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Brian Nystrom
 
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Default Fiberglass vs plastic

William R. Watt wrote:

That may not be a
problem for knocking about on your own but if you are on a trip with a
group and their hulls are smooth you are easily paddling 10% more to keep
up.


Exactly where did that figure come from? The tests I've seen indicate
that scratched hulls have ~2-5% more drag smooth hulls, with badly
scarred plastic hulls with lots of "hairies" being at the high end. The
difference with fiberglass boats is minuscule.

That's like paddling 11 hours to their 10.


No, it's not like that at all. Even if your 10% figure is correct, it
pertains only to surface friction on the hull. That's only one component
of the total drag that must be overcome by the paddler. Wind resistance
and especially wave making resistance can be very substantial components
of total drag, depending on boat speed and weather conditions.
Realistically, a scratched hull will require you to paddle ~1-2% harder
than a smooth one. Unless you're racing, you'll never notice the difference.