Oh no!
A whole new type of boat to have to select between? Don’t know if the host ISP could handle it…
at the sub 4 knot pace NM
completely different ball game?
Hmm… QCC 700 is really not a race kayak - more of an all arounder/gear hauler that happens to be efficient. If other kayaks are less efficient - well, I wouldn’t call that a different ball game.
Besides, my Greenland style kayak is faster than my QCC.
two separate and distinct sports?
Easy to look at that way, but really there can be a lot of overlap - particularly with some of the kayaks Salty mentioned that are not one trick ponies. Many of us paddling such kayaks do not feel like were on one side or the other of your “distinct” division, while others may.
the only time kayak “speed” is an issue
Hmm… For me it’s not really about group speed or racing (at least not the 95% of the time I paddle solo). It’s more about added fun and safety.
Speed lets me clear busy channels faster, maneuver in traffic more effectively, handle more current and headwind, catch more wave/wake energy, gives me more time cushion on an overall trip - giving me more time for unexpected delays/difficulties or side trips, or whatever…
A faster kayak lets me do all that with less effort. But, as Salty often notes - overall efficiency is not just about speed. That always depends on use and user.
Yes…
One day perahps I will get a surf ski…and a real surf boat as many have suggested. Of course I would still keep my sea kayak as well…
Matt
Slowest paddler
Our local club outings usually have two groups - moderate and lillydippers. If there are some who wish real speed there is a third - the “A-heads.” The lillydippers paddles at the pace of the slowest paddler.
There is a lead and sweep for each group.
Often many of the most skilled paddlers are with the lillydippers both because they are best at rescues and because it affords them an opportunity to play (roll, brace, etc…)
These are not training sessions, but social afterwork paddles.
(Steve & Cindy sold Alder Creek)
That’s where I respectfully disagree
I’m not sure the average sea kayaker can. A good sea kayaker definitely can.
yeppers, again!
sold it in '04.
Confluence Watersports employee now.
steve
maneuverability vs speed plus…
There is speed vs maneuverability. That to me was always of secondary importance to tracking vs maneuverability. That is something that the average paddler can appreciate. Winding through salt marshes or very narrow creeks, my inexperienced “borrow a kayak” friends will prefer my highly maneuverable plastic Dagger Halifax or maybe my Capella. But for most paddles - especially if wind is involved, they prefer my longer boats with better tracking. Of course my Sirius has excellent tracking at 17’, but that again definitely comes at the expense of maneuverability. Again, likely paddler specific. But it’s amazing how frustrating tracking can be if I paddle a Sirius for a couple weeks and switch to the Capella. I should mention that I’m seriously stubborn about never using skegs or rudders - it leaves others scratching their heads oftentimes. On the other hand, the use of either skeg or rudder is also a compromise of guess what?..maneuverability vs. tracking…with maybe a little speed involved? (I’m sure the use of either typically results in a gain in speed due to less control issues)…but I suppose with those you can change your mind as often as you want…2 boats in one if you don’t mind depending on them for tracking.
I will look forward to the day you get
a Neutron, Mako, Surf Machine or some such beast. You think you are analytical now, wait til that happens.
Dogmaticus
Just a comment from the whitewater
perspective… Most ww kayakers have switched to short boats, inevitably slow, because those “new school” boats are best suited for the kind of play and river maneuvers popular these days.
I’ve hung on to my “long” ww kayaks, because the kind of river moves I prefer grow out of my history as a lousy slalom racer. Today’s under 8’ boats not only are slow, they don’t run gates as well, they don’t do eddy turns or ferries with the violent decisiveness I want, and they don’t accelerate or attain very well. But the designers of some of the best short boats, Corran Addison and Eric Jackson, were once Olympic competitors in ww slalom, so they clearly know what I want.
Watching paddlers on my favorite easy training river, it appears that only maybe 20% of them really know how to use short playboats for what they were designed to do. The others are just diddling around, and might be happier in a somewhat longer boat. The market has tried to respond. Jackson Kayaks released the SuperHero, but the first version was a neither-nor. Addison and DragoRossi released the Critical Mass and the Pintail XL, both admired designs for their speed and “larger” behavior.
So, we shall see. Whitewater boats got real short, for some good reasons, but maybe those reasons didn’t apply for all. Design of longer whitewater boats has virtually stagnated, except for slalom boats. Short is good, but not the only answer, and not the answer at all for some.