mitch,
When I was trying out and looking at boats in search of one that would serve as a long distance touring kayak, I too was very aware of boat width. Along the way, I looked at some very narrow boats; I even tried a few out and merely sat in some. Long distance to me means that I will be spending long periods of time in the saddle. Not one of the ultra skinny boats was comfortable for more than a few minutes. One boat I tried was so tight that I couldn't even squirm around.

I began to wonder if some designers are more concerned with skinny as a status symbol as much as a performance factor. I've come to believe that a properly designed boat doesn't sacrifice one aspect in order to maximise another--especially if the kayak is going to do more than one thing.

I'm sure that the guys at Novus Composites could have gone for a narrower boat when they designed the Expedition, but what I've come to realize is that they do things their way and as far as I've seen it's usually for a very good reason. I personally wouldn't want to give up one ounce of this boat's stability and believe me, speed is not a problem.