: Good points! Keep them coming!

: I have this designed with flatter bottom and harder chines but got distracted
: by trying to make it faster/decreasing the friction and wet area. So good
: points about edged turns.

I know how you mean - I haven't done much designing at all (although I'm playing in Delftship right now) bu it's definitely about tradeoffs. From your description of your requirements, straight line speed doesn't sound like it's actually that high up the list, so wetted surface area is likely not the thing to optimise for.

Thinking more, if your requirements are easy paddling at slow to medium speeds on flattish water, with manoeuverability a priority, then you may want to go shorter than average. It's easy to get lower wetted area by shortening the boat, and that might help turning too. It does limit your top speed though.