: Second advantage to the swede form hull is allows a catch for the
: paddle closer to the centerline of the boat, also a reason many
: fast boats have cutaways on the foredeck to allow a more easy
: catch very close to the hull. This makes more of a diference if
: you're using a wing or even a wing stroke with another paddle.
: Btw a GP works great with the wing stroke. My plastic Cobra is
: nothing like the mentioned Rapier (which I can only dream about)
: but the boat where you're feet are and at the catch is about
: 12" wide, very skinny up front.

: Bill H.

Why dream? Get one - mine's for sale -;) I've had grand-total of 1 person test paddle it for the over a year it's been for sale. And that guy was clearly not cuto out for that boat... There is another one in NY that has been for sale for a year before I bought mine ("demo" with some repairs so price was reasonable), that makes it probably over 2 years the guy's been trying to sell - and both our asking prices are reasonable, I think. just not enough market for this type of "transitional racing" kayak - I think folks who would buy one usually either move on to something like a surfski from there for even more speed or give-up on racing.

The narrow catch area makes a huge difference. Since it is long-ish it is not as narrow as your Cobra I guess. Forgot the exact number but it was a few more inches than 12. Still, a lot narrower than most sea kayaks of comparable max width. Surprisingly, my Perception Sonoma 13.5 has about the same width at the catch for me (but I reach half way to the nose of that little thing, where it is skinny -;) ).