I'd agree... and the way I read it, Dyson agrees, too. He brings up the subject of required horsepower and questions the likelihood of a paddler (Aleut or otherwise) sustaining that speed over a lengthy period of time, at least in calm water. Then there's the weather... wave action... flexibility of the frame... and a lot of math that I quite frankly skimmed over. There does seem to be a lot of variables and speculation regarding the subject.

With all the engineering schools with crew teams (RIT & RPI, at the very least), I'd be surprised if someone hasn't researched a baidarka in an attempt to create a faster shell. If it had worked out... well... we'd probably see more racing shells with baidarka features.