What is a good sustained MPH on a calm day like today? I was going a smooth 2mph

Wow. That question is going to have answers all over the place. When i paddled a santa cruz raptor i held 3.5-4mph, my viking reload and 440 are even between 5-5.5mph. My stealth fisha 500 is easy to keep around 6.5-7 and top speed just above 10 mph. All boats are going to be different based on hull design and width, length of kayak etc. Example, i used to paddle the santa cruz raptor and even did a 5k race in it and finished in 30min 11sec. When the new model the g2 came out it cut my speed in half. When the kayak had any weight in it at all it was slower than a feel free. Lol. Master good paddle tecnique and just go with the flow.

All depends on the kayak, paddle, how big you are and how much gear you have.
I have the jackson coosa hd and an inexpensive paddle. I am about 220. With a lot of gear and on a calm day can sustain about 2.5mph.
My priorities are stability and gear space. Do sacrifice being able to fish some places because of the time it would take to get there and back.
Planning on upgrading my paddle which should help.

Just a thought, for those who are looking for a new paddle...the werner paddles with carbon shaft and glass blades are imo the best buy. They are super light and strong. I swing the corryvreckyn and the ikleos, both all carbon. The ikelos only comes all carbon but the corryvreckyn is availible with glass blades for right around 230 i think. Best paddle made. Not plugging them for any other reason than its a great product at a great price. Its funny. I had the glass blade corryvreckyn, sold it to get the all carbon and only saved an ounce. Hardly worth the extra 150.

I asked this question because. I went out yesterday and on my way back. I wanted to really focus on my MPH. I am a 225 lbs a Field and Stream Shadow Kayak. A fair amount of gear. With me just doing a normal stroke not over working myself. I was running about 2.00 to 2.55. This was the furthest I had ever been out on my kayak. I went about a mile out. It was kinda nice. I was just curious. At no time did I feel Like it was going to be a problem getting back. (thank You 24 Hour Fitness LOL)

I've been kayaking for many years, and in that time I haven't seen but maybe one race, and that was a very short lived one!
I myself went up against a Tarpon 140 in my old slow but steady Ocean Kayak, but my competitor didn't know he was in a race, only that I was just trying like heck trying to keep up with him.
I imagine he was fresh and not as winded as I was when we got to our 1 1/2 mile destination.
I kept pace with him, but that was the only victory I could claim that day, and from then on it was always slow and steady wins the race.
If speed is what you need or want, there are plenty of kayaks out there now to choose from that fit that need nicely.
We have more choices today than we ever had back in the day when I first started into the sport.

Jimbo I'm hear ya. I rarely want to know how fast I'm going. I'm going to get there when I get there. For me distance is more important the how fast I'm going. That said when I'm swinging a slow steady stroke in my Viking 400 my buddy falls behind in his Outback pedaling at a normal pace. Weight makes a huge difference in kayaks.

That 400....man that is one kayak with instant "get up and go" great kayak.

I figure I do a focused cruise in my Commander 140, taking any wind or current out of the picture, I’m estimating around 3.5/mph. Focused Cruise means I want to get somewhere, but nothing is on fire or there’s not a monster chasing me. I sit on the high bench rather than down low. The Tarpon 140 I have is at least a half a mile faster for the same effort. A focused cruise is what I might do starting out to get to some distant spot or maybe on a long paddle back to the launch. Pretty much all business and something I can sustain for a long time. If I push myself much above that zone, I risk getting blown out and ultimately get to my destination slower.

When I’ve got a mile or two to cover without any fishing or scouting in between, I’ll work on my form and do sort of intervals of a little extra effort and then dial it back just a bit rather than trying to maintain the exact same pace and effort throughout. It’s freaking monotonous trying to go a long way at exactly the same effort throughout. I think it’s good to sort of blow out the soot a little and push hard for a sustained period, but then understand when to back off just a bit. I can’t run any more for how truly messed up my joints are (one replaced hip and the other one is nearing a replacement), but back when I did run a little, I’d do intervals and sort of do the same thing, maybe a mile at one pace and the next one 20-30 seconds faster. There’s always something held in reserve until maybe approaching the end if you are trying to win something. There’s the aerobic zone and anaerobic zone above that. People can stay in the aerobic zone for long periods, but only remain anaerobic for short bursts. An all out sprint is anaerobic.

One time, I was going to this distant marsh (2 plus miles from the launch) and there’s one spot that won’t accommodate more than one or two people, but was a real hotspot for flounder. There is miles of water, redfish and flounder water beyond, but a narrow small spot 50-75 yards long max by 20-30 feet wide with the best of the flat fish fishing. I’d gone out just a little from the launch and was fishing just a bit and I see a couple of kayaks coming up from behind, focused and obviously heading somewhere. Based on the heading I believed they were intent on the same place I was going. I was 100 yards in the lead, put down my rod and I put it in high Cruise for the entire time after. I got to the spot first and had been fishing just a moment when they came up. One guy said “ I saw your Commander and figured we’d blow right by you (they were in something just as long and more sleek), never knew those Commanders were so fast”. Little did he know or maybe he did, but I’d pushed it right to the edge of that aerobic/anaerobic boundary. They went on and began fishing the water around the bend and just outside the hot spot and eventually onto to the miles of water beyond, but I still believe that it was the place I was staked out that was the one they wanted to get to before me and claim. I’ll usually just go fish somewhere else rather than fish shoulder to shoulder, but on that day, I launched first and wasn’t going to give up my spot without a battle, even if my slightly less sleek kayak might have been a little bit of a handicap.

Thanks Guys. Not that I am trying to win a race. I was just curious. Because with a calm wind and normal smooth stroke I was hitting 2-2.5 MPH. Just building up my confidence
on how far I go out. I am still learning my Kayak limit. I know my on land body limits but that changes while on the water. I Know it will take some time but I am excited to get into this hobby.

christian, jerry: Any idea of a speed comparison between a Profish 400 and a Tarpon 140? Those are the two yaks I would replace my current yak with. I'm short and weigh about 155, or I would be interested in a Reload or T160(can't reach important things) IslandJim

Jim I've only paddled the 140 briefly. Honestly I went about 50 yards and found it too tippy for me. I'm 6' 210 and don't have great agility at least when it comes to being in a kayak. The Profish 400 is a breeze to paddle. I love the huge center hatch. I can fit the tackle I could ever want in there whether I'm inshore or offshore. The rear tank well is huge. My 42" fish bag fits behind the seat. The stability is awesome. A couple months ago I had caught a redfish and netted it and layed it in the boat. I was sitting sidesaddle and about to put the red in the bag when I noticed another red pushing wake. Made a cast and hooked up. While reeling the 2nd red in the 1st red that was still in the net laying in the kayak started flopping around and went into the water with my net. I lunged toward the water and was able to grab my net and the red. After landing the 2nd red I realized I had almost flipped the kayak. The entire side of it was under water and water was up to the center hatch. But it didn't flip even tho it was half under water. For me the combination of speed, stablity, weight (63 lbs) and layout the Profish 400 is almost the perfect kayak- especially for fishing the marsh.

Ryan Ford had one for sale just like mine for $600 and I almost bought it just for a back up but I don't have room to store another kayak without keeping it outside so I passed.

The 400 is quick. It is faster than most fishing kayaks but its sustained speed is slower than say my 440. But as far as the hole shot the 400 will just plain smoke. Its not a tippy boat like most fast yaks.

I may have a buddy selling his reload.

Too bad the 440 is not available in the USA.