Think Eze vs Fenn XT - flatwater speed

Hi all, can anybody enlighten me on how these two boats compare with there flatwater speed. I consider the Eze to be a pretty quick little boat and also fantastic offshore, I hear though that the XT (new version) is dead slow in flatwater ??? The XT interests me as a rough water ski and for surfing but its no good to me if its painfully slow in the flat, as I live right next to a river and will obviously do a lot of river work on it also. Im wishing to compare to the Eze because I know that boat very well.

Bill

I did this about 10 years ago, but it will tell you how fast an XT is in flat water. It was one of the earlier XTs in glass construction, weighed about 18kg. The new XT now has a single footwell but is otherwise basically the same boat.

www.fennkayaks.co.nz/speed.htm

Thanks Oskar - Im looking at a full carbon XT - 6mths old. Just needs to be as fast at least as a think eze and I will be happy.

Bill

For a complete novice paddler the Eze will definitely be faster than the XT. My experience is that a novice paddler in a XT will go for the occasional swim and this keeps their speed really low. The Eze is wider which means fewer swims and thus a higher speed.

On the other end, a world class paddler in an Eze should easily be able to go faster than my 16.1km/h (10mph) in the XT, but then I'm just a semi recreational paddler. Put the same world class paddler in the XT, however, and my money won't be on the Eze.

Bottom line is, for some paddlers the Eze will be faster, for other paddlers the XT will be faster. Only get the XT if you're comfortable in it.