nigel foster legend vsQCC700

Hello and thank you all so much for the input on my faster boat post.Now i would like to know which boat is faster and which is more stable.I would like it if the faster boat was also more stable,has i am sure anyone would.But speed is what i realy want speed and glide.I have come down to these boats mainly because of price the QCC700 is fairly cheep compared to other boats in this class.And if i go with the legend well its going to at a very good price About 1500. new.thanks again for the help

Brad

QCC 700…
bradford, I LOVE the Legend and if I had a choice, I’d pick it in a heartbeat over the QCC 700 but I also enjoy more challenging kayaks in regards to stability. If you didn’t see my other post in your thread, there is currently a Legend for sale for $1200 on the QajaqUSA website. http://www.qajaqusa.org/cgi-bin/GreenlandCommercialForum_config.pl/read/1210



Now that’s a bargain even if you have to ship it! With that said, the QCC 700 is faster than the Legend (although not appreciably unless you race) and it definitely is considerably more stable than the Legend which can be considered more of an “advanced” boat. Obviously the QCC 700 would cost you significantly more money but from the sounds of what you’re looking for in a boat, it may be a good fit. See if you can find someone to let you try the boat out and you may be able to find a used QCc 700 at a decent price.

Fit and Feel
The fit and feel of a boat is extremely important. It doesn’t matter if a boat is slightly faster if you don’t like the way it handles.



At most touring pace, the resistance difference is minor among touring boats. The group I most often paddle with regularly maintains a pace of 4-5 miles an hour (the paddler who usually has her gps running is not set for nautical miles). Between a third and half of the boats on these outings are Explorers (a notably slower boat than either a Legend or Q700) and those paddlers are not struggling to keep pace.



At 1500 new, the Legend is a very good price. However it is only a good deal if you will feel comfortable enough in the boat to really use it.

I am not sure if…
…this will help or not.



You are looking for a “fast” boat with “stability”



I don’t know the first thing about the Foster, but I can comment on the QCC-700.



On the speed: I race, (lots of them) and in just about every race in the sea kayak division (18 feet and under) the three fastest boats are the QCC-700, the Epic-18 and the Chatham-18.

I have neve seen a Foster place.

That should answer the speed question



On the stability: I can’t comment on the Foster, but I can give you my experience on the QCC.

I am in my third season with it and it has never even given me a scare.

Prior to it I was paddling a plastic Perception Eclipse.

I ordered the QCC to be able to compete in two races in February, two years ago and due to whatever the order was held up and I picked the 700 up at a truck terminal the day before the first race.

You can imagine how apprehensive I was. I was able to sit in the boat in flat water that evening, and then raced thirteen miles the next day in it.

The second day was a six miler and the conditions were so bad that many of the entrants scratched and others dropped out.

The 700 handled like a charm and has been that ever since. I have been in many rough seas since then and always marvel that they can make a boat so narrow but yet so stable.



That is my take on the 700 for what it is worth.



Cheers,

JackL






If you are after pure speed

– Last Updated: Dec-13-05 8:53 AM EST –

the qcc is your better bet, but how much are you gonna go out and sprint, or race? Why not get something sexy, maneuverable and exciting rather than flat water paddling dull as snot on paper?

But it's you asking for speed, not asking about the othere characteristics, so go ahead join the cult.

You folks should get turbans or funny hats or something for the cult. :)

I Thought
that was what the Tilley was for.



Happy Paddling,



Mark

Relative speed
We are not talking huge differences between a Legend and the faster Epic or QCC boats.



According to Sea Kayker:



At 4.5 knots the Epic Endurance 18 produces 4.73 pounds of drag. The Legend produces 4.9 pounds.



At 5 knots the Epic produces 6.47 pounds of drag while the Legend produces 7 pounds of drag.



At 3 knots, the most often stated common touring pace, the Epic produces 2.03 pounds of drag and the Legend 2 pounds.



The Epic Endurance 18 is probably the fastest sea kayak Sea Kayaker has tested. General consensus is that it is not slower than a QCC700.

brand new Legends were selling for $1500
but that was before seaward got the nod to build them. A totally different boat.

Depends
>The Epic Endurance 18 is probably the fastest sea kayak Sea Kayaker has tested. General consensus is that it is not slower than a QCC700.



Only if you don’t consider the Nelo FW 2000 to be a sea kayak…



/Peter

Learn more about efficiency first
Branford,



Learn a bit more about efficiency of boats, your own forward stroke, and the limits of differences in the most and least efficient boat before making efficiency the hight priority.



Due to wetted area and hull design, 3- 4 knots many of the better kayaks are almost the same in efficiency. Actually, below 3 k the epic is slower than some other boats due to the bigger wetted surface area. What this means is that most club events will be at a speed that you uber boat has a disadvantage and for you to profit from its efficiency you must have a strong efficient forward stroke and the conditioning to keep it going above 4.5 k.



Realize that with this efficiency comes more windage, that is a longer boat, more above the waterline frequently, and that the boat will actually be more of a handful in quartering and following seas.



At first we are seduced by the muse of efficiency and the male need to have the boat that keeps up that is ahead, etc. But even if one wants pure glide as you say, it ain’t really so. Only happens to be a bit less work if one is really crushing it along. It is how it is in sea kayaking.



If you see othe kayakers really hauling along, chances are they are very light people so they displace less water and there forward stroke may be efficient and not slow them down as do many people’s stroke when they hang onto the paddle too long.



So chill a bit and look a little deeper before getting the 700 or epic or whatever. There a a number of efficient but more interesting boats out there imo. (These are fine boats too, mind you, just think a bit what else you wish that is all).

Legend and 700
Unless you are planning on paddling over 5kts for extended periods then you won’t notice much difference in drag between the two boats. It takes some practice before most people get an efficient enough forward stroke to challenge the speed limit of either boat. The 700 definitely has more speed potential but most people that I’ve seen paddling Epics, 700s, and such never get near



The Legend will feel a little twitchy at first compared to the 700 but it is more manueverable. that potential even in races.



I like both boats a lot. The Legend is more “playful” so it is more fun for me. I’d go with fit and feel. Try to get your butt into both for a decent amount of paddling before deciding.

Nelo FW 2000

– Last Updated: Dec-13-05 6:11 PM EST –

I'm not sure if I would consider the Nelo FW 2000 a sea kayak. I don't think I would consider it a touring or expedition boat

I suppose it is a sea kayak as much as the Valley Rapier is a sea kayak. Valley refers to the Rapier as a "fitness oriented sea kayak."

These boats are technically sea kayaks as they likely meet K1 specs. They strike me very much as racing boats.

Do I detect a little…
jealousy ??



Cheers,

jackL

yeah
I think the foster boats folks need a cult, a funny hat, and maybe the same sort of secret handshake you guys have. I mean we have to get organized dammit!!!

Last two posts are excellent
Listen to them! Legend is a great kayak. I’d say if outer coast, BCU training etc., are in your future, the Legend is more appropriate to that use profile. QCC is the better flat to moderate water craft for fitness / speed focus. Two quite different directions really…

sub-cult
That particular cult would be Brit boats. Foster boats would be a sub-cult.



I tend to think of Brit boats as a culture thereby making Foster boats a subculture :wink: