Hi

I am looking to buy an efficient solo canoe for sit'n switch paddling. I
have narrowed down the choice to a Wenonah Prism or Voyager. I get on
alright with tippy boats so tended to favour the Voyager, which is longer
and narrower at the waterline and generally held to be 'faster' than the
Prism.

Trouble is, I keep getting confused by differences between manufacturer's
claims and 'expert' or dealers' statements about how fast a particular hull
shape is. On their web site Wenonah themselves choose their words carefully
and describe the Voyager as 'quite possibly the fastest solo recreational
racing canoe we make'.

On a German web site http://www.helmi-sport.de/WENONAH/Voyager.html it says
something along the lines "The Voyager is no faster than the Prism, unless
you apply full power: the ultimate speed of displacement hulls with a
rounded bottom has no upper limit."

Are they just stating the ....... obvious? That with the same boat and
paddler weight, the paddler who applies more power will travel faster?
Surely it must be possible to COMPARE how fast two hulls travel if the SAME
paddler applies the SAME amount of power???

I've read about hull friction and that hulls can be more or less efficient
depending on what speed you are paddling at.

I am the wrong side of 60 and not as fit as I have been; if I am looking to
do 5+ mph fla****er cruising, will the Voyager be faster at the same effort
expended or will the increased hull friction of the longer hull backfire on
me and effectively slow me down compared to paddling a Prism?

Sorry this is so long - I'd be grateful for your opinions.

Jack