: As far as the Chesapeake, it is a much different handling kayak than the
: Cormorant. The Cormorant 16 turns quite easily...

Mark, to flesh out more of what I was talking about in my previous post:

One thing to look at (among many other factors) is the shape of the chines. The Chesapeakes' chines are all nearly parallel to the waterline. This results in more wetted surface, more drag, fuller ends, a longer effective waterline length, and a higher top-end speed.

The Cormorant's chines rise sharply at the bow and stern and have even more rocker than the keel. By leaning or edging the boat in the direction opposite the direction you wish to turn, these chines dig in, and act like a curved quasi-keel and carve a turn. Since they rise so sharply, they cut the volume in the bow and stern giving the Cormorant a finer entry and exit, which shortens the boat's effective waterline length, making it very efficient at cruising speeds, but giving it a lower top-end speed than the same-length Chesapeake 16.

Don't get me wrong, the Chesapeake is an excellent boat. It has tons of stability--I really think a 24"-ish beam is great for beginners. A lot of beginners rush out and buy 27-30" beam recreational kayaks, and hate them because they're so sluggish. 24" is nice, because you can start to feel the effects of good edging and leaned turns, but not so twitchy that you're afraid to go out and play in larger and larger waves. I've been in 5' boat wakes with it, and had no problems at all. In fact, I was so comfortable in it, I probably outgrew it quicker than I would have in a different boat--because it helped me "feel my edge" as I slowly progressed in my skills learning. If you have a hard time packing small, you would have no problems packing the Chesapeake. I think the front hatch is a bit too small for the volume it offers, but other than that, it's a dream to pack. If you pack like a backpacker, you can fit two people's gear in this thing! I learned a lot from my Chesapeake--I can roll it--it's not the easiest touring kayak to roll, but it is rollable.

I have since built an 18' Guillemot. I still have quite a bit of volume (relative to British boats, the Outer Island, and Night Heron) for carrying gear--it's perfect for overnight/2-day trips, and by packing small, I could easily use it for 2 weeks.

I've since started looking for a nice day-paddling boat, and I was drawn to the Cormorant. I will (hopefully) come up with a boat that is small enough for my wife to feel like she's not "swimming in the cockpit"! Yet, will be just large enough for me to squeeze into for some high-performance fun. With the fine ends, and low aft deck I will put on it, it won't have a whole lot of room for gear, but I have the Guillemot for that.

The Cormorant will be my #2 boat--if I could choose to have only one boat, I'd still get one big enough for overnights. I would be able to do that with the Cormorant, but I'm prone to erring on the side of "packing too much", so it's easier to load the Guillemot--and very easy to load the Chesapeake!

I don't want anyone to get the impression that I'm knocking the Chesapeake--it's just a very large boat, and often larger than most people need for a day-paddling boat. It is very comfortable in big seas, and for carrying large people or lots of heavy gear. I have no problems squeezing my 6'-6" frame and size 14's into it, where I had to do some slight modifications to the Guillemot and might have to do some to the Cormorant. I think I'd fit the stock Cormorant, but I aspire to put a lower deck and rounder sheers on it so it's more my wife's size.

I got a chuckle out of Lee's statement, but I think I would have fun helping people buy boats. I think everyone should paddle 3-4 boats for a full day, and take even a single lesson before buying. People are so unprepared when they walk into a paddle shop, and are placed in too wide of a boat by a well-meaning salesperson or their own fears. They're also under-educated about the potential dangers of hypothermia and immersion protection. I have a good friend who owns a paddle shop, and he's always selling people the boats they want, rather than the boat they should have. They get something that's "perfect" for them right now, and outgrow it in 2-3 months (if they paddle at all often) and then are frustrated when they find the resale value is so low. (Sounds like a great deal for the retailer, right?!)

Problem is, these folks want a new boat. If they really think they need a "rec" boat, they should buy a used one--they're a dime a dozen. Then, they can probably even sell it for the price they paid for it, and look at better performing boats.

It's so frustrating to see people who think they know what they want, but don't have a clue. Rec boats are fine for fishing, pond exploring, and quiet estuaries, but kayaking is so seductive, that many folks who first bought these boats want to explore bigger bodies of water with more complex and unpredictable weather systems, and their boat is totally unsuitable for their new paddling venue. Sometimes they figure it out, sometimes they don't--some of the ones who don't figure it out are accidents waiting to happen.

I've delivered a few "rec" boats to people living near Flathead Lake, and I just shudder to think of what could happen to these folks if they venture too far from shore, and a sudden storm with 3' waves blows up.

Yeah, I've been out there in bigger waves, but I was pretty safe and comfortable in the Chesapeake. Even as a relative novice, I was safe having the smaller cockpit--waves broke over the sprayskirt, but I never got swamped and returned safely to shore.

Shawn