Talking About Adventure In Small Boats
AtWitsEnd
Member
Under calm conditions, can someone advise me on what boat speed can be expected at a long distance peddling pace?.
Information for an Adventure Island and a Tandem Island appreciated
One person peddling an empty boat?
One person peddling a loaded boat?
The internet has numbers like 2.6knts....but little information on conditions
Atwitsend
Albatross
Member
Hi AtWitsEnd, Just to develop Chekika's point, FWIW I had a similar question when I started on a solo TI. These contests make it look like you should factor twice a paddlers' speed so I thought I'd be invincible whatever the conditions but in my humble experience it ain't like that.
Hobie Islands only need to pedal as a main power source in no wind or headwinds. Hence your question about conditions. Pedalling into the wind our greater windage means we are nowhere near as efficent as either a conventional kayak or a boat with a foresail (like your Windrider). In fact we are rubbish. After a day of headwinds you'll find Hobie Island sailors swearing they'll switch to a Weta next year.
Also in calm conditions we tend to be overdressed for long distance pedalling. On the EC a full drysuit is ideal for sailing because you can get cold just sitting up there in the wind but it gets mighty boil-in-a-bag when pumping that mirage drive in calm conditions. You'll want to stop, refill your now empty water bottles and peel off some soggy layers - but that's exactly when the wind will get up....
bosab
Member
To further what others have said. If the wind is blowing at all except hard on the nose you are going to get wherever quicker than any paddle only craft. But if the wind dies out peddling a loaded 500# TI is only going to be a 4-5 hour event. Maybe 10 to 15 miles..maybe. The calories burned by those huge leg muscles in that mode are not sustainable for much longer. Maybe a super in shape biker can go longer.
Or strong headwind over 15 mph.. While the speed is fun you have to be peddling most of the time to maintain an upwind angle more than 50 degrees off the wind. Same thing happens after 4-5 hours of this. Just a lot of calories burned quick. with all the tacking your distance made good is maybe 10-15 miles tops.
On one trip in the everglades with Chekika a few years ago we were becalmed with about 6 miles to go to get to our campsite. That was a long 6 miles taking most of 3 hours. One person joining us in a paddle boat departed an hour later and got there an hour sooner. While this guy is a paddling machine his lighter less drag boat helped him average a speed of 4 miles per hour. I am sure his calorie burn was half ours in the process.
WindTern
Member
For what it's worth:
On the EC2018, I peddled from the Venice Inlet to CP1 (20 miles) in 5.5 hours. That comes out to 3.63 mph. That was just a steady long stroke. I was fully loaded, probably close to 465 lbs.plus the weight of the TI.
When I was coming around Cape Romano, there was no wind. The tide was coming out like a fast flowing river, I was peddeling as hard as I could and I was barely making 1 mph.
Albatross
Member
Picking up on bosab’s wondering “Maybe a super in shape biker can go longer.”
That’s what I thought! I may not be “super in-shape” but long distance cycling, randonneuring is my thing. I do a ride of 6 hours or more most weeks of the year and hope to qualify for Paris Brest Paris (780 miles in 84 hours, Sunday to Wednesday) again this summer.
I expected pedalling to be my super power but my performance in strong headwinds is no better than those cited above. In 2016 Bacon, Waterdawg and I spent all day tacking across Gullivan Bay making about 35 miles in ten hours sailing, pedalling to keep the bows pointed into the wind and waves. We intersected on most tacks.
Physically a cycling background doesn’t seem to be a magic bullet. Mentally it maybe helps a little because I look forward to the pedalling. I tell myself it’s pre-season training, whereas others I know treat the pedals as a last resort. But basically I just go sideways a little faster and for longer.
AtWitsEnd wrote:
Under calm conditions, can someone advise me on what boat speed can be expected at a long distance peddling pace?.
Information for an Adventure Island and a Tandem Island appreciated
One person peddling an empty boat?
One person peddling a loaded boat?
The internet has numbers like 2.6knts....but little information on conditions
Atwitsend
I have owned my AI since 2007 and think 2.6 knots is realistic as a sustained cruising speed in calm conditions.
I'd love to put a Mirage Drive in one of my more efficient boats just to see what would happen.
I have tried paddling my boat in Adventure mode (no amas or mast) and found it to be a miserable, fat pig that really needs a Mirage Drive, which I quickly reinserted. I haven't repeated the experiment.
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