V8 vs V10s vs V10 flatwater speed

I agree..... but there must be some kind of adjustment factor though as the V14 loses out to a V12 in the hands of an intermediate paddler (but obviously doesn't in the hands of Barton).

It's simple.... stability rules.

Coming from a person who has a V8 and V14 I can tell you that top speed on the V8 is greater for me (intermediate) given that fact that I can really throw my weight into the paddle to get close to 9mph top speed. However, over a 5k run, I average about the same speed since the V14 requires so much more attention. The difference for me is that after that 5k, I feel more tired on the V8 than the V14 because it's just so slick through the water it requires less effort to maintain the same speed.

my take and general experience is the following:

If I paddle an elite ski (Elite S) at 12.5 kph on flatish water, then my speeds at similar efforts would be
- a intermediate ski (Evo, Vault etc) the flat water speed is 0.5-0.7 kph lower (typically 11.8-12.0).
- a "beginner/stable" ski (eg Fenn Xt) the speed loss is about another 0.5 kph (11.2-11.5)

That is a time loss of about 2-3 minutes per hour.

(I know, not statistically valid or adjusted for wind, bump size, current and precise HR ...)

Down wind speed is all dependent on you ability to maintain an equally efficient stroke, particularly at the difficult spots ( at the top of the wave, ). If you miss that stroke, you miss the wave and your speed drops dramatically. eg. 10 instead of 15. So DW stability you may want to use a stable boat to catch/link more waves and get a higher speed and more fun.

So what is the faster boat? That depends on the paddle condition and you ability to put in 100% paddle efficiency under those conditions. I agree that we tend to pick a too tippy boat given the actual conditions of the day. Hear Hank McGregor´s comments about the new V12 vs the V14.


I believe theoretical drag calculations show too small differences between the different stability "classes". Possibly because wider boats gives you a slightly less efficient stroke (catch distance from center, seat height, wave slapping ....... I don´t know).

Again, my experience is that this comparison will not hold true if you try more unstable boats than you normally paddle. For me I found that trading to more unstable boats gave me no (maybe even a drop in speed) increase in speed until you body adapts to the new boat. If ever - I have never managed to paddle a 39 cm K1 faster over a 5-10 distance than my elite surfski.

If ever. That is a telling comment and rings true for me however hard that reality is to accept. I traded up from a V10S to a V10L and still am not really faster over the last two seasons. This despite me being a perfect candidate for the low volume boat (short and light). Maybe on perfect days I can squeeze out .1 mph more on the L. However, in less than perfect conditions I am often slower.

I am confident if I paddled more often in the V10L I would be able to exploit its advantage but at the three hours of paddling a week that I can afford, it is going to be a long haul.