: Ruedi,

: Another way to research this is to look at the results of the race you
: mentioned in an earlier post. There were in fact 2 S+G Night Herons at the
: Blackburn. They were in the "Fast Kayak" class and finished 18th
: and 20th out of 20. The design has a lot more potential though. Compare
: the finish time of 3:55:46 with the finish time from a CLC Chesapeake 17
: lt of 3:42:24.

: Theoretically the Chesapeake 17lt should be no match for the Night Heron, but
: 10 minutes is a pretty good gap. I've spent plenty of time comparing this
: boat vs. that boat but in the end... I can only say the numerical nuances
: of surface drag vs. boat length, and # of chines vs. round bilges is all
: just talk. You want to race? Build something and race it. Your fitness
: will determine how well you do. When you reach the limits of the boat you
: are in, then it's time to look for the next one.

: I'm not trying to be harsh, just direct. Back when I built high end bikes it
: was easy to become a bike snob, there is so much hype around every new
: feature or slick widget. We had a saying about wining races, "It's
: not the bike, it's the rider".

: Good luck on you decision.
: Josh

That is very true, the paddler with his/her strength/technique usually is the limiting factor. But there's no point in putting oneself at a disadvantage either. If you only look at Nick's designs the drag for the Night Heron and the Mystery are similiar but the Mystery looks to me to have about a half knot advantage in speed for a similiar effort. That 1/2 knot makes a big difference if everyone else is paddling 20 footers.

Bill H.