Thanks for the tips. Yeah, this is definitely going to be a tradeoff boat to round out my growing fleet, I already have a 16' and a 14' SOF Aleut for the ocean and large lakes. This one is going to be used mostly for small mountain lakes in the Rockies where I have to hike in 4 or 5kms.

: Looks kind of short. Shortness has a certain panach right now but not among
: paddlers who want to go any distance.
: Paddleboats that are designed for racing are ALWAYS built as close to maximum
: length the rules will allow. Length gives the boat better speed and also
: the better glide. Accepting a bit of increased weight to gain more
: waterline length is a trade off most designers would accept unless they
: were building a boat for a child. For most paddlers speed isn't important
: but glide is. Your 11 foot SOF would be hard pressed to keep up with a 16
: foot boat over a multiple-mile, flat-water paddle.
: Whatever advantage the 11 lb. weight gives you on land becomes a loser once
: the boat is in the water. Unless you confine your paddles to small water
: or always hve a current at your back the lack of waterline length will
: always require more effort from the paddler than a boat of more
: conventional length.