I recently built two Passages from the plans available from the Northwest canoe shop. We added an extra section 7 to lengthen the canoe out to 16 foot from its design length of 15 foot. The Passage has a differential rocker somewhere between the Bell Magic and Bell Merlin2. The waterline on our two boats is fairly soft so they allow you to lean the boat close to the rail and
accomplish many free style moves. The extra water line has made for quick boat but to maintain speed you have to shift sides more frequently
due to not tracking because of the rocker. I noticed that heavier paddlers do not have this tracking problem that I do(I am 180 lbs). I know with a load of gear it would firm up nicely.
Speed wise empty I can kick it up over 6 MPH in a sprint and on a fast cruise I can keep it up over 5.2-4 for about a mile before I tire out. at a steady cruise she will stay at 4.9 -5.0 for as long as I want. I have raced the Passage (XL)many times and have successfully beaten Advantages and some older Jensen designed white water boats.
The Passage is not a hard canoe to build and is fun to paddle. It is not a race boat though. You are not going to be competitive against a dedicated race cruiser so if that is your intention don't consider it. On the other hand for tripping, or if you are heavy it is a good option.
If I was over 220 pounds, I would give the boat a 8.5 or 9 but at my weight it doesn't sit in the water for adequate tracking. (of course the flip side of that is in the last race I went over the rocks with just a little scuffing to my varnish...)
