: Short boat's going to have a short waterline, regardless of it's
: width, the waterline length is where the performance lies. Short
: boats are slow.

I take issue with this. In a qualified fashion which I will now detail.

Ok, well, sure, a longer boat has a faster theoretical hull speed. However, there are fewer people who can keep a boat in the 17-19' range at hull speed, and they need to have some good hosepower to do it. I've heard guys with replica 19' baidarkas, skinny ones, say that they can push it up to a very fast speed, but can't hold it there, or at least not as easily as hold a 17' Greenland style boat at speed. This particular paddler, who paddles a lot and is fairly strong, actually prefers to use his 17' Greenland boat in races, as he can more consistently hold a higher average speed than he can in the faster 19' baidarka.

Then there comes the idea of what is your typical cruising speed. The question then becomes, is the boat you are paddling too long for your cruising speed? That is, could your long boat go faster? - yes. Do you often paddle it that fast? - no, almost never. So, could you get a shorter boat, with less wetted area, and less drag, that will more easily cruise at your typical speed? (More easily because of less drag.)

These are the questions that Brian Schultz asked with his F1 SOF boat. He designed it for many other considerations, namely carrying capacity, water shedding ability (centerline deck ridge,) larger keyhole cockpit, and upswept aft chines for decent surfing ability. And he found that, for his typical cruising speed, it was easier for him to keep the 14' F1 at cruising speed, than it was to keep a long pointy boat at that speed.

Also, depending on your paddling ability, you may very well be better off in a slower shorter boat, because you'd never be able to get that supposedly faster long boat up to that speed. I know my beginners classes can't even keep a decent cruising speed :)

So, yes, a longer boat should damn sure be faster than a shorter boat. Saying that top speed of a 14' boat is the same as a 17' boat, through some magical hull design, is probably disingenuous, if not patently false. However, saying that a 14' cruises as easily as a longer boat may be somewhat accurate.

My $0.02 and this opinion still won't buy you a cup of coffee :)

Brian