Which is faster Kayak or Canoe?

Question

We are trying to figure out whether to buy a Kayak or a Canoe and we wanted to know which one is faster?

And if anyone knows where you can rent a Kayak and Canoe at the same place in Texas.

Answer 1

If you are going alone, a kayak is faster because it's more lightweight and fits only one. If you are with a group, a canoe is better because you have more power driving the vessel

Answer 2

kayak, dont ever canoe

Answer 3

kayak.

Answer 4

i think a kayak is faster

Answer 5

Depends what size engine is on them, :) lmaorotf hahahaha. Seriously, a Canoe is for more than one person, Kayak's are light-weight, and made for a single person, though you can get 2-man Kayaks. The kayak is faster either way, and easier to manuver. Hope this helped. take care.

Answer 6

In addition to speed, take a good hard look at what you want to use the boats for.  There are great arguments for getting both a kayak and a canoe.  

Keep in mind, if you're looking at a tandem kayak or a tandem canoe, you may want to consider the possibility that maybe two of you don't want to go paddling at the same time?  Then you're stuck in a boat that's too big for  a solo paddler to handle.   Two kayaks might be the answer?

Also, what kind of water are you going to be paddling on?  If you'll be on the gulf coast, then you'll want a kayak for sure. An open canoe (recreational) isn't safe on ocean currents & waves.  You could get an outrigger canoe and then you'd be okay, however.  

If you plan on river tripping, a canoe is a lot easier to load and unload, it has the capacity to carry larger items too.  You aren't limited by kayak hatches, etc.

Just about any paddlesports shop will allow you to demo their boats - and most rent them too.  Try before you buy.  Go in, talk to the sales staff, and read up on the options before you commit to something.  Links below for lots of info!

Edit - And on the question of speed.... I own a pretty fast sea kayak, and I get left in the dirt by friends on 1 man outrigger canoes and surf skis. So, if it's pure speed you want for cardio workouts, go with an outrigger canoe or surfski.  However, you can get a great workout in any boat... just push yourself!

Answer 7

Kayak would be faster.

Answer 8

I can do 1.5 miles an hour solo in canoe.  Having to use a J-stroke so as not to go in circles is less efficient than a simple draw stroke.

With two peole in a canoe, I put the smaller person in the back and have them J-stroke.  The stronger person in front does a draw stroke and they go 2 to 2.5 mph

Solo in the kayak I can do 3 mph all day long.  I can sprint faster, but 3 mph is a good rule of thumb.

In a tandem (or a triple that I built), two people can paddle at 4 mph over the long haul.

So kayaks are differently faster, at least the 16-17 foot singles and 19-foot doubles that are quality touring kayaks, compared to quality 16-18 foot canoes.

Cheap, 10-11 foot kayaks are wider, slower and have more "free board" - dry boat out of the water.  That can catch the wind and slow you down.

But usually your use dictates which craft to use.  If you're going to see waves, you need a closed-deck touring kayak (I've look ahead and not been able to see my boat because the whole deck was covered in a wave momentarily).  

If you going to portage from lake to lake, you need a canoe and all your gear in 2 or 3 big packs.  To store gear in a kayak it has to be in little stuff sacks and that is a pain to take out, portage, put back, repeat.

If you're in a shallow, rocky waters like a shallow river, you need a canoe so you can hop out easily and wrestle it around the rocks.  You do NOT want to keep hopping in and out of a kayak.

If you plan to be out in windy weather, a touring kayak is MUCH closer to water and not effected by wind so much as a canoe is.

If you need to portage a kayak, two people just grab a handle at each end.  You can do that with any kayak.

If you need to portage a canoe any distance, you want it on your shoulders on a "yoke" that is at the exact center of the canoe.  Cheap canoes don't come with those and are a real pain if it is any distance between the car and the water or between bodies of water.

If you want to go fast, kayak over canoe.  And long kayak over short kayak.