William R. Watt ) writes:

I see. I thought you were writing about an actual hull shape. I don't see
how anyone can disagree that the circumference of a cirle encloses the
largest area for the least perimeter, but actual kayak hulls aren't built
that way due to other considerations such as stability, draft, and
tracking.

Sorry, that was not clearly worded. If the waterline is the circumference
of the circle then the circular hull has the least girth for the area
enclosed (equvalent to the least wetted surface for the largest voume of
water displaced, or displacement). However, as is shown on Winters'
website, if the waterline is shorter than the diameter of the circle, ie
an arc of a the circular section, then flattening the sides reduces the
girth and wetted surface, an intersting and counterintuitive phenomenum.



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