Curious if you felt the Aquanaut was pretty slow compared only to the Force boat or to other sea kayaks you've paddled as well?
I've felt that the Aquanaut was pretty fast for a Brit style boat (as is its reputation) while not as fast as a Silhouette, Legend, or Sultan, it seems to handle seas with more aplomb.
I have become keenly aware of how much faster my Nordkapp LV usually feels than my other sea kayaks. By drag figures the Nordlow has among the best drag figures in the 3-4.5 knot range that accounts for much of my paddling. Though my Aquanaut has lower drag than my 'kapp LV at 5-6 knots, I am rarely paddling that fast.
where’s Wilso on this… Sorry. I haven’t been maintaining my spread sheets lately and have not yet entered the data from the SK Force review…
My recollection is that it was pretty similar to the Aquanaut.
Few paddlers paddle at 6 knots (6.9 mph) except in bursts or when racing. My experience is that a quick touring pod averages 4-4.5 knots with bursts to 5 knots or so. So, unless racing, drag at 4-5 knots may be of more consequence than the 6 knot drag figure.
Slower numbers I didn’t bother to post those numbers because there’s never enough difference at those speeds for the boat to matter, if it’s of any sort of typical touring kayak type. It’s just splitting hairs and all up to the paddler in that range.
Other speed factors? While it is true that the drag differences among comparable sea kayaks at under 5 knots seem pretty insignificant, I can feel a difference in acceleration and glide among my kayaks before hitting 5-6 knots.
Less wetted surface yields less drag at slower speeds resulting in quicker accleration. So a short waterline can be quick off the stop. However, it FEELS like my Nordlow takes less effort to maintain 3-4.5 knots than my other boats.
Maybe it’s because you like being in it so much. Puts a spring in your paddling, or something.
Actually, it seems likely the numbers don’t tell the whole story. My understanding is they are predictions for boats going perfectly straight ahead in glass-smooth water. Something they don’t really do, very often. They are just a starting point for comparison.
because you like being in it so much Certainly has an impact!
Actually, there are so many variables that unless racing the drag figures maybe pretty useless.
I started tracking the drag figures after demoing boats and finding that the Aquanaut felt faster than the Explorer and a number of other boats - even though they were all pretty much equivalent boats.
Part of what I found informing was the confirmation of quickness of my Elaho DS (fast off the line) but better ‘speed’ of my Aquanaut (easier to maintain faster pace). The Elaho has much less drag at 2-3 knots, the Aquanaut less at 4.5-6 knots.