Waverider: What paddle are you using..... We aren’t racing anyone, anywhere, however one of our favorite pastimes when we are out and about traveling around the country is following rivers when we are traveling, been doin that since my teens in the BSA on canoes. All our 6 kids are in their 30’s and forty’s now with their own familes so it’s now just wife and I, she knows how much I love this kind of stuff so she rides along to keep me company, (appreciated very much), however there is a huge difference in our physical abilities, ( she pedals/ paddles very little, if at all). So it ends up me mostly peddling 90% of the time up to around ten hours, (and paddling when it’s too shallow, yea she does help paddle). We like the Tandem Island kayak because it glides and tracks very well and it takes very little energy to meander great distances with just me pedaling, ( not tryin to win any races at all). We only day trip, and always return to our RV at night (AC). We are also avid kayak sailers, and have never taken a hobie out without a kayak sail strapped to the side of the boat, if we find wind we use it, but to be honest that’s really seldom, (most of the rivers are tiny and wooded, no wind). BTW, it’s not the Hobie kayak sail, which is way too small for such a big boat, ( we use a furlable 33sq ft wing sail when kayaking), almost never used inland. Obviously if were on lake powell, bull shoals, great lakes, and oceans, were not out there kayaking, we use the fully rigged sailboat, it breaks down to about half and half, when kayaking all the extra crap stays back at the campground. We enjoy both. We used to have singles, but wife would get exhausted and I had to always tow her the ten miles or so back to launch, so we only use tandems now. We have pedaled, and tried to paddle, ( with drives removed), in our experience the difference in energy consumption is like night and day for us, distance traveled and cruise speeds for us are dramatically different. We are using the hobie double ended paddles. That’s my question for you, what paddle are you using to get such dramatic different results from us, ( don’t tell me it’s technique, I’ve been paddling most of my life). Granted I have a very bad back now that has got worse recently, so now I’m handycapped, can’t paddle much anymore, , (back can’t take it, but I can still pedal up a storm), but that’s only recent. What’s your secret..... FE Edit: BTW our hull is massively modified with all underwater interruptions removed, (scupper holes, extra mirage drive slots,etc), and the hull is finished with a special hydrophobic slick coating. When kayaking we run the rudder locked up 20-25 degrees from horizontal, so just the rudder front edge is in the water, kayak steers fine. The center/dagger board is taped over when kayaking. We also have a modified removable planing hull mod, that allows the sailboat to plane at higher speeds, but that’s always removed when kayaking. In kayak mode the bare 2012 TI kayak weighed a tad over 100 lbs, ( mostly car topped when traveling). We don’t use our flow-90, (eclipse) fins when kayaking, but our glide turbo drives are tuned, ( per Roadrunners guidance). Even with all that I can’t do what you do, ( lol)
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