Regarding this length question. With any of the modern designers designs, unless you are intending to play in the waves a lot, I wouldn't bother with anything less than a 15 ft waterline, unless the paddler is small, under about 130lbs.

I go out with paddlers of varying skill levels a lot and I find the paddlers in the short boats tend to hold up the party. This is partly because the shorter boats often tend to be designed with recreation in mind, rather than fluid dynamics, and are often wider and flatter, but not always.

I don't think the extra foot of waterline actually adds that much drag, all other things being equal, because smaller paddlers are displacing less of the hull.

The problem that smaller paddlers face is that they don't displace the bigger boats to their intended waterline, and the boats are obviously responding differently for them than they are intended to. Weather cocking can be one of these symptoms, especially if the boat has a fair bit or rocker and the rear keel section is not properly in the water. The NORTH STAR for instance, which although it has substantial freeboard and rocker, is normally very directionally stable, but it is really not intended for a lightweight, and won't track well for a small person. That is obviously why Rob developed the FIRE STAR. This is an extreme example, but it illustrates my point.

There seem to be many designs available for normal sized and larger paddlers. The choice seems to be slightly more limited for smaller folk, but there do seem to be some nice options for them too. I have said it before on my website: When choosing a design, once intended use has been considered, make appropriate volume one of your primary considerations.

Et