Looking at buying a lightweight16 foot sea kayak to paddle round North Queensland Coral Sea. Fairly flat paddling, but can get choppy in wind with a bit of swell. The Boreal Storm 16 looks good in many respects, but looks a bit fish form, and I’m wondering how much the width front of the cockpit would slow it down compared to swede form boats like the Stellar 16 (which I’m considering but concerned about its tippiness). Would the Storm be 5% slower than something like the Stellar, 10% slower? Would this kind of speed penalty be acceptable to get a bit more relaxing stability?
I’ve done a bit of river kayaking - perhaps low intermediate skill - currently own a Bay Sports Expedition Zero (16 foot rotomould), which in my 60s is a bit heavy to lug around. Any advice appreciated.
Sorry, I mistakenly posted in the wrong thread.
I don’t understand. What does “wrong thread” mean?
wrong post, another question listed on the forum.
Valley Nordkapp is fish form. Current Designs Extreme is fish form. You’ll find plenty of fish form kayaks in the faster category, and plenty of swede form in the slower category. There are way too many other variables in the shape of a hull to attribute a whole lot to that.
That said, Stellar makes fast hulls. Speed rises high as a priority in most of the hulls they design, if not all. Racers seem to really latch onto as narrow of an entry as possible where you first plant your forward stroke. Deck cutouts along that placement are even quite popular.
Looking at the Storm 16, it has a fairly steep raking bow shape, so most of its 16’ should be waterline. But given the 16’3" overall length of the Stellar 16 and bow shape, I bet the Stellar has a good 6" longer waterline. I think that will have more to do with speed potential than fish/neutral/swede.
But do we all prefer the fastest kayak given our efforts during our personal paddle. I would say yes if all else could be equal. The kayak handles the same, feels the same, maneuvers the same with identically performed strokes in all conditions, handles wind the same, following seas the same, stability feels exactly the same. etc. But this is never the case.
I wish there were more possibilities for test paddling different kayaks. I think the fit, feel, and performance of these two would feel quite different to you.
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Thanks CF, really helpful. Your question “do we all prefer the fastest kayak” made me think about the importance of the other factors you listed, and I’m perhaps widening the types of kayaks I’m thinking about now. How a kayak will handle the Coral Sea in a 15 knot wind a few kms offshore is indeed perhaps more important than outright speed. I won’t be very fast if I’m tipped over!