: ... in a Zen sense it just feels more one with the water and that inspires
: confidence. Overall, in my case I think it's the lower volume and
: confidence.

Ken,
I'm in the process of memorizing Nick Schade's "The Strip-Built Sea Kayak", and this brings to mind his discussion on design and stability. How, a boat with very stable characteristics in calmer water will seem to be less stable in chop, (considering the abilities of the paddler) compared to a boat that might be considered more "high performance".
Bill
PS
I'm all for the Zen thing!