Author Topic: Paddleboard Speed  (Read 36652 times)

Ichabod Spoonbill

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Paddleboard Speed
« on: December 02, 2011, 03:13:13 AM »
I was wondering if anybody had any data about how fast a standup paddle board can really go. I know I top out on on a long distance straightaway at about 4 MPH, which is pretty sad. Since I don't have a displacement style board (NSP 11') I know people are going faster. How much?

I'm also curious as to what's the average speed on a displacement board of an amateur paddler and the real pros.

Thanks for any information.

-Ian
Pau Hana 11' Big EZ Ricochet (Beluga)

novaboy

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Re: Paddleboard Speed
« Reply #1 on: December 02, 2011, 04:33:21 AM »
Well I'm no pro, not even close, but on my 14ft JL Sabre I can maintain 5mph for an hour going at a medium to hard pace. The Sabre is a rocket.
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esskay1000

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Re: Paddleboard Speed
« Reply #2 on: December 02, 2011, 07:03:17 AM »
I have the exact board that you have and it's a 'surf class' board even though it's kinda big for that.   I love it because for those of us who can't afford a 'quiver' of boards, it's a great jack of all trades.  You can surf it a bit, it's really stable, great for fishing, and also great for touring with the ability to bring a good amount of gear.  But, it doesn't really excel at any of these things.  Frankly for speed, it's a barge.  I did a 5 mile race in August with mine and going full-boar I averaged 4mph.  And I'm pretty damn fit.  That took 1 hour 15 minutes and it was painful.  Guys on sleek 12'6" boards and of course 14' boards cruised at 6 - 8 mph, but those boards are mainly one trick ponies.  Although I'd still love to have one :)
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RainWaves

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Re: Paddleboard Speed
« Reply #3 on: December 02, 2011, 09:28:52 AM »
 FWIW, I have yet to ride a displacement style board, so I can't offer any help there, but have tested a few boards on a 1.3 NM loop around some bouy's in the channel out in front of work. Granted, these are just "steady paddling" speeds, and not flat-out race speed (don't know how long I could keep that up anyways!).

 Naish Mana Soft-Top, 10': 3.25 kts.
 Bic E-Comp, 11'6": 3.25 kts.
 Bic E-Comp, 10'6": 3.5 kts.
 Naish Nalu 11'6": 3.6 kts.
 Naish Glide 12': 3.9 kts.
 Naish Glide 14': 3.9 kts. (2011 version).

 I think I was expecting the 14' Glide to give a better time than the 12'er, as it tracks amazingly well, but the watch doesn't lie.  ???

 Granted, these are either "all-around" surf, or DW boards, and not really meant for flat-out top speed in calm water. As many of the threads on here have shown, it looks like max "hull speed" of the faster boards is around 5-6 mph. Anything above that appears to be muscle & stamina to keep them on plane. Someone keeping up that kind of pace sure has my respect! Hope this helps, Pete.
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johnrg

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Re: Paddleboard Speed
« Reply #4 on: December 02, 2011, 09:43:27 AM »
4.5-5.5mph is a speed range I think most paddlers will find themselves on 12.6-14 ft.. Elite's can maintain hull speed and beyond but the above is a fair giude as to what one can expect for mere mortals on a 4-6 miles course for example.

John

johnrg

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Re: Paddleboard Speed
« Reply #5 on: December 02, 2011, 09:48:28 AM »
Guys on sleek 12'6" boards and of course 14' boards cruised at 6 - 8 mph, but those boards are mainly one trick ponies.  Although I'd still love to have one :)

While the 12.6 and 14s are faster... 6-8 is more unlimited territory. Times from Round the Rock last year would be good to look at for the fastest average speeds on a 12 mile loop. See following discussion...
http://www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php?topic=13227.15

John
« Last Edit: December 02, 2011, 09:55:27 AM by johnrg »

esskay1000

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Re: Paddleboard Speed
« Reply #6 on: December 02, 2011, 10:57:34 AM »
John, ur right, 8mph is a bit of an exaggeration.  But the guy who won the 5 miler I did last summer came in at 42 minutes, which is about 7mph even.  He was on a 14' board, don't know which model.  He looked pretty damn fit 
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Ichabod Spoonbill

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Re: Paddleboard Speed
« Reply #7 on: December 02, 2011, 08:31:33 PM »
Thanks for the information, everybody. I'm working on a writing piece and I wanted to get this bit of information right.

-Ian
Pau Hana 11' Big EZ Ricochet (Beluga)

longboarder1973

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Re: Paddleboard Speed
« Reply #8 on: December 02, 2011, 10:29:44 PM »
John, ur right, 8mph is a bit of an exaggeration.  But the guy who won the 5 miler I did last summer came in at 42 minutes, which is about 7mph even.  He was on a 14' board, don't know which model.  He looked pretty damn fit  

Always take race's length with a grain of salt...
I cant tell you how many 5 mile races that I have been in that have really been 3.5 or 4 miles in actual length.

PonoBill

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Re: Paddleboard Speed
« Reply #9 on: December 03, 2011, 06:45:51 AM »
Hull speed (Maximum Hull Speed = 1.34 times the square root of waterline) for a 12.6 is 4.76 for a 14 it's 5.01, 17 is 5.52, 19 is 5.84

You can't go much faster than hull speed without a bump or a sail
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esskay1000

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Re: Paddleboard Speed
« Reply #10 on: December 03, 2011, 07:34:55 AM »
John, ur right, 8mph is a bit of an exaggeration.  But the guy who won the 5 miler I did last summer came in at 42 minutes, which is about 7mph even.  He was on a 14' board, don't know which model.  He looked pretty damn fit  

Always take race's length with a grain of salt...
I cant tell you how many 5 mile races that I have been in that have really been 3.5 or 4 miles in actual length.

I had my Garmin 305 on for the race, it was 5 miles indeed
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greatdane

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Re: Paddleboard Speed
« Reply #11 on: December 03, 2011, 10:26:34 AM »
7 mph for a 14' board is super-human... that's approaching OC1 and surf ski speed for flat water. 

I can maintain 5.8-6 mph on a 19' X 25" unlimited for an hour.  Subtract about 1/2mph when I get on a 14' Dominator.
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esskay1000

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Re: Paddleboard Speed
« Reply #12 on: December 03, 2011, 10:56:48 AM »
Ok, I looked it back up to do a double check on my memory since you guys on this forum are more experts than I am and you are correct, the guy who was going 7mph was OC-1 Open class, sorry about the confusion.  My memory has been slowly failing me ever since I turned 40.  The 14' board winner came in at just under 53 minutes, which is only 5.65mph.  That makes my 3.95mph seems a lot better on my NSP 11' now that I think about it.  But I get the feeling that I was hurting way more than he was....
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greatdane

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Re: Paddleboard Speed
« Reply #13 on: December 03, 2011, 11:55:14 AM »
No worries Esskay1000, your new numbers all fit-in perfectly with the speeds of boards... the guy on the 14 footer still had a great avg. speed, but one that is doable by the sports elite. And yes, you were working very hard on the NSP... good on you... someday when you get on a race board, you will feel like you are flying, even if it's only 1 mph faster (-:  Thats still almost a 20% increase.  Think about getting on a bicycle that allows you to go 25 mph at the same work load as 20 mph... that would be huge!
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Ichabod Spoonbill

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Re: Paddleboard Speed
« Reply #14 on: December 03, 2011, 03:31:55 PM »
I think I can only get close to 4 mph on my NSP 11 on fairly short distances. Although on long distances (7 miles) I can regularly average 3.5 mph, which now doesn't seem half bad.
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