What is the fastest...

Thanks, but
I want to stay in the touring class.

I am not a hard core racer, and at my age I never will be.

The late John C who was about eight or nine years my junior and raced a Westside EFT, tried his damdest to convert me, but it was more fun giving him a hard time when we passed, (he on his way home, from the turn bouy, and me on my way to it.).

Where was this sport when I was in my thirties and forties, paddling my Old Town Canoe?

Cheers,

JackL

hey
Jack, I can attest that you can put a Ton of Gear on the QCC 700, the Aft hatch is huge! the front one is normal sized. the QCC is a pretty good balance of speed and touring. besides as mentioned earlier we need some more East Coast Cult members!! Get the wife one too!!

EFT
Jack, I don’t know how old you and your wife are, and I understand you are not hard-core racers.



I am about to turn 61 and not only am I not a hard-core racer, I do not race at all. That is not why I got my EFT.



I got it because it is uncommonly LIGHT and uncommonly FAST. This means it gives me an uncommon incentive to paddle it hard (read: aerobic workout) because it allows me to go faster and farther with less overall effort. Paddled in this manner, the EFT provides a special joy that lower-performing touring kayaks can’t match.



I don’t know if you paddled your late friend’s EFT, but I hope you did. Then you would have a practical basis for deciding for or against this touring rocket. If you did not, and you are interested in maximizing speed in a touring kayak as you say, I would still suggest you keep the EFT in mind.



(No, I am not Doug Bushnell’s agent. I just appreciate very high-performance touring kayaks and in my opinion the EFT is probably as good as it gets in that category.)



P.S. I’d be interested to hear what you decide.


You can try my 700 in Largo.

– Last Updated: Jan-20-04 1:00 PM EST –

If you can get me out of it! Hexledge will also have his 700 there (just what I need - MORE competition!).

Mine is lt. grey over white, and modified a little inside with foam foot bracing/cockpit filler. It's no longer adjustable (except in 3" increments or by cutting different foam) - so I won't be giving everyone test paddles (long leggers will not fit at all now) - but we're the same height and my set up should be close enough for you. I also switched the seat for an IR backband.

Mine is skegged - I believe Hexledge's (sorry if I seem to be volunteering your boat!!!) is ruddered and has the stock SealLine adjustable braces. I think he also swapped out the seat - for an NSI band. Might be a better choice to represent what you'll get if you ordered with a rudder.

Odds are most other boats mentioned here will be there too.

Feel free,
to try my Q700 out in Key Largo, Yellow over white with stock rudder.



Wil

Check out this link
http://www.unold.dk/paddling/articles/kayakvelocity.html



The authors rank a decent selection of kayaks according to water resistance vs. velocity.

fast boats
here’s my take on the list so far:



EFT: very fast, but very lightweight build and i’ve seen them leak.

QCC 700: very fast, but not as fast as the EFT. I was lucky and beat an EFT inthe 700, because I was able to surf it better. Best all around boat.

QCC 600: very fast, in fact on short races, it is as fast as the 700. Sometimes this can fit into classes that others can’t.

Extreme: fast, but not as fast as the others at the top. One paddler I knew complained it wasn’t as comfortable and bought the 700.

Glider: very fast, but does not turn as well as the 700.

Inuk: very fast, again turning issues here.

Looksha II: race version is the fastest, but this boat is very tippy and is slower than the 700.

Phantom: never tried, but is very fast like the EFT, and very light.

This is of course a subjective list, but I have tried many of them and talked to people racing them.



One other thing to consider JackL,

If you are an advanced paddler and 165 lbs, 9’5"(and old too), then you are not much different than me. You dismissed sot’s, which I guess includes surfskis. Well I live north of you and am mostly paddling skis year round. for our physical weight and size they are an amazingly efficient design, light, and cost often half of what a kayak costs. Furthermore they are very ocean friendly. Most kayaks have a design weight of something greater than 165 lbs and are sea slugs compared to these beauties. There is much too learn on a ski to keep you young and advancing as a paddler not just as a racer.

good luck choosing