I paddle a 14' kayak
: while the other kayakers in my group are usually paddling 17'. They keep a
: leisurely pace and I keep up with no problem. Stroke for stroke though, I
: am paddling more.

I feel your pain. I lent my 17'6" x 23" Coho to a pal and used my son's Tern 14 (14' x 23") in a round trip to Angel Island from Richmond (SF Bay) a couple of years ago. He was just stroking along in a nice easy pace, while I felt like a hummingbird trying to keep up. Now that I have the Shooting Star (16'6" x 21") I can dust 'em both, but I haven't forgotten that day. Since both Pygmys are the same width, this was an experiment with a constant, and the results were very, very clear.

--Scott