wood or plastic

Lol yeah just maybe.

I do liek the look of a well maintained wooden boat but they can be in such a pain in the a** to look after. i supose it does depend on what class you are considering as to if wood or plastic is faster.

and how much diference does it make, because if they are the same weight and design, shouldnt they realy be the same speed.

Some classes were designed to be made from plywood, for instance the Wayfarer and Scorpion.  The chances are that boats in that class made from wood will be faster.  Other boats are designed to be made from fibre glass and are difficult to make any other way ie Laser - notice the round bilges.  There are a few classes that were designed to be made were the laminations of wood are formed in a mould.  They look beautifull in wood but can be expensive and their shape makes it easy to also mould in fibre glass - there's probably not much difference in perfomance - just maintenance; Fireflys, Albacors and that beautiful Contender fall in this category.  Then there's a question of resin.  Epoxy is more expensive but better in many ways, and then there's the type of fibre, glass is cheap but not as strong as carbon, kevlar and others. 

So like everything in engineering its a compromise between price and performance.