Well, for me, this boat was the biggest disappointment of the show. Its NOT a big man's solo, unless that man is a dedicated sitter, and a pack boat sitter at that.
The bench seat is about 6-7" off the floor, making it impossible to get my feet underneath, even in sneakers. Swift had a packseat track already set up inside to show the "dual use" nature of their seating options and the bench seat was touching the top of the packseat when it was slid under. Looks like they could *maybe* get 1.5" more height before the seat pods have to wrap around the interior shoulder.
The shear line is all packboat or typical regular/small man solo. This is a regular dude and a massive dog boat, or a regular dude that is 80# overweight boat, not a linebacker boat. Unless you want a pack boat, in which case it is probably just about perfect. Bill Swift was great about it and said they would definitely put drops in that would raise the seat by 3/4", but that wont be enough. He seemed somewhat surprised that the fit was so poor, given that I was the "exact guy this boat was supposed to be for". I told him it WAS perfect, if a packboat was the goal.
Another almostbutnotquite. The quest continues.
My idea of a linebacker solo:
15'6"-16'6"-ish length.
2" front rocker, symmetrical or 1.5" rear.
28/29" gunwale width
30-32" max width
29" width 3" waterline
10"+ seat gap to floor
19"/14"/16" shear, bring it all up an inch if the shoulder needs lifted to get the seat high enough.
280-290# 3" waterline
Build the paddle station for a big guy and THEN work the hull shape around those parameters. You can put big people in small boats, but they have to sit on the floor. Sidebar on that: note that the tandem paddled backward retains the taller seat height of the original configuration. For some reason, manufactures seem to want to drop the seats down when they move to the center. If the seat needs to be at the gunwale to maintain a comfortable leg position, then do it. Reinforce the layup, rework the stability profile, whatever.
As another aside, I had a GREAT conversation with Charlie Wilson about the subject. Maybe Northstar will be the manufacturer that gets it right for next year. They already have a great hull to work from with their Polaris: shorten it by six inches to a foot, bring all the center widths in by 2", and raise the center shear by an inch. Make it in Blacklight HD, and bam, a great rivers and lakes tripping boat that fits men who are over 6' and 260# that like to do work in the gym.
