ski speed

There is a good selection of ski's available to us all now. Stable, novice ski's. Intermediate ski's and the elite 17" ski's. The big question , from most everyone, when getting into a new ski is usually "How fast is it?". That's the obvious question with secondary questions referring to the stability of the boat, build quality, etc. I've read some opinions stating that differences in hull speed might only be 4% between a boat like an XT vs a Millenium (assuming 100% stability, and all other things equal). Not much when you consider the major difference in paddling characteristics between those boats. The issue has even been tackled here on surfski.info with, in my opinion, a fantastic test by Rob and the guys.
So my questions to you guys and gals is, removing ego completely from the decision, what's your honest opinion on hull speed between novice (XT, etc) intermediate (EVO, Honcho Rookie, etc) and elite (Mako6, V10) type boats. How much faster, are these elite boats over the others? I'm sure some of you have experience with all three types of boat, what are your experiences?
Dave

Based on my times in various boats over our Thursday evening time trial in flat to small chop, here is less than 5% between the learner boats (XT, Mentor) and the racing boats. Over a longer downwind paddle of around an hour and a half, the difference increases to about 10%. I am not an elite paddler by any means but I am perfectly comfortable in my Icon. In rough conditions, even an elite paddler can benefit from a more stable boat, note Jasper Mocke's record run in the Mentor.

Also, please lets get the misconception that longer boats are faster, out of the way. This only applies to displacement vessels whose length to beam ratio is less than 7:1. Any boat worthy of being called a surfski has a ratio of well over 12:1.

The things that effect the speed of the ski are the underwater shape, the buoyancy distribution, the centre of gravity, the amount of rocker and a host of other details.

As has been said before, it is more important to be stable on your boat than to paddle the flashest one available. I think it is way easier for a novice to take 10% off your time with some quality training or a course in technique than by shelling out for a new boat.