It is notoriously hard for people to determine how fast a boat is by just paddling it. One boat may make particular sounds when you are paddling fast and the other boat could make similar sounds at a much lower speed. This could lead one to believe that the second one is faster because it sounds like it going just as fast with less effort. Other factors such as color and seat height can also effect the feeling of speed.

However, it is possible that one boat is easier to paddle than another. Surface texture and hull shape can make a significant difference is paddling efficiency. The difference may even be enough to notice while paddling.

If you really want to know, get a heart rate monitor and some means of measuring speed. The heart rate monitor will help you determine whether you are applying the same amount of power as you measure the speed.

: I recently built a Tern and a Coho - both had many drips down the sheer from
: when I glassed the deck. I have been sanding the Tern in preparation for
: varnishing... the hull is half done.

: My wife usually paddles the Coho, but the other day we had the boats out at a
: lakeside park with some friends, and my wife went out in the Tern.

: She said it felt faster, quote, "substantially faster", than the
: Coho.

: Do you knowledgeable types think this is possible? That there could be so
: much drag from all those imperfections and drips that sanding half the
: hull can produce a perceptible difference in speed?

: I've read somewhere that in order for humans to perceive a change in just
: about anything, it has to change by at least 10%.

: A further contributing factor might be that the Tern is lighter by probably
: five or seven pounds... A, it's shorter, and B, I built it second .

: However, a... a... (what's the opposite of "contribute"?)
: counter-factor is that the Coho is supposedly three or four percent faster
: due to less wetted surface area.