[Paddlewise] Speed of Touring Kayaks

I paddle a Dagger Meridian (16'L, 22"W), which is not a fast boat.  I've
paddled several times with a fellow who has a Dagger Sitka (17' 11"L,
22"W).  The Sitka is a little heavier than the Meridian, but he weighs
20-25 lbs. less than I do, so the total paddler+boat+gear weight is less
for him than for me.  His Sitka floats higher in the water than my Meridian
and his potential top speed is higher than mine.  However, my boat is less
affected by crosswinds and it's easy to push along at normal paddling
speeds.

Another paddling friend has an Janautica Anadyr (17' 5"L, 21'W).  The boat
weighs about the same as my Meridian, but again he's 20-25 lbs. lighter
than I am.  When he paddles his Anadyr, he's faster than I am in my
Meridian, but we enjoy paddling together even though I have to work fairly
hard to keep my speed up.  I won't race him, even for fun.  He and his wife
paddle a Wilderness Systems Echo.  I've paddled with them too, a good
workout for me.

Here in the Carolinas, guys are using the Necky Looksha II (20'L, 20"W) for
informal racing.  I appreciate the potential speed of that design, but I
like not having to pay attention to my boat all the time.  I'd hate to stop
to look at a bird and find myself upside down because I got careless.  The
first time I got a positive ID on a pied-billed grebe, the bird and I were
bouncing up and down in a boat wake and I was concentrating on the bird,
not the foot high waves.  I don't know that I could do that in a really
narrow boat.

Bob

--------------------------------------------------
Robert C. Perkins, Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Research and Planning
Methodist College, Fayetteville, NC 28311
910-630-7037     rperkins_at_methodist.edu


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