On 20-Jun-2005, Rick wrote:

Geared up for a long tour, however, the shorter boat should
ride deeper in the water (the LWL of the Andromeda should increase
significantly as the hull rides deeper), while the Calabria already has
most of its hull in the water.

Adding 50lb to each kayak only makes the difference in waterline lengths
change from 5.8% to 6.2% - not very much.

One would expect the drag to increase (as
well as the beam of the boat) as weight is added.

The Andromeda actual increases its wetted surface more.

That is a heck of a lot of hull out of the water on the Andromeda,
however. Must be a real joy in wind (though probably pretty fun in surf
and waves).

I have only paddled the Andromeda for an hour or so in moderate
conditions. It sucks. I can't say anything good about that
kayak... well, the colour was nice.

It's a Derek Hutchinson design. Folks familiar with my opinions on
his boat design "skills" will know that I'd expect the results the
kayak yeilded. When I talked to Mike Henderson of Current Designs
the year before the kayak was sold, he said the kayak in development
would be "long and fast" compared to the GulfStream. It is long
and slow - much slower than the Gulfstream. How slow? - there are
a whole whack of plastic and folding kayaks that are faster.

Mike