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On 7 Jan 2004 19:53:56 -0800, (brad) wrote:

"Chris" wrote in message om...
Did the representative explain to you why the 14ft handles better?

Seems to me that the boat length isn't as critical as the size/weight of her
paddle.

A foot or two of length shouldn't make all that much difference in my
opinion, but paddle materials, shape, and weight are important
considerations if your daughter is of slighter build. You also might
consider building her a kayak yourself from plywood.

He did mention why he thought the 14 handled better but I'm having
trouble recalling. I think he was implying that the Osprey 13 would
"slide" around more and be harder to turn. He also mentioned
something about one of them having more "rocker" (I think that was the
term he used), but I am not sure which one or even what it means
(something to do with the "upsweep" of the sides???).

rocker is the amount of curve from end to end. A boat with lots of
rocker is easy to turn but will not track as well as a boat with less
rocker. More rocker is probably going to cause the boat to be slower
as well.