I am on the slow path towards kayak building. I still have far too many jobs to finish up for me to start a new one, but I have bought and am reading about 12 books of building kayaks and have a general idea of what is done to create certain attributes of different kinds of purposes in the water.
One thing that is universal to all movement and maintenance of speed, (no matter what the machine is) is the fact that speed is a function of input power VS resistance. Be it cars, aircraft, boats, wagons, chariots, running on legs or worms crawling. It’s ALWAYS a matter of input power VS resistance.
Engineers have struggles with these realities for centuries. The idea is very simple. The variables on the other hand get very VERY complex.
And all variables have limits. In engine powered machines a more powerful engine is often looked at. But you can’t simply make an engine larger and larger because larger means more weight for both engine and for what ever housing it is placed inside. Also a larger (meaning heavier) fuel tank also housed in a larger heavier frame. So more power moving more weight often give you the same power to weight ratio, gaining you nothing but loosing you money.
So more power coming from a lighter engine is the focus in many cases. But that produces a whole new set of problems, 1st among them being a cooling system to harness more power without making a larger heat sink. It’s easy to make a very powerful engine that weight very little but it last about 45 minutes before it destroys itself. Some race cars go all-out for second and the engine is rebuilt after every run.
In kayaks we can’t simply make them longer and longer because with length comes weight, and also the realization that at some point you can’t turn such a paddle craft in a practical way. That’s why you can’t buy a 36 foot kayak. And would not if you could. Who is powerful enough to paddle it faster then an 18 foot kayak? No one!
A “more powerful engine” would be a normal size man who would have to be 2X or 3X stronger then any other man. Or if you had a very long kayak that could hold a 600-700 pound man the weight of that man would requite enough surface to float him, meaning a lot more resistance going directly against the man’s power even if he is 3 times stronger than a normal size man. If you end up with the same power to weight ratio there is no advantage gained.
So the reality is that design factors are interesting to discus and hash around, but there is no formula existing to make a perfect kayak for all people, and probably not even for 1 person. Perfection, if it could be attainable for a certain paddler would come off that point of perfection as soon an any one thing was changed (like water surface, wind direction, weight inside the kayak, shifting that weight fore or aft, and about 100 more things that can change and effect not just the kayak but also the paddler.
Remember the paddler is the engine.
If we make 500 cars or airplanes and placed 500 different engines in them (all of which can vary in power, stroke, weight and fuel consumption,) how would we make up an accurate spec sheet?
How “fast” is that model of car or the airplane?
So all kayak makers are unable to give exact information on exactly what speeds and capabilities will be . Think of cars being sold with no engines. You buy one and put in the engine you have at home. Do you think Ford or Dodge or Chevy could tell you how fast it’s going to be?
And speed is just one of several performance factors. There are several others.
Capacity for weight carrying. (Paddler + weight of cargo)
Turning ability.
Overall weight.
Ability to edge and/or roll.
Ease of entry and exit.
Comfort.
Durability.
Longevity.
And probably 10 others I have not thought of at the time of this writing.
I am too young in the sport to know how to speak well to the answers to these design questions.
But I am well educated enough to see the QUESTIONS clearly. And for all of them I see I expect there are still some I have not yet seen.
But learning is part of the fun for me.
