How far to kayak in a day?
 

Just wondering what the average distance one could kayak in day, or rather
eight hour period? Nothing too intense and under normal weather conditions.
With hiking it's about 10 miles, biking is about 40 miles. Is kayaking
somewhere in between?

My friends and I were thinking of kayaking on Lake Champlaign in Vermont this
summer and part of the plan would be to kayak up to some of the norther islands
that allow for camping. I guess I'm just trying to figure out how far south we
have to be to provide a good day's journey, though nothing that would wipe out
inexperienced, yet fit, 32 year olds.


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How far to kayak in a day?
 

On 18 Jun 2004 15:42:10 GMT, rap (Lord Nerd on
High) posted:

Just wondering what the average distance one could kayak in day, or rather
eight hour period? Nothing too intense and under normal weather conditions.
With hiking it's about 10 miles, biking is about 40 miles. Is kayaking
somewhere in between?

My friends and I were thinking of kayaking on Lake Champlaign in Vermont this
summer and part of the plan would be to kayak up to some of the norther islands
that allow for camping. I guess I'm just trying to figure out how far south we
have to be to provide a good day's journey, though nothing that would wipe out
inexperienced, yet fit, 32 year olds.

I have no idea if I'm representative or not, but paddling one leg up
the Ohio River, and taking it fairly easy on the leg back, I can
easily do over twenty miles in five or so hours. I've gone 25 miles
in six hours, again, half against the current, and half with.

Mike Soja

How far to kayak in a day?
 

That's good to hear. I think if we left from where the kayaks are stored (most
preferable) then it would be about a 30 mile trip to the campsite.


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How far to kayak in a day?
 

Lord Nerd on High wrote in
:

Just wondering what the average distance one could kayak in day,
or rather eight hour period? Nothing too intense and under normal
weather conditions. With hiking it's about 10 miles, biking is
about 40 miles. Is kayaking somewhere in between?


Using a GPS to five us an indication of speed, two of us measured our
average speed over a 30 minute stretch of "lazy" paddling on
fla****er (no noticable wind or current). We were sitting at a steady
6-odd kph (roughly 3.6 mph). It didn't take much effort to boost that
speed up to 7 or 8 kph (4.5 - 5 mph).

You will want to factor in pee breaks, lunch, and (depending on how
comfortable your seats are) rest breaks. I'd guess that 30 miles
would take anywhere from 8 hours to longer. A full day.

HTH,
--
Darryl

How far to kayak in a day?
 

Just wondering what the average distance one could kayak in day, or rather
eight hour period?


When "sea kayaking," if I am paddling alone at a comfortable speed I find
that I generally do about 4 knots per hour. I can pretty much sustain this
speed all day long. I am a fairly competent paddler who prefers relatively fast
boats. So I would guess that you should be able to do 3 to 3.5, if not 4 knots
per hour, multiplied by however long you feel you can paddle in a day.
This said, you must also factor in wind and currents. Also, the more people
you add to the group, generally the slower the group will travel. Not to
mention sight seeing along the way will also slow you down. There really are no
hard a fast numbers, but these are, in my experiance, the ball park figures.

Scott
So.Cal.

How far to kayak in a day?
 

"Ki Ayker" wrote...

When "sea kayaking," if I am paddling alone at a comfortable speed I
find
that I generally do about 4 knots per hour. I can pretty much sustain this
speed all day long. I am a fairly competent paddler who prefers relatively
fast
boats. So I would guess that you should be able to do 3 to 3.5, if not 4
knots
per hour, multiplied by however long you feel you can paddle in a day.

Let's see... That's 4 knots at the end of the first hour, 8 knots at the
end of the second hour. . . and 32 knots at the end of an 8-hour day.
That's one mighty fast kayak!

OTOH, you might have meant "4 knots" or "4 nautical miles per hour"... ;-)

How far to kayak in a day?
 

"MikeSoja" wrote in message
...
On 18 Jun 2004 15:42:10 GMT, rap (Lord Nerd on
High) posted:

Just wondering what the average distance one could kayak in day, or
rather
eight hour period? Nothing too intense and under normal weather
conditions.
With hiking it's about 10 miles, biking is about 40 miles. Is kayaking
somewhere in between?

My friends and I were thinking of kayaking on Lake Champlaign in Vermont
this
summer and part of the plan would be to kayak up to some of the norther
islands
that allow for camping. I guess I'm just trying to figure out how far
south we
have to be to provide a good day's journey, though nothing that would
wipe out
inexperienced, yet fit, 32 year olds.

I have no idea if I'm representative or not, but paddling one leg up
the Ohio River, and taking it fairly easy on the leg back, I can
easily do over twenty miles in five or so hours. I've gone 25 miles
in six hours, again, half against the current, and half with.

Mike Soja

I'm extremely impressed with that. I recently kayaked around Manhattan, the
tide with us the whole way.. I believe the trip was just under 30 miles.
The 40 or so of us did it in just under 9 hours including a pair of 45
minute breaks.

How far to kayak in a day?
 

Depends on the kayak and the paddler. A good number to plan around for 20,
or 25 for an 8 hour period, a bit less if you're not in a touring kinda
kayak or are a weak paddler. With a decent boat it's easy to sustain about
3.5, maybe 4, mph for a long period of time.

Jon

"Lord Nerd on High" wrote in message
...
Just wondering what the average distance one could kayak in day, or rather
eight hour period? Nothing too intense and under normal weather
conditions.
With hiking it's about 10 miles, biking is about 40 miles. Is kayaking
somewhere in between?

My friends and I were thinking of kayaking on Lake Champlaign in Vermont
this
summer and part of the plan would be to kayak up to some of the norther
islands
that allow for camping. I guess I'm just trying to figure out how far
south we
have to be to provide a good day's journey, though nothing that would wipe
out
inexperienced, yet fit, 32 year olds.


==
remove the crap to email

How far to kayak in a day?
 

Jon C wrote:

I guess I'm just trying to figure out how far
south we
have to be to provide a good day's journey, though nothing that would
wipe out
inexperienced, yet fit, 32 year olds.

I have no idea if I'm representative or not, but paddling one leg up
the Ohio River, and taking it fairly easy on the leg back, I can
easily do over twenty miles in five or so hours. I've gone 25 miles
in six hours, again, half against the current, and half with.

I'm extremely impressed with that. I recently kayaked around Manhattan, the
tide with us the whole way.. I believe the trip was just under 30 miles.
The 40 or so of us did it in just under 9 hours including a pair of 45
minute breaks.

Yes, I used to regularly run that trip for the MH Canoe Club starting in
NJ at Liberty State Park and going counter-clockwise around Manhattan.
AIRC, the actual distance was about 32 miles but the effective
'flat-water' distance was only a little over 20 miles due to the aiding
effect of the tide and the Hudson current.

I'd urge the original poster to be rather conservative in planning his
trip. The distances and speeds cited by most posters so far are
certainly believable, but seem on the high side for a pair of paddlers
who are inexperienced at kayaking - especially if there's the
possibility of significant headwinds.
The kayak/canoe trip around Manhattan was certainly more strenuous than
a typical 10 mile hike or 40 mile bike ride that the OP gave for
comparisons.

How far to kayak in a day?
 

On Sat, 19 Jun 2004 04:28:56 GMT, "Jon C"
posted:

"MikeSoja" wrote in message
.. .

I have no idea if I'm representative or not, but paddling one leg up
the Ohio River, and taking it fairly easy on the leg back, I can
easily do over twenty miles in five or so hours. I've gone 25 miles
in six hours, again, half against the current, and half with.

I'm extremely impressed with that. I recently kayaked around Manhattan, the
tide with us the whole way.. I believe the trip was just under 30 miles.
The 40 or so of us did it in just under 9 hours including a pair of 45
minute breaks.

I do work pretty hard going upstream. There's no percentage in
drifting backward, so I keep it moving.

I do 80% of my paddling on rivers, almost always first against the
current, and then back. Invariably it takes me about the same
amount of time each direction, mostly because I tend to drift on the
way back, trying to sneak up on birds and other wildlife. The 25
mile trip I mentioned above, the upstream leg took me 2 hours and 55
minutes, while the downstream took me 3 hours and five minutes. If
I had to guess the speed of the Ohio River in summer I'd say
somewhere between two and three mph. With all the rain this Spring,
there have been a lot of days when it's been running too fast for me
to fool with.

Mike Soja

How far to kayak in a day?
 

Lord Nerd on High wrote:
Just wondering what the average distance one could kayak in day, or rather
eight hour period? Nothing too intense and under normal weather conditions.
With hiking it's about 10 miles, biking is about 40 miles. Is kayaking
somewhere in between?

Both of the figures seem very low for an eight hour day. Hiking, one can
typically cover 2 mph or so at a moderate pace. Your cycling speed is
only 5 mph, which is incredibly slow. Even a relatively unfit cyclist
can pedal at 12 mph and 15-17 mph is within the realm of anyone who's
even reasonably fit.

My friends and I were thinking of kayaking on Lake Champlaign in Vermont this
summer and part of the plan would be to kayak up to some of the norther islands
that allow for camping. I guess I'm just trying to figure out how far south we
have to be to provide a good day's journey, though nothing that would wipe out
inexperienced, yet fit, 32 year olds.

If you're paddling at a relaxed pace with occasional stops, figure on an
overall average of 2.5 - 3 mph. Depending on how much paddling you do,
you simply may not be able to - or want to - paddle for eight hours, so
plan your trip accordingly. If it's convenient for you, I'd suggest
planning on paddling for no more than 4-5 hours, plus breaks. That would
work out to 10 - 15 miles. If you're strong paddlers and can handle
longer time on the water, a distance of 30 miles would not be
unreasonable. Just remember that you still have to set up camp when you
arrive at your destination. You can't just flop on the couch with a
pizza and a beer. ;-)

How far to kayak in a day?
 

I am 58 years old and when touring I cruise about 4 miles per hour with
a loaded boat. I am considered very physically fit by the people I
participate in outdoors sports with and I can do 40 mile days but there
is no fun in it. There is no time to look around and no time to relax
in camp, etc. I usually plan my days on the water to start about 7:00
a.m. in the morning and end by noon. This means I plan my camps around
15 miles of kayaking a day. This way I get into camp, setup, have a
lunch, then hike or take out my empty (lighter) kayak and spend time
exploring the local area. You tour to have fun not see how far you can
go in a day.
--
Bill

Brought to you from beautiful Unalaska/Dutch Harbor, Alaska.
N 53° 51.140' W 166° 30.228' (WGS 84)

Lord Nerd on High wrote:
Just wondering what the average distance one could kayak in day, or
rather eight hour period? Nothing too intense and under normal
weather conditions. With hiking it's about 10 miles, biking is about
40 miles. Is kayaking somewhere in between?

My friends and I were thinking of kayaking on Lake Champlaign in
Vermont this summer and part of the plan would be to kayak up to some
of the norther islands that allow for camping. I guess I'm just
trying to figure out how far south we have to be to provide a good
day's journey, though nothing that would wipe out inexperienced, yet
fit, 32 year olds.

How far to kayak in a day?