it all the time
when we are race training and in various races.
As much as we like lilly dipping, swamp paddling and slow exploring in the Everglades, a mix of fast paddling is a lot of fun and will definately keep you in shape.
What you have to do now is under the same conditions hold that max speed for a bit longer or try to make it 4.6, and then keep increasing from there.
We’ll have you racing before you know it!
cheers,
JackL
Each time out
I reset my trip meter on the GPS. Then at the end of the day, I can see what my highest achieved speed for the day was.
I made 4.3 on my Heritage 9.5, and 7.0 on my Old town Cayuga 146. That was on flat water with very little wind. I could not keep that speed for very long. I like to try to set a new high each time. These ones have held since middle of last year. Need more arms and back.
7.0??? In a Cayuga???
So were you drafting or catching a tow? Or do you moonlight as a stunt double for King Kong?
Wait till your GPS
tells you are paddling 2.5 knots
backward.
Or 14 knots ahead.
Sea kayaking is wonderful sometimes.
Not sure what the hull speed is for your boat.
1.34 knots times the square of the wateline is an approximate guess if your hull is snooth.
got my Encore OC-1
up to about 25 several times this past winter, seal launching down a 50’ bank into the river. Ran my buddy Wade over Christmas morning when I unexpectedly skipped across the river quicker and with a little less control than desired, but more than expected.
One of my favorite expressions paddling is “last one off the river wins.”