What is the fastest PLASTIC kayak on the market. Skip all of the - paddler skill, technique, depends on the conditions, waterline, all relative to the distance of the Sun to Venus, blah, blah, blah…
I’m just curious as to which touring boats are the fastest and can easily cover long distances.
I hear
good things about the Pamlico. Has to do with the gray thing… ;^)
You quote Billy Harris
in your profile. Would that be the paddler?
all I can tell you is what i know
My Cayuga 14 ft paddles at my “all day” pace at 3 to 3.2 MPH according to my GPS. If I put some effort into it, I move about 4 to 4.3. I could paddle that pace about an hour before resting, maybe a bit longer by end of season. For an all out push, I achieved 7.1 MPH on flat water with calm wind. I could put that effort out for about 200 to 500 yards then MUST rest.
I am 54, 210 lbs, fairly good shape from working out regularly, not an iron man, not a couch potato, over 10 years paddling various craft.
I’m assuming…
…it is the paddler. Not sure though. I just appreciated the quote. I Googled Billy Harris and ended up with 4,857,784,378,947,465,246,797,455 search results in .0045 seconds, soooo it could be anyone really. 
Cobra Expedition
plastic fantastic!
Necky Looksha IV
I don’t know about “fastest”. - only God knows that. But fairly fast hull.
The one with the jet engine at the stern
Currently in production?
Probably the Prijon Barracuda.
The kayak with highest LWL/BWL
– Last Updated: Feb-21-08 11:37 AM EST –
I don't know the specs of any of the plastic sea kayaks out there. However, the fastest kayaks made from any material are the most slender kayaks. Slenderness means a relatively narrow width compared to length. More specifically the fastest kayaks have the highest waterline length (LWL) to waterline length beam (LWB) ratios.
I feel you start getting into the fast range when a kayak's LWL/BWL ratio is greater than 9. This is when you can start to ignore hull speed theories as the boat is slender enough easily exceed theoretical hull speed. The higher the LWL/BWL ratio the easier it is for any displacement vessel to exceed theoretical hull speed.
So start looking at the specs of various plastic kayaks. Some seakayaks have ridiculously long overhanging bows and sterns. Their LWL could be 1 - 2 ft shorter than their LOA. Therefore you will need to estimate waterline dimensions based on the overall dimensions usually provided by manufacturers and pictures of the boats. Divide the BWL into the LWL using the same units, the inch is probably the easiest. Compare the results. The higher the number the faster the boat.
This link will bring you to the Sound Rowers website. At the top click on "Boat Classes." There is a list there that shows many popular sea kayaks LWL/BWL ration. The Sound Rowers very wisely uses LWL/BWL ratios to divide their classes. You may be most interested in the kayaks identified as FSK (Fast Sea Kayak) and HPK (High Performance Kayak). I will leave it up to you and others to determine if any of these models are built in plastic.
http://www.soundrowers.org/
Ocean Kayak
Sprinter. Plastic surfski, SOT. Very fast, great boat. No longer imported, but can be found used.
Dagger Cortez. Very fast, no longer made.
Have heard good things about the Prijon Barracuda, never paddled one.
Dagger Cortez
Also didn’t turn. Very fast if you didn’t have to change direction. Deno’d this boat when it was hot and brought it back within half an hour, 10 minutes of which was spent trying to get it just headed back to the barn from a spot that had wind and boat wake and lots of projections like docks.
GK gets 6 knots
out of a Necky Manitou
Fast Plastic
Billy Harris is a pro WW boater… he’s been around for a while.
Valley stands out (at least to me) as one manufacturer who is making some very fast, proven, expedition worthy designs in plastic.
Prijon Barracuda.
– Last Updated: Feb-21-08 12:44 PM EST –
It's been tested and is a proven fact.
Search the archives on Pnet and check reviews. One example:
http://www.paddling.net/message/showThread.html?fid=advice&tid=736358
I adore mine, and the few that own this German waterdart, and that can handle its surly character (Pnetters rroberts, donna1234, julian, kevin1, et cetera) are like a band of fast padding afficianados of blow molded (not rotomolded) plastic. Enjoy!
www.wildnet.com
I'll stop talkin' now.
He’s a punk
I almost put his head in the toilet once Had a hot girlfriend for awhile…she was cool. From a homo-erotic vid I saw some time back I’m not sure which way bro is swingin these days???
Billy is a great guy and fun to be around.
Sprinter was desined by Greg Barton
under agreement with Ocean kayak…as i understand it.
That’s a tough question
and it would have to be answerer by mechanically testing all boats with the same weight paddler on the same water but not by a human paddler whose physical strength and endurance would change enough to effect the results.
Counter-Punk
I’ve never met Billy, but I’ve enjoyed reading his blogs over the years… he often offered a great counter-point to Corran Addison’s otherwise unchecked egomaniacal ramblings.
Not sure if they were fun-poking friends or sworn enemies, but it was always good reading.