[Paddlewise] Speed Trials

I did several 1 nautical mile timed calm water speed trials with each of
various boats.  Here is the average of my best two speeds for each boat:

Mariner Coaster:  4.55 knots
Mariner Express: 4.70 knots
Necky Tesla: 4.82 knots
Seda Glider: 4.99 knots
Seda Impulse: 5.05 knots
CD Solstice GTS: 5.16 knots

As you can see, I have only mediocre strength.  I know that the faster boats
can be driven by a racer considerably faster than 5 knots over longer than
my 1 nm.  I would be interested if any stronger paddler has made similar
timed comparisons.

I found that my sense of which boat was fastest had no relation to the
actual timed data.  I will never use a demo day trial to conclude that a
boat is fast.  I believe that at 4 knots and below there is not a dime's
worth of difference in the efficiency of these boats, but I don't know how
to test this.

Jerry


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