Flatwater Speed/Paddling Ease: WaveWitch vs The Average Kayak?
 

Got a WaveWitch on order.

I guess the anticipation is getting to me.

Anybody had a chance to paddle both a WW and a run-of-the-mill kayak (i.e. not a
19-foot Seda or a racing boat...)
--
PeteCresswell

Flatwater Speed/Paddling Ease: WaveWitch vs The Average Kayak?
 

(PeteCresswell) wrote:
Got a WaveWitch on order.

I guess the anticipation is getting to me.

Anybody had a chance to paddle both a WW and a run-of-the-mill kayak (i.e. not a
19-foot Seda or a racing boat...)

It's a surf boat. Comparing it to standard kayaks seems rather
pointless, as they're intended for different purposes. Regardless, it's
still a 12 1/2' plastic boat with a huge rudder, which means it's not a
substitute for a longer sea kayak in applications where the latter is
appropriate, nor will it perform like one. It's probably comparable to a
Mariner Coaster, as there are several similarities between the two designs.

Call me jaded, but whenever I see someone claiming a "breakthrough" in
kayak design, I become very skeptical. The principles of hydrodynamics
are well-known and any advances in design are going to be incremental at
best.

Flatwater Speed/Paddling Ease: WaveWitch vs The Average Kayak?
 

Per Brian Nystrom:
It's probably comparable to a
Mariner Coaster, as there are several similarities between the two designs.

Thanks, that's what I was fishing for. I was mainly wondering how much of a
pig it was going to be if I paddled it around the local lake between trips to
the shore. I've had a Mariner Coaster. Liked the coaster a lot... Currently
paddling a Findeisen spec ski.


Call me jaded, but whenever I see someone claiming a "breakthrough" in
kayak design, I become very skeptical. The principles of hydrodynamics
are well-known and any advances in design are going to be incremental at
best.

I don't think of this thing as claiming any special attributes beyond being
compromised in favor of surf use. I'm guessing that it's more of a planing
hull than a displacement hull.


--
PeteCresswell