Heh, heh. I'm not, frankly, very interested in all this (I have never
raced because I have never yet put on a river with the express
intention of getting back off it as soon as I can; I take my time and
make the most I can of the river) but I can tell you *this* much
"science":

Kayaks have two distinct speed advantages over canoes (not to mention
other advantages not directly related to speed). These are (1) nearly
double the natural stroke rate, because each "recovery" stroke is
simultaneously a power stroke on the other side, and (2) alternating
power strokes from side to side means a kayaker (going straight, no
current, etc.) never has to make a correction stroke or waste time
*hut-hutting*. Correction strokes reduce yer speed in two ways, (a)
yer forward stroke rate is reduced due to the time spent correcting
rather than powering, and (b) there is a small braking component to
every correction stroke.

-Richard, His Kanubic Travesty
--
================================================== ====================
Richard Hopley, Winston-Salem, NC, USA
rhopley[at]earthlink[dot]net 1-301-775-0471
Nothing really matters except Boats, Sex, and Rock'n'Roll.
rhople[at]wfubmc[dot]edu 1-336-713-5077
OK, OK; computer programming for scientific research also matters.
================================================== ====================

Jeff Potter typed:

I'm thinking there's probably been both science done and comparison done
between all the various possible ways to paddle. Anyone have any details
on it?

Here are the options I see:

*standing up, single blade
*standing up, poling
*high-kneeling
*sitting, canoe
*sitting, kayak (dbl blade)