Ruedi,

Another way to research this is to look at the results of the race you mentioned in an earlier post. There were in fact 2 S+G Night Herons at the Blackburn. They were in the "Fast Kayak" class and finished 18th and 20th out of 20. The design has a lot more potential though. Compare the finish time of 3:55:46 with the finish time from a CLC Chesapeake 17 lt of 3:42:24.

Theoretically the Chesapeake 17lt should be no match for the Night Heron, but 10 minutes is a pretty good gap. I've spent plenty of time comparing this boat vs. that boat but in the end... I can only say the numerical nuances of surface drag vs. boat length, and # of chines vs. round bilges is all just talk. You want to race? Build something and race it. Your fitness will determine how well you do. When you reach the limits of the boat you are in, then it's time to look for the next one.

I'm not trying to be harsh, just direct. Back when I built high end bikes it was easy to become a bike snob, there is so much hype around every new feature or slick widget. We had a saying about wining races, "It's not the bike, it's the rider".

Good luck on you decision.
Josh

: If you're planning on racing, you're not going to be completitive with a
: short boat, you're not going to be racing at 5 mph. And a short boat more
: quickly runs into a brick wall of impossible speeds well before a longer
: boat will. The Epic 18 is rumored to have a top speed potential well
: beyond that which most paddlers will ever have the power to achieve.
: Something that definately can't be said of most if not all shorter boats.

: Bill H.