You’ve got your gear ready. You’re about to hit the water. But suddenly, someone drops the question, “Hey, when will you be back?” It’s hard to answer!
So how long does it take to kayak a mile, anyway? This is a common last-minute question. But as you see, there’s no simple answer. It could take anything from 12 up to 40 minutes.
Wondering why? Well, read on.
Factors Affecting How Long It Takes to Kayak A Mile
Many things could affect how long it will take you to kayak a mile. Vessel type is one of them, and so is material. Weather conditions such as wind have a significant effect on the time taken to kayak a mile. You, as the main driving force of a kayak, can be a big factor.
Vessel Type
In general, long and narrow kayaks are the fastest type of kayaks. The general rule is: The longer your kayak, the faster it is.
The Flyak is one of the fastest kayaks in the market. It’s made of hydrofoil, which optimizes lightness and shape. It can reach a speed of 16.9 miles per hour on calm water.
Recreational kayaks travel 3 miles per hour on calm water. Finally, wide fishing kayaks are the slowest.
The Shape of the Kayak
What you should get from this is that speed needs certain characteristics. You want a kayak that’s long and thin. You need a narrow bottom and a sharp V-front.
It’s simple. With a wide and heavy kayak, there’s more mass in the water. There’s also more resistance when you’re trying to take the speed up a notch. But if you have a sharp, narrow kayak that’s lightweight, you have less resistance to worry about.
Sit-In or Sit-On-Top?
If you want speed, you should consider a sit-in kayak. These types of kayaks seem to be generally faster on water. This is mostly because when you’re using a sit-in kayak your center of gravity is low, keeping you more stable.
Contrary to that, sit-on-top kayaks offer more wind resistance when kayaking. This could hinder your speed.
The Material of the Kayak
The more lightweight your kayak is, the faster you’ll travel over water.
Plastic
When it comes to plastic, there are several kinds used for the kayak’s material. Polyethylene plastic is a common type of plastic used in manufacturing kayaks. It’s affordable and holds up well against any sort of abrasion. However, it’s relatively heavy.
ABS plastic is another commonly-used material in hulls. It’s almost as durable as polyethylene plastic. However, it’s lighter. This quality gives ABS an edge over polyethylene, which is why it’s a bit more expensive.
Composite
You’ll notice that composite kayaks are expensive. This is for good reason.
These kayaks are made from fiberglass and super-light carbon-fiber. On top of that, you’ve got an incredibly efficient hull design. All of those things make composite kayaks faster than plastic kayaks.
Wood
Wooden kayaks aren’t only efficient. In the hands of a talented paddler, they’re effortlessly fast as well. This combination makes them ideal for long-distance tours.
The fiberglass and resin coating of wooden kayaks doesn’t only help maintain their lightweight, but it also makes them just as sturdy and secure as any composite kayak. So they’re almost as light and strong as composite counterparts, but cheaper.
Kevlar
These kayaks aren’t cheap by any means. But a high-quality kevlar kayak is certainly worth its price, as it’ll probably prove to be the lightest kayak you own.
Kevlar isn’t only lighter than other kayak materials. Its impact resistance is 8x more than ABS, as well. However, some kayakers still prefer composite kayaks, since kevlar kayaks can get heavier with use.
Weather and Water Conditions
Some factors are just out of your control. Water and weather conditions could decide the speed of your kayak before you even set out.
Water Conditions
Calm, flat water makes for faster travel and easier paddling.
Kayaking downstream also guarantees some speed. Add a fast-flowing current to that equation and your kayaking time is halved.
But the weather can also prove a bit of an obstacle. In spring, all of the ice melts into the rivers. This causes the water level to increase. It also causes the river current to go much faster, which increases your kayaking speed.
On the other hand, if the river doesn’t have much of a current at all, you can expect a longer time kayaking a mile.
But what if you aren’t kayaking downstream at all? What if you’re going upstream?
First of all, paddling against the current is extremely exhausting. It’s inevitable that your limbs will tire and eventually become sore. On top of that, it’s going to take much, much longer than paddling downstream.
Weather Conditions
Wind can play a huge role in the time it takes you to kayak a mile. If the weather has decided to help you, you could go at 5 miles per hour.
It mostly depends on the wind direction. You can only imagine how hard it is to paddle downstream while the wind is blasting upstream. Severe head-on winds could paralyze your kayaking at once.
But hey, if the wind is in your favor, you could get a speed boost. That way, you’ll kayak way faster than you’d expect.
Extra Weight on Your Kayak
Kayaking with your dog is one of the best things you could do. But it could significantly affect the time you’d take to kayak a mile.
Hey, we have nothing against dogs. Having kids with you when you’re kayaking could also slow you down. Any extra weight is going to hinder your speed. That includes extra gear.
The Speed of Your Kayak
It all comes back to speed. The faster you are, the less time you’ll take to kayak a mile. We talked about how weather and water could affect speed. We even talked about how the kayak itself could affect speed. But we haven’t talked about how you (yes, you!) could affect the speed.
So How Long Does It Take to Kayak A Mile?
Are you a beginner or have you been at it for a while? Well, a beginner in a recreational run-of-the-mill plastic kayak can paddle 3 miles an hour.
But you should keep in mind that such a kayaker won’t be able to sustain that speed for long. Exhaustion is inevitable. You’ll eventually slow down.
There are other things that will slow you down besides sore limbs. You’ve got your occasional food and water breaks, of course. You’ll also take your time to enjoy the views. Adding all of that, the average speed of the beginner kayak becomes 2 miles an hour.
So: How long does it take to kayak a mile? Realistically, it would take about 30 minutes.
Of course, things could be a little different if you’re using a racing kayak or a sea kayak.
But what if you are an experienced kayaker with a little more stamina. In this case, you could go 5 miles an hour. That means it’ll take you about 12-15 minutes to kayak a mile.
Conclusion
“How long does it take to kayak a mile?” It differs from a person to another. Here’s a good estimate, though. Assuming you’re a fresh-faced beginner, it’s going to take you roughly 30 minutes.
But hey, if you’re willing to put in the time and effort, you can halve that number. Good luck!