Reviews for the Warren Light Craft 15.5 are not to be had. Since I live in the west and cannot paddle this boat before laying down the cash, any input would be of great value. Better still would be a comparison with the QCC600. Is anyone familiar with
both?

Thanks

Hopefully, you and others will get the opportunity to paddle a Warren Light Craft 15.5 at next year's West Coast Sea Kayak Symposium.

Birdman, the QCC boats utilize the John Winters philosophy of having the waterline length (LWL) be almost equal to the length overall (LOA). Such boats are characterized by almost plumb stems and sterns. You might also consider the Epic 16X, as it seems to follow the same Winters architecture. I found it interesting that the recently introduced Tahe Marine Greenlander, with a LOA of 17 feet 10 inches, actually has a LWL of only 14 feet, 6 inches (if I remember correctly), about a foot shorter than the LWL of my Epic 16X, which is only 16 feet LOA. As I've posted several times, rave reviews of their kayaks by happy owners are a dime a dozen; I only suggest you test-paddle the Epic as a possible additional alternative to the QCC.

Yeah I think it's because the Greenlander has traditional "greenland" styled ends... I guess being narrow it can get away with it.. Personally I think that a plumb design is 'better'.

I have the Little Wing 15.5 trimaran. I believe it is the fastest sailing craft (besides a windsurfer or kitesurfer) under 100 lbs. In light airs under 10 knots, I can outpace the windsurfer however. The whole rig including Aikos and Amas weighs just 67 lbs. I can launch her anywhere and car-topping is easy. For those reasons, we end up sailing more often. We had the Hobie AI but due to her heavy weight and slow speed, we upgraded to the Warren. The Hobie is a great robust craft however, very user friendly. The Warren tri is more for those strictly interested in sailing, not fishing, and is probably the highest end sailing tri you can buy in that size range. She will outsail the Hobie by almost a factor of 2, especially if the Hobie drags the Mirage Drive in the water. The Warren is all carbon and thus her higher price, almost double the Hobie, but well worth it if you do a lot of sailing/it is your passion. If you tend to sail where winds exceed 20 knots with higher seas (Chesp Bay, San Fran Bay), I would stick with the Hobie AI, she is drier and handles choppier conditions better.