Sorry I'm late to the party...

What I want:
- longer waterline than the Guillemot (which is around 14'6")
- beam no wider than the Guillemot
- good tracking
- fast and responsive
- I don't require lots of storage
I'm 40, weigh 75kg and I'm 5'11" tall.

I have similar requirements: I'm 41, 6'-0" tall and weigh about 75 kg and looking for a long distance touring kayak. I also want it fast and agile.

I started with a Guillemot 14 years ago. I sold it a few years ago and replaced it with a Black Pearl. The BP is a great design but it's a one trick pony. The BP was too restrictive for the paddling I do. Most Greenland kayaks are low to moderate speed cruising designs that evolved from native hunting craft. With such low deck they are simply too low in volume. The ocean cockpits are too tight. My long legs need room to move around a bit. They are great for short day paddles and rolling practice though. With the hard chines and long stem overhangs, they aren't designed for speed. With such low volume you have to get creative packing for any kind of extended trip. The Night Heron and OI are better in some regards but they are still Greenland inspired.

I've built two Njords over the years and it is a great design. It is a fast, sleek kayak. It does share some heritage with the East Greenland kayaks with it's hard chines so it is quite low in volume. I thought about one for myself but in the end I've decided on a Panthera.

The Panthera is inherently a more modern design than the Njord. It's about 9 years newer and is more efficient at both cruising and at higher speeds. It has a surf ski-styled hull so with the rudder o Compared to the Njord it's about the same width and length but is more agile and has better initial and secondary stability. It also has more volume so it's able to swallow cargo (especially in the bow) and yet is still easy to roll.

I've built a slew of race kayaks over the past few years (Wahoos, Sea Racers, Spindrifts, etc) and really appreciate the control you get with a good rudder system attached to a tight peddle system (eg surf ski style footboards). With a loose hull and a good rudder on the stern you can have it track like on rails and concentrate on paddling or you can make it turn on a dime to catch a wave. I was always against rudders because of the inherent complexity they add but these sold me on the principle.

I should be starting my Panthera in a month or so.