Canoe Travel Times

[SctDad]

Does anyone know of an average travel time in a canoe. We are working on a trip and are looking for some information on how to calculate the trave time. Any help would be appreciated.

[dg98adams]

~River speed (fast or slow)?

 

Type of trip (fishing along the way = slow, new paddlers = zigzag, fully loaded for overnight+)

 

Our Troop (new + experienced with swimming along the way) can do 15+ miles in 6-8 hours without portages.

[Beavah]

Yah, Sctdad, I reckon we need a bit more info, eh? Name of river or lake, time of year, expected wind & weather, type of canoe and whether or not it's loaded and how heavily, size and experience of paddlers.

 

Hard to give yeh anything useful without all that.

[perdidochas]

Best thing is to get local information.

[The Blancmange]

Like everyone else said, it depends most importantly on whether you are paddling flatwater or current. On a moderate downstream current, 4 mph might be a good estimate. On flatwater, with relative novices, 2-3 mph might be a good expectation. Will you have portages, if so, how long and will you be single or double portaging? Post some more details and you may get a better answer.

[boomerscout]

with new canoeists on flat water about 2 mph. semi-experienced should be able to do 3 mph with a total travel of 12 - 15 miles max.

In places such as the Boundary Waters, where you need to carry over the portages, figure 6 - 12 miles per day.

these figures will allow you time to set-up & break camp, cook, maybe enjoy some scenery

[SctDad]

OK here is some information

 

It is a moving river, can be fast at times, but is normally moderate in speed.

 

We are looking at just doing a day trip, so there will be no real need to take a lot of gear.

 

There are also no portages. the river is pretty much open and moving.

[LIBob]

This website indicates and extreme canoeist using state of the art canoes averages 4.5 mph.

http://wayfarer.fit2paddle.com/speed-test.htm

 

These two indicate paddlers on the Delaware average 1.5 to 2.5 mph

http://www.nps.gov/upde/planyourvisit/planningrivertrip.htm

http://www.moon.com/destinations/philadelphia/excursions-philadelphia/bucks-county/recreation/water-sports-the-delaware-river

 

 

[boomerscout]

what river? where?

[Stosh]

If you rent canoes from a local outfitter by that particular river they would be able to tell you how long the average time would be after you give them in and out locations. Even if you don't rent from them, most are glad to help you with that information. Some outfitters even have brochures with maps that give that information they would be glad to hand out/send to you.

 

I'm sure the boys could do a little leg work on this and come up with some information.

 

Stosh

[nldscout]

We ran river trips for the Scouts in our council for years. Some years with over 300 scouts and leaders canoeing. Moderate rivers with little gear. We figured 12-15 Miles was a good trip. That included time for fishing, lunch and just a good day.

 

If your interested in Just paddling and you have experianced scouts you can easily do 25-30 miles. But where is the fun in just paddleing.

 

 

[SctDad]

The river is the Neuse River in Wayne and Lenoir COunties in NC

[boomerscout]

I've been informed the book "Paddling Eastern North Carolina" by Paul Ferguson divides the river into time & distance sections.

You might try contacting the Carolina Canoe Club

http://www.carolinacanoeclub.org/

their contact link is at the lower left of their home page

[Oak Tree]

It will depend on the level of the river. After heavy rains, the Neuse can move pretty quickly. Other times, fairly slow.

 

River level has been dropping over the past few days: http://epec.saw.usace.army.mil/dsslneu2.txt

 

I'd guess the current is maybe 1.0 to 1.5 mph. I can easily paddle upstream in a two-man canoe even if I'm the only one paddling. I'd estimate for younger Scouts that they could paddle 2 mph. There's not too much in the way of places to stop, but you could pull out at a boat ramp for lunch.

 

I'm with nldscout - I'd think that 12-15 miles would be a good day trip. That would be about 5 hours of paddling. I've done 25 miles in a day - it's definitely doable, but you want the trip to be fun, and not have to get to the point where you feel like a forced march to get to the end. It'll depend a lot on how skilled your Scouts are. You have to plan according to how fast your slowest canoe will go.

[eagle90]

We just did a 13 miles trip on the Kankakee River in northern Illinois a few weeks ago. The river was fairly still, just a slight current. Had scouts of all ages, including new crossovers. We put in at 10:00 AM,stopped for probably 30 minutes for lunch, and were done at 2:30 PM. So I guess a little over 3 miles per hour. That was with 26 canoes!

 

Dale