I had a chance to spend some time in 5-7' breaking surf on Lake Michigan in my Night Heron last weekend. Observations- everyone complained how their britboats and BBKs were hard to push through on the way out. My NH wasn't. Maybe mine has a better motor, but I doubt it. I was surprised how it rose and popped right through foam piles atop very steep waves. No drama or excessive splashing going into the trough on the back side. Others were struggling to catch rides, and my kayak shot off without much effort on my part, and needed very little correction along the way.

Good designs are good designs. Whenever you hear someone, particularly someone trying to sell you something, that any given design is the best in all conditions consider very carefully what they're saying, because it's probably not true. NH doesn't have the overhangs of a black pearl, but also doesn't have the plumb bow of an Epic. Moderation seems to help the design do a lot of things pretty well. Having a plumb bow alone doesn't make an Epic a good performer any more than having the same tires as a ferrari will make my passat wagon perform like a ferrari.

m