How fast is an Xcite?

To learn what the Xcite is able to I chose a day with minor wind and paddled with 2 GPS-'s on my deck.

First warming up at a moderate pace of 6-7 km/h
Then we changed speed and tried several speedblocks.

This is what I found:

- Relaxed pace: 4-7 km/h
- Normal pace for touring: 7-8 km/h
- Exercise- or workout pace: 8-9 (-10) km/h to maintain for an hour or so (10km/h only for strong paddlers)
- Maximum speed: 11,5 km/h (may be a stronger paddler gets 12km/h out of her)

The estimated maximum "hull-speed" is somewhere between 9-10 km/h. Above that speed you need excessive more power to come above 10 km/h.

Of course wind will influence these figures in a positive or negative way.

Summarizing, I think that the Xcite has a very normal cruising speed. She is NOT slow and not extremely fast.
To my opinion the Xcite is a very good compromise between speed and her other characteristics.

An interesting experiment was a sprint in very shallow water. Normally it feels there if the kayak sticks to the water. Trying to sprint there (just for a joke) it was much faster than I expected: I reached 11 km/h and it feels like the kayak was planing.