boat paddles for that persons weight
Roy,
You are correct that is most important.
The Vela, is a low volume boat. Put an good sized guy in it and the rear deck is awash. At 165-170 I found it exciting, though I lost a lot of skin off my shins getting in and out of it.
It would have been great if Nigel Dennis had narrowed the hull by a half inch or so when designing the LV versions of his boats.
I am anxious to get into a Nordkapp LV. When I was in an H2O I felt as if I ws skittering along on top of the water. The statistics can be misleading. The Aquanaut(12.94 cu.ft.) has more volume than the H2O (12.02 cu.ft.)yet paddles better unladen, has lower decks and a narrower waterline beam. So, I'm putting more faith in the narratives I've read of folks who have actually paddled the 'kapp LV than I am in the stats.