Discussion: Canoe cadence

What would be a good race pace cadence for canoeing with kayak paddles? Let's say that every stroke on the left side is one repetition, we get about 7 strokes every 10 seconds, so about 42RPM. Should the strokes be quick and light or slower with more power? Assuming open water paddling. We're using Epic small mid wing paddles and average 4.7MPH in an Old Town canoe.

I think you're exceeding the max efficient hull speed by about 10%... so you're definitely doing something wrong. :-)

Varies hugely based on the race distance and the waters you are in.

MCOS is the man for stroke rates but in general we find that in SOT's we can pretty much top out the hull speed with a solid 38 -40 spm on flat water. For long endurance stuff I prefer a longer more powerful stroke at about 34spm (I sit in the rear), I'm personally not one for tippy tappy paddle strokes.

Now that I think about it, I believe our rate is closer to 35 SPM. I went and measured the canoe and guestimated that the waterline is 14.5ft putting our theoretical displacement hull speed at 5.85MPH...quite a ways to go to get to those kind of speeds :(

Quality and not quantity.