V8 Speed ?

Hello.I am new to the sport and have an Epic V8.I really like it and have only been out a couple of times so far.The fastest I have been is 6 mph or 9.6 kph.I know it is a slow boat compared to the rest and I have lots of work on technique and conditioning but was wondering what the top speed would be for an elite paddler?This would be for paddling speed only and not surfing.Sort of a goal to work towards.

Hey Mech, I am also relatively new to the sport and currently paddle a V8. I don't paddle the ocean. All of my paddling is flat-water done in a circular protected bay in New York known as Jamaica Bay. The bay has front and back bays. It has a 25 mile perimeter and for the most part all of my paddles are large circles, so I run into varying conditions along the way. Most times the water has a max chop of about 2 1/2 feet with 1 foot and under the most common.

I like to describe my paddling style as sport-touring. I try to fitness paddle 50 to a high of just under a 100 miles a week. I have owned my V8 for just short of a year.

Before that I, for the most part, paddled a South African fishing ski made by Kaskazi, a 65 pound boat that is 25" x 15'8".

I tried to post a snippet of a few days I recently logged on my Garmin, but can't seem to get them to load.

I haven't downloaded my most recent outings but these numbers should give you some info to use as a guideline.

I'm in my early 50's - 5'9 195. I alternate the use of a Onno Large Sprint Wing and his new blade that is sized in between his Sprint Wing and his Mid-Wing.

Dates 6/5, 6/6, 6/7

On 6/5 I paddled 16.65 miles at an average of 5.1 mph max speed 7.5 mph. (11.49 per mile) Winds were 17mph with gusts just over 20.

On 6/6 I paddled 17.4 miles with an average speed of 5.7 mph max speed 8.1 (10:30 per mile) Winds were under 10mph

On 6/7 I paddled 21.44 miles with an average speed of 5.6 mph max speed 8.1( 10:42 per mile) Winds were under 10mph

The fastest average I have ever had was 6.2 - 6.4 mph over a distance of just over 8 miles, on a few perfect, cool, spring mornings.

For me personally, the most accurate -overall average- taken over the course of a month, where conditions on the water vary a great deal, probably runs between 5.1mph and 5.4 mph.

All of the averages above also include periodic stops to drink water out of squirt bottles. I carry three 27 ounce insulated Polar bottles with me. I keep two in front of the foot plate held by a bungee and one in the stock holder. I also usually stop to grab a quick energy snack out of the bag I keep on the back of the boat.

My top speed just about every paddle runs between 7.1 and 8.4 mph in short bursts of 1/4 mile or so...

I have in calm conditions, carried over 6.8 to 7.5 mph for a mile plus distance, with a slow moving tide beneath me and calm winds.

The boat for me seems to top out at in the low 8's.

The fastest I ever clocked in the boat was 12.1 in strong inlet current when I was surprised by a 5-6 ft wake from a large yacht that came up behind me. Now don't get me wrong... No way did I intend to ride that wake and that speed lasted for about ten seconds causing my eyeballs to bulge Wylie Coyote like, outta my head.

Hope this info is helpful.

Thanks FalllGuy.That is a great comparison for me.I am 45 - 5'10" and 200.Even the wave conditions are similar.Like I said,it is just a sort of goal to work towards and to know what is possible and what is not.Thanks.

My pleasure Mech - Glad the info has some value.

Oscar "raced" in the V8 in the steelcase dragonrun in 2010 (and Dean in an XT).
The link to the page is below. The article is half way down the page. I dare say you won't get too much more out of a V8 than with Oscar paddling it.
He finished in 18th only 15 minutes behind first place out eighty something paddlers and averaged 13.89 km/h ( if my maths worked out right)


www.surfski.info/races/asia/item/1233-dr...pl=component&print=1

Oscar's speed of 13.89 kph or 8.63 mph would be the best you could hope for.There was probably some surfing during the race but you still have to paddle.The average seems to be in line with the previous post's data.As you said I doubt many would be faster and if so you are splitting hairs I would think.You aren't far behind Falllguy with your low to mid 8's.Thanks for the link Shady.Now I know the upper limit.

Now, I have to say that it is nice to know that with a breeze at my back, and a mid-tide flowing current running beneath me in my favor... For a few hundred yards, I can almost paddle as fast as Oscar averages over the course of an entire race!

Exactly where do I go to turn in my Viking man card ????

A few weeks ago, one of Epic's local team members passed by me in his V10. I turned my boat to paddle behind him and got her up to 7.5 mph. I was doing my best to keep up. I couldn't keep up the pace that long. I had already paddled a casual 14 miles, but that really didn't matter anyway. I was left in his dust. As a matter of fact, I think I had his rudder marks on my forehead.

Humbling, humiliating to say the least and made me wish I had started the sport 20 years earlier. That's when I realized it wouldn't have mattered if I had, because I probably STILL wouldn't be that good at it!

I think I should have taken up golf!

Falllguy, you don't get fast without practicing paddling fast. This is simply not the kind of paddling you do. You have trained yourself to outlast not to outspeed. Your paddling sounds like something that will keep you fit and sane and injury free for another couple of decades.

You'd lose the golf balls in the water anyway.

"Marieski: You'd lose the golf balls in the water anyway."

Marie, you give me entirely too much credit. I'm a dumb blond guy, I wouldn't even be able to find the Tee! I would walk around for ten minutes looking for it before someone informed me I was supposed to bring my own.

A genuine and sincere thanks for the pep talk Marie.

A 49 year old friend of mine paddled his first race ever this last weekend in the 70km Hiddensee Marathon on the Baltic Sea in mixed conditions and averaged 8,2km/h on his Epic V8 Ultr. This was just easy paddling for someone coming from a non-racing background. In my opinion, an average speed of between 10 - 11km/h is well within reach of us ordinary mortals.

That 8.2 km/h translates to about 5.1 mph; right at the start of the range I posted for long term accumulated average. So I guess that sort of confirms a long distance base number for you Mech.

Also totally agree with your other estimates based on personal experience.

Thanks jbrings for the input.

Lookup the results from the Blackburn Challenge (in MA, USA) or Wye Island Regatta (in MD, USA). There were some V8 paddlers there last year and there will be this year too. The Wye is 12 miles flat water out and back, protected area so a good indicator. On the Blackburn, there is a good deal of tide current going along with you in the first part (as much as 2 mph) and there could be currents and winds and waves on the last 2/3-rds of the race so results don't carry well year to year.

Regardless, IMO an honest 6mph average over 10 miles is a very good result in the V8 for a recreational racer. Someone with very strong physique and endurance training might bring that up to low to mid 6mph.

A V10 Sport is noticeably faster (both in sprint and in long-miles paddling) and the regular V10 or V12 are faster yet (provided you have the balance to paddle them to their full potential in the conditions you paddle in). I'm glad I skipped the V8 and got in the V10 Sport directly - for me it is the perfect compromise, given my skill level. The V8 would have bored me after a few weeks as it is so stable, but it is still a good workout boat, if chasing maximum speed is not the top priority...

Hi.just found this at surfskicenter.com.Close speed match for surfing.Here is a copy of it : Learning curve – if you start with a stable surfski you will dramatically shorten your learning curve. This will help you in a number of ways. First you will be able to practice forward stroke and specific skills a lot easier and more productively and second you will be able to go out at sea and gain experience in conditions that you otherwise wouldn’t be able to paddle in. We made an experiment in Tarifa where Epic V8 showed 26 km/h maximum speed in conditions where V12 showed 28 km/h maximum speed. That proved to us that while we need those extra few km/h speed during racing they are not as important when we practice our downwind skills.