: -------------------------------------

: To bore you a little more with my long winded opinions

: Extract from my website

: Some thoughts on design. If you are about to spend months building a boat you
: want to choose the right one. Consider where you will use it and consider
: your size and weight. See below about volume.

: Building your own is a very good way to get a brand new quality custom boat
: (for not too much money) that draws a lot attention.

: I have found, while touring in groups, or alone over distances, that
: variations in hull-form affect stability far more than they affect speed.
: Unless one is entering a race, where absolute-hull-speed may become an
: issue, the differences in effort to speed ratios of genuine sea-kayaks at
: touring speeds are really not that great.

: A little more or less rocker, length, V, or beam, will effect the tracking,
: turning and stability of the boat far more than they will the speed. At
: touring speeds a couple of minutes in the hour may be all the difference
: between one boat and another of quite differing shapes and behavior. The
: length of your paddle and shape of the blade, your posture and cadence and
: the refinement of your stroke, relaxed adaptation to the sea state and
: taking proper advantage of following seas, may make a far more marked
: difference to your speed and apparent stamina over long distances than
: simply changing boats.

: In fact I have noticed at times that people in 'faster' boats, when they
: encounter rough conditions, can get tense, and may end up expending
: valuable energy in apprehension. They may also be less willing to stop to
: enjoy the view, take a photo, or wait for back-markers (in a narrow boat
: movement equals balance).

: My beautiful speed machine gets far less time on the water than any of my
: other boats. I hardly ever use it while out alone and when I am using it
: in a group I have to wait around anyway for people to catch up. In rough
: conditions this is not always comfortable.

: If one is out on one's own, as I often am, then a boat in which one feels
: really confident, and which you know will see you comfortably through an
: unexpected rough patch, allows one to explore more widely and stay more
: relaxed.

: With this in mind I have come to believe that a sea-kayak that
: "fits" is crucial when choosing a design. What this boils down
: to is "getting the volume right". If the paddler is too heavy or
: too light or too tall or too short for the boat it will not behave in the
: way it is designed to. Actually this goes for paddles too. A longer or
: more buoyant boat will require a longer paddle, which a smaller, slighter
: person will find requires more leverage than they are built to exert
: easily.

: Finally I should mention that, though I have paddled on and off all my life,
: I have only paddled commercially manufactured sea-kayaks twice in my
: entire life for perhaps 10 minutes in calm conditions, and one was a low
: volume affair that I could barely squeeze into. So I have absolutely no
: common objective yardstick against which to measure my home made boats,
: Although I have often paddled in the company of commercial boats.

: I would suggest that whoever the designer of your choice is. Grab them by the
: collar and explain your expected use for the boat as well as all your
: vital statistics, Including experience. They will be able to steer you in
: the direction of your ideal boat.

: Et

Hi Et,

I used to say that, until I started paddling skinnier boats. Now I find many boats that are ok for speed and a few that are fairly quick or easier to paddle at a given speed.

You live in the land of NDK (nigel dennis kayaks) or at least alot closer than I, if you get a chance give the orriginal Greenlander a try. Yes the round cockpit take a couple minutes to get used to, but the boat is surprisingly quick. The Greenlander pro or race are also quick, but they look quick

Bill H.