Congrats on your first kayaking experience! Here are a ffew comments:

(William R. Watt) writes:

[snip]
I found it easy to paddle a kayak the first time. You have to
wedge yourself in by bracing your feet on peddals and in decked
kayaks your knees under the deck. Then its just a matter of
swinging the double bladed paddle as if you were swimming. I've
done a lot of swimming so it came naturally. I was able to paddle
at full power right from the start.

If you paddle for longer periods of time and for longer distances,
you'll no doubt discover that there's a bit more to it...just like
swimming long distances.

All the kayaks save one were fast and efficent for their size. The
theory of hull resistance has been pretty well worked out. There
are computer programs you can buy which will do the computations
and print out the numbers for the hull shape. The one bad kayak I
paddled was noisy and left trubultent water in its wake. The
others all went through the water cleanly.

"General purpose" kayaks are designed to do an adequate job of many
things, but optimal hull performance isn't at the top of the list.
Out of curiosity, what was the "bad" boat?

Some of the longer boats didn't manouver very well. Some had to an
extra piece on the back, either a skeg or a rudder, to help them
go straight or to turn.

Maneuvering and tracking -- turning when you want to turn, and going
straight when you want to go straight -- are skills that kayakers
all need to learn how to do. It's an oversimplification, but in
general, when you try to optimize a boat for maneuvering, you're
likely going to sacrifice some tracking ability, and vice versa.
Unlike a sailboat rudder, the rudder in a kayak is not there to
help you turn the boat, but to stay on course and counter the boat's
tendency to weathercock. Turning is accomplished with paddling
strokes and techniques.

There must not be a computer program for the best way to build a
lightweight but strong and rigid kayak because there was a lot of
variation in the longer decked kayaks.

Well...is there a computer program to build the best car? No,
because people use them for different things. Lightweight is good,
but lightweight materials cost more and are less durable. There are
tradeoffs, and a designere has to prioritize based on what the
boat's supposed to do. The boat you want for splashing around on
the pond near your house is probably not the boa you want for ocean
crossings, or for a 10-day self-supported wilderness trip.

There was a lot of variation in comfort and convenience among the
kayaks. After a while my preference was for a roomy cockpit in a
boat wide enough I could twist around in and look back, or get
something out of the rear compartment if the boat had one. One
boat was so narrow I tipped it over trying to get in. Another was
so wide I couldn't brace my feet and knees on the inside. In
one my knees were braced on the side of the kneecaps. That was
very uncomfortable. I think getting a kayak is like getting a suit
of clothes. Fit is important. One thing I would look for is a seat
high enough to support the back. Only two or three of the 14
kayaks had a seat which provided good support above the hips.

A rigid seat isn't necessary for lower back support -- a good
backband will do the job. As for the rest of the outfitting,
beginners typically find a kayak very confining at first, and want a
real roomy boat. This preference usually changes pretty quickly,
though. You paddle a kayak with your body, and if it's loose, your
paddling is much less efficient and effective. Also, being able to
turn around to get things out of the back is...well, if it's what
you want, it's what you want. But to have a boat that's roomy AND
stable enough to do this without flipping fairly frequently, you'll
be giving up a lot in other areas. Most kayakers either get to
shore before opening a compartment, or get a buddy to do it for
them. It's a bit risky doing it yourself because it's easy to lose
gear and get water in the compartment.

Some of the kayaks were sit on top models and others were sit
inside models. My overall impression was that the sit on top
kayaks were the most successful designs for performance and
comfort.

It's most successful for you if it's what you want. I don't think
that SOTs tend to do very well performance-wise, when compared with
decked boats. But it may be that that was true of the set of boats
you paddled.

They were also lower priced because they are simpler to
make. They come right out of the mold ready for sale, only
requiring sufficient labour cost to screw on handles at the ends.
However, the sit on top models offered no protection from wind,
waves, or sun. None had waterproof storage. In fact they are so
wet I would wear a bathing suit. One had drain holes which let in
water.

Those holes also let the water out. Overall, that boat will
probably be drier to paddle than a SOT that doesn't have drain
holes.

I would avoid paddling in questionable water. They would be
fun to use at the beach. My preference would be for a kayak which
had a dry place to keep a camera and some food. I like to drive
out in the country and spend the day exploring local waters.

Get a decked boat, then. But be aware that you'll probably never
find a boat with a compartment that's absolutely dry. That's why we
carry drybags.

One evening there was wind and small waves with whitecaps. I
had fun bashing through the waves. All of the kayaks I paddled
let in spray and became wet. During the three evenings I tried
paddling kayaks I never got into a dry one. We all seemed to get
water into the kayaks even when there was no wind or waves.
Perhaps that was because most of the people trying out the
demonstration kayaks were inexperineced novices liek myself. It
was like sitting in a shower stall. I'd wear a bathing suit or use
a spray skirt. I wonder how hot it would be in a kayak with a
spray skirt without any ventilation.

That's a big "it depends". I'm mostly a whitewater kayaker, so my
skirt is on all the time. I rarely get too warm, and when I do, I
roll. Paddling in the blazing sun, without the ability to roll,
could be pretty hot and nasty. But kayaking is a wet sport, and a
skirt is what's needed to minimize (not eliminate) the wetness.
When kayaking, you do need to dress for the assumption that you will
be in the water.

So far my personal preference in one of these kayaks would be a
long wide one with a rounded bottom, roomy cockpit, high seat, dry
storage accessable afloat, and no skeg or rudder.

Yup, pretty common beginner preferences -- and ones that most
beginners seem to outgrow quickly. If John Fereira is around, maybe
he'll have something to add about this. Suggestion: don't just go
to the demos, but take a class. You'll learn some technique that
will help you to develop some preferences and evaluate in a
systematic manner.

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Mary Malmros
Some days you're the windshield,
Other days you're the bug.