TT Kayaking Club

“Just wondering, If someone of pretty good physical shape (me) goes out on flat water (river) and paddels all day in a Kayak, What would be an estimated amout of miles that could be covered? 8 miles, 30 miles, 60 miles?

I've been studying some of the local rivers and making plans for when I get my kayak.”

“WD, me guitar palying amigo, depends on how strong the current is, how many long still pools, if you're going against or with the wind, but 8-12 miles average.... including stops to eat lunch and play in the water a little. you could prolly do more if you power-paddled, but you wouldn't enjoy the scenery much, which to me is the reason you are out there.


take lots of beer and don't allow snakes to climb into the boat with you....... just a tip”

“I think it would also depend on the kayak and the current but 4 mph average seems almost like a minimum.”

“A river with moderate current I would geuss about 3-5 mph. We covered 20-22 miles in 5 hours including breaks last year. We were on a 4 day trip and the water was pretty high and fast. We didnt push it too hard, just a steady pace. Open water is lots more iffy, wind,waves make for potential slow travel.

I bet 12-18 miles per day would be pretty doable for ya. The more comfortable and familiar you get with your boat etc...the faster you'll get.”

“Thanks for the input.
I figure I'll paddle about like I hike (mostly non stop). The main River I plan to hit (Stones River) is slow moving and about 100 - 150 across. The kayak I'm going to get is a Heritage Featherlite. It's a 9 foot recreational boat.
20 - 30 miles a day seems about once I get used to paddeling. I figure over time I could do more.”

“I paddled about 70 miles on the Current River in MO last summer. It flows pretty good so 20-25 miles was an easy day with plenty of stopping and loafing. I once did 20 miles on the Brazos River here in TX, which doesn't flow, in 9 hours with lots of stops and scenery enjoying. Actually had to paddle the Brazos as opposed to mostly just steering on the Current.

My normal lake paddles are 12 miles in 3 hours, including at least one good break and scenery enjoying. That's in my >14' boats that have cruising speeds around 5 mph. I'm probably not in better shape than walkindude.

Last week I kayaked to a backpacking destination on Lake Texoma so I could bring 4 gallons of drinking water and a camp chair. It was a combination kayaking and hiking trip.”

“yesterday, i put my yak in the river about 8:30 am and paddled up stream from rum island to the 27 bridge and back to the house at 12:30 am....i am not sure of the mileage...(details ,details...heh) but i think it is about 3 miles one way.
i ran into 3 successful fishermen along the way...2 osprey and one red shouldered hawk....all flew over me on the river ...each with a nice sized fish dangling from their talons....beautiful sight.
only saw one otter and two deer in the woods before the saturday paddling traffic got going ...
it was a beauty of a day...
the azaleas are in full bloom , and the blue eyed grass is making carpets.....”

“oh yeah, my kayak does not have a big cockpit and my dog , who does not fit in there , decided that he wanted to go with me...he ran along the shore/woods the entire distance, going in the water and swimming behind me occasionally...i couldnt believe he did that....what an athelete...people were all amazed.......taking the dog for a hike has taken on a new dimension...”

“sounds nice om.

I found a place down here where me and the kids can rent yaks for a day trip really reasonable - on the Loxahatchee River. Prolly gonna do that in a couple of weeks. I think they plan on going 8-9 miles in a 5 hour trip, including lunch break and a little play time.”

“sounds like a cool dog! he wanted to go!”

“Dude I bet you'll have no problems doing that kinda mileage. Just make sure you learn to paddle correctly or else you'll tear your shoulders up going that far.”

“and join the TT kayak club! When summer hits the upstate of SC it's just too hot to go BPing. But if my son and I had kayaks we could camp up on Lake Jocassee.”

“Can anyone recommend a good paddle?
Binkley only has one at the store now and it seems kinda heavy. I really don't want to spend a ton of money though. Maybe $100 at the most.


Om, Which Dog ran along beside you? Luna?”

“ya'll obviously don't drink enough beer.....”

“I'm a Sobe drinker. Since It's getting hot out now I'm a gatorade junkie.
I lasted about 15 mins cutting the grass but the heat got me. Screw it, I'll finish later today.”

“Walkindude, I have a paddle by "bending branches". It is a wood laminate with a carbon fiber coupler inthe middle. It was $100 even and I am WAY happy with it. Certainly not the lightest but not heavy at all. A good middle of the road setup.”

“Thanks Birch. I'll look it up.”

“om finally defeated the "rapids"!

walkindude, that is one stumpy little boat. once you start using it a few times, i think you will be sick of it. i'd look at something a bit longer for cruising in.”

“You're prolly right Rad. I don't think it's the boat to drive to Cumberland Island but for most of my intended uses here, I think it'll work out good.”

“raddy, lol, portaged up the rapids, or actually got out and waded and pulled the boat....there are two sets you know, one right after poe springs....almost made it thru those, but, got out and pulled again...it was time for a swim anyway, ...they sure were fun on the way back ....

walkindude, sigh....luna runs with me all the time now, but she crossed over the rainbow bridge about a year ago... i have a handsome new sweetie boy, Chakra. (Pirate is too old, he turned back at rum island...)...oh, and that was 12:30 pm when i got back...not 12;30 am...lol, i aint that slow..”

“solitary hiker....get one with a nice dry hatch to store your bping gear.....backyaking...its a beautiful thing.....

roam....be careful, you will get hooked....if they have kayak demo days down there...go...”

“Sniff, I didnt get to kayak this weekend, but I did get to start my garden!

not the same thing but it sure felt great just to be out in the sun!”

“Just bought it at Binks Outfitters today! Can't wait to try it out!

picture 1


picture 2”

“Excellent news, dude!! Can't wait to bring mine down to TN for a weekend.”

“Susan just came home and saw mine and said she want's one too. Looks like I'll be going back to Bink's again soon. LOL!!!”

“Hay Walkindude

How the hell you been! The Kayak
looks cool. I have been reading up on them and looking to get one
as well. I can\'t swim I just want one so I can join the club... Just kidding. I have been tring to figur out where I should start. I have never been in a Kayak just canoes . Maybe you all can give me some good advice.”

“Bring it up to the North Woods, WD, and you'll never run out of places to paddle it. Have fun and keep Susan happy -- get her boat tomorrow!

Really, it has been great for me and Reino to have our own boats. A much different dynamic on the water than being at either end of a tandem canoe.”

“Kewl Walkindude!!!!

I approve! It's UltraLight!!! ;-)

It will paddle a whole lot easyer on the water than on the grass in your yard!”

“om - you have mail!!!”

“Congrats dude! You are gonna love it! We are heading out again saturday for another paddle, cant wait!”

“Now I gotta go buy a life jacket. I think it's a law here ya gotta have one in the boat.”

“Definately wear a PFD with a kayak. Its needed wether or not its required by law. I dont use one in my canoe though. Dont skimp on the PFD make sure you simulate paddling in the vest and wear it a bit before you buy. I thought I picked a comfy PFD and 4 hours into a 4 days trip it began to rub my neck badly.Fortunately I had a role of electrical tape in my reapir kit and was able to fix the probmlem. It sucks to find a problem like that during a trip. Oh yeah, a couple mesh pockets up front are reall nice.”

“Congrats Walkindude! Just in time for spring. Have fun!”

“Thanks for the advice Joe. I'll do that.”

“I feel like that dude in the car comercial that keeps going out to the garage to look at his new car.

I can't wait to hop in the kayak and cruise the river!”

“Just raid the neighbor's pool. They should understand.”

“Awesome...that seat likes nice and cozy!”

“We have a small creek behind the house and I plan to play in it but it's kinda low right now.
I should be able to take it out Sunday afternoon.”

“Just bought my brother a 10.5' recreational kayak from Costco as an early b-day present. He was pretty excited last night when I gave it to him.

It's called a Rhumba. But, according to something I read on paddling.net, it's actually a Dagger Bayou "renamed" for sale in the discount store market.

It's red/orange and came w/ a Harmony nylon spray skirt and paddle. The whole set-up was $320!”

“T, ya coming tomorrow?”

“I'm a maybe...Funeral. :-(”

“yay dude! love that green! i have been eyeing one of those heritage yaks down at the Great OUtdoors in high springs...they have one just a little bit longer with a dry hatch...great price...i need a second one for "visitors" to use down here.....

so...................when ya gonna come do the santa fe and itchetuknee????? huh? huh? huh?


stompers...i got it...”

“Artex, got any suggestions for a trip?

I'd be willing to make a drive so that we could meet in the middle or somesuchthing. I can look in my books for some ideas. I'm long overdue (it's been a month) for a kayak overnighter.

The weather's too nice to waste.”

“Now that I got a Yak, I'm ready to head back to Florida and plop it in the water. Any Florida Yak trips comming up?”

“Took the new Kayak out this afternoon for its first trip. Round trip was about 5 miles. It went a bit slower than I thought but the work out was Great! I started out going upstream so the return trip would be easier. I'm working on Section Paddleing the Stones River.”

“I've got plenty of trips I like to do, dude. Day trips and overnighters both. Let me know what interests you (barrier islands, rivers, spring runs...) and we can make plans. I haven't been out for a month and the weather here is perfect for a trip. I have a number of books on paddling Florida. Day trip, overnight, ocean, river, springs; let me know and I'll make some suggestions. The Itchetucknee is a crystal clear river that runs for about 7 miles. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day the tubers take it over. Now, it's mostly deserted. It makes a great day trip. Cedar Key makes a great trip if you like barrier islands. The Juniper Springs run is a unique trip. It takes about five hours and you can camp there. The Suwannee has lots of day and overnight options. There's nothing like camping out on a white sand bar on a tanic river. These are just a few options.”

“Dude, the procedure is to graciously give this kayak to your wife and go buy yourself something more sporty with hatches for camping out of. A Perception Carolina would be a nice start - they are easy to find. Or you could buy the sit-on-top I'm trying to sell...”

“Hey Dude, wanna go kayaking over Memorial Day? The Manistee river's moving fast.....Last year steering through the trees and stuff was a small challenge. It'd be a great time for you to learn about the MMer "point system".”

“Hey arclite, later this summer I plan on joining this club too, maybe sooner if the bonus comes through but anyway, I live south of you - when I get the boat, I'll give you a shout! Tubed the Itchnetucknee (sp) last summer with some scouts, it'd be a great paddle, as would dozens of other places down here.”

“Sass
Thanks for the invitation but I'm not allowed to go on Holidays. I do plan to get up there again this year though.”