: Interesting reading... But, a lot of talk and very few tests. So
: many people have bidarkas, that IMO if these craft could plane
: in the true sense of the word and travel at 8 knots under human
: power alone (for any amount of time exceeding a short 30 seconds
: sprint), I think we would have heard about it.

The only way a kayak can achieve a plane, riding on the surface of the water rather than plowing thru it, is surfing on a wave. The human body can't produce the required power to plane a normal kayak. It's done on very rare occasion with hydrofoils for fairly short distances, but that's a completely different machine.

Most kayaks padding at 5 to 6 knots (assuming the speed reading is accurate and in knots and not mph) even long ones are right at hull speed and they will be producing a large bow and stern wave doing that, the waves are an indication that you're either approaching or have achieved hull speed.

Bill H.