Correct,Bee. I read where people compare boat designs and say " ....two boats, exactly alike, but one has X and one has Y....." . Well, they're not exactly alike then. A boat say, with a pointed stern has to start changing shape about amidships in order to get the sides to come in that far. Completely different boats. From the hours of stuff I've read about design, most of the differences we talk about are in low single digit percentages. I'll paraphrase John Winters, a well-known canoe designer "After a designer has tweaked and changed his design and gotten a very respectable extra 5% decrease in hull resistance, the average decent paddler would probably not notice the difference. One year's worth of banging and scraping of the canoe bottom causes more change than that."
I just did the math. A 5% reduction in hull resistance MIGHT give you an increase of one tenth of one mph. 4 hours of STEADY 3.5 mph paddling (14 miles) would give you less than a half mile of advantage. Two OUNCES of extra effort per stroke would make up for that. When's the last time anyone here paddled (not floated with the current) 14 miles in a whole day, let alone 4 hours?
Most of the design elements you read about mostly come into play in racing or serious long distance touring. At about 3 mph, there's very little difference in a short, stubby kayak and a 16' sleek touring kayak. Now, if you insist on paddling that stubby kayak at 3.5 mph, then, yes it would be harder to paddle and flat wear you out.
What I take away from all this is ..........Don't sweat the small stuff. OK, getting off my soap box now.