Efficiency of the new pedal drive

Hi, I am Daniel from Brittany. I am a sea bass kayak fisherman. Here is my question :
After ten years fishing with a Hobie Revo13 (V2 Drive) I recently bought a new revo13 (2021) and the pedalboard is less efficient for speed. My three friends who practise kayak with me, with their hobie revolution 13 too, have the old drives (V2 or Powerglide drive) go much faster than mine. They said: no wonder, just look at the blades to see that the surface area has greatly decreased on the new drives.
So I asked them to measure their fins and compared it with mine: there is about 60 cm2 of difference of submerged parts, multiplied by two (since two blades).I deplore this lack of speed in the new cranksets and would have preferred to stay on an older version, even without reverse gear or kick-up). I find it important when I go out to sea to be able to return quickly in the event of a change in the weather (waves, increasing wind...), which is not possible with the current crankset. Why did Hobie reduce the surface of the blades ? I don't call them "turbo" blades anymore...
Do you know why Hobie did that ?

I agree -- the old Drives are faster. Size can be a little deceiving though. The new Turbos are more efficiently shaped -- with bigger tips where more thrust is generated. You'll get a little more out of your fins if you screw the mast adjustment all the way in. Hobie needed to alter the fins to gain the 180 reverse feature. It didn't work well with the old Turbos. It's not a perfect world. If you don't need reverse, you can always sell your 180 and replace it with a GT version.

What about the non-180 turbo breakaway version? Still slower than GT turbo? thanks

Yes. GTs with Turbos are fastest, simplest and most durable, but they don't kick up so your masts may bend if you strike something (you can unbend it). There is also no reverse with GTs, but you can put the Drive in backwards and reverse that way -- not as convenient. It's really great to have a choice, depending on your situation -- speed, reversibility or shallow/fouled water. BTW, the MD 180 is not THAT much slower than the GT, but you have to run at a higher cadence to get the speed -- can be tiring.