Hi Rob,

I built the Mystery for speed and though it is a fast kayak, my average times around the Lake Whatcom course were faster in my old 17'6" Coho. The Mystery is capable of fast speeds but I don't have the engine or stamina to hold it in the higher range. You are welcome to try my Mystery and then compare it to a 17' by 19" Sisson Nucleus 100 that we have here.

Interesting enough the native canoes being built around here are close to the skis in length and width, 21' by 17". Unless you are as fit as the ski paddlers or native pullers I would suggest dropping back to that 17 to 17.5 range for cruising. Feel free to contact me at the hotmail address using reglake.

Best,

Reg

: Too Funny, Boof and Kudzu are both on the KF forum as well. I guess
: building your own surf ski or non tradiotional kayak is a pretty
: tight circle!!

: Ok so I appreciate all of the feedback. I've been cruising this and
: other forums for probalby 10 years and any search of the forum
: for the words "kayak length" will get a lot of
: responses about wave speed and longer being more efficient at
: higher speeds. I am sure that is true, but according to KF, if I
: go from 16.5 feet to 21 feet I only save about .25 lbs of
: resistance at 6.5 knots. I might have a horrible design (pretty
: sure it is in the range of normal) But I have always had the
: impression from reading forum posts that extending the kayak to
: the 20 or so foot range makes some amazing gains. .25 lbs hardly
: seems worth it for the extra drag at low speed for me. I live in
: the Pacific Northwest. The only swell I ever see is when the San
: Juan Ferrys are going by. Or once a week when the Alaskan Ferry
: travels through. And believe it or not, there are a number of
: kayakers who plan ahead and surf those waves in. We are pretty
: hard up for waves in Bellingham!

: So I think I will modify my plan for the most efficient speed to be
: at around a 4.5 knot target speed.