I have a friend who is a SUP paddler and he has asked me to go with him on a short day trip, maybe ten miles on a local river. If we both paddle steadily, its not a race, who is going to go faster? I will be paddling a solo canoe and can comfortably go about 3.5mph on flat water.
no idea
to many different canoes and sups.
an oldtown pack a lot slower then a wenonah advantage. same is for sups.
I guess you booth have a great time.
My very limited experience
I was solo in my Malecite alongside a young, well built young man on a SUP. He was not an experienced paddler. Earlier I suggested to him that he was holding his bentshaft paddle backwards. Later we bothed push it alongside each other. I had to work pretty good to get and stay out ahead of him. I was using a bentshaft Zav and was clipping along about as fast as I could sustain the Malecite. If the kid had more experience, I think I'd have been hard pressed to stay ahead.
Which is better suited to paddling 10 miles? I'd think the canoe, but who knows.
Put the same “engines” with
The same experience in both the canoe and the SUP is the only way you will ever know.
I would pick the canoe, but that is because I have only been on a SUP once, and I grew up paddling a canoe
Jack L
If it isn’t a race…
why does it matter ahead of time? Get there and see what happens, enjoy the day.
thanks
We were just trying to get an ideas if one of us was going to be doing a lot of waiting around. My fastest canoe is a Wenonah Wilderness in ultralite, I know from experience with a GPS that I can sustain about 3.5mph comfortably on flat water. my friend has no idea how fast he can paddle the SUP because he has no idea how far he paddles nor does he have a GPS.
Of course I’ll be carrying a bunch of stuff like extra clothes, food and drink. It’ll be interesting to see how the wind and current affect us. no matter what it’ll be a fun few hours.
You get to be the test dummy…
…and report back! 
My Bet is on the SUP
Check out this "Gunfight" with the 15 year old winning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZcd1QVPVxc
Now this race is more than 10 miles and out in the open ocean where there is no place to rest.
Why kind of SUP?
Just like canoes, there are many kinds of SUPs. I know I can’t paddle my board (an all-around 12’ SUP) even close to as fast as my Classic XL. ALso, environmental factors play differently on the two, upwind on a SUP is really difficult because in my case there’s a 6’2" sail on top of it, but downwind the SUPs surfing capability really shows (unless the board is one of those displacement types).
I think the canoe wins …
… 10 miles is not a long distance run in a canoe with just a few short breaks , but I really wonder how an SUP’er would make out in a 10 mile run having to always be standing and paddling … I suppose the SUP’er could sit and paddle as needed but that’s not SUPing (Stand Up Paddling) . And I suspect paddling an SUP while sitting down isn’t nearly as effecient as a canoe or kayak would be .
Maybe it’s just my perception of SUPing but I have strong doubts if the SUPer could even make a 10 mile run standing up w/o constant breaks . I’ve always thought of SUPing as a short distance , light effort kind of playing around thing … though I could be incorrect about that , it would have to be proven otherwise to me 1st .
has anyone here ever …
… done a 10 mile run on an SUP ??
Time trial tests
You will have to navigate to the spreadsheet and get out your calculator.
http://vimeo.com/26823909
a few
Hearty souls have finished the Missouri 340 on a sup. I want one. Maybe soon.
Ryan L.
SUP vs Canoe
Depends on the length and type of sup. if it’s 14’ and has a pointed nose, and the paddler has a good stroke, you’ll be equal. otherwise not. providing of course your canoe stroke is efficient?
much like any water craft, length means a lot. a 14’ kayak vs a 18’ kayak is not an equal race, etc.
Multiple Videos
I’ve seen so many videos of these things, but only showing them riding a tailwind and nice following waves. The apparent lack of videos of them in any other circumstance makes me wonder if they are out of their element on flatwater or in a headwind. Goodness knows the SUPers I see in my town sure don’t make it look like it could possibly be fun without a tailwind, but they may not be good paddlers either.
Not a ten miler, but take a look
on the Discussion forum under Grayhawks post on the Bogey and Bacall race results. Their times for the various classes are listed there for a four miler.
Jack L
I’ve noticed the same thing, GBG.
Also noticed the SUP’ers in my area fall off quite often. That tends to slow one down.
No direct comparison.
Apparently, the SUP’s don’t have the ability to go as far?
Anyway - a little math suggests that a comparable engine does a little better in a solo canoe.
dIstance race on a SUP
We had a guy paddle the whole 90 Miler in the Adirondack on a SUP. He started with the first wave of Open Touring which are the first boats to start and he finished among the last each day. He did survive a brutal 3rd day with high winds and big waves on Upper Saranac Lake which capsized alot of competition canoes.
There was a woman paddler on a SUP in a race in NJ on a tidal creek of about 10 miles distance, Woodbury Creek. We all started together and she was dead last by several minutes. A very fit, experienced paddler, who would have finished in the middle of the pack in a canoe. She paddled the race to see how the SUP would compare, and the conclusion was it was slow on that course. And her board was chosen and lent to her by a manufacturers rep. A race board SUPposedly.
You should be able to paddle alongside each other on your trip easily, you will just be hauling all your buddy’s gear. That is the big drawback to a SUP.
Bill
"Racing SUPs"
There are various racing classes in SUP, 12 footers included… I doubt any canoe on the 90 miler was nearly as short.
Check results of the 20 mile Blackburn challenge for SUP class (don’t confuse with paddleboards) to see how they do on flat water (last year it was mainly flat with not much wind). Compare with canoes or kayaks on the same course… they list the lengths/models usually.