Thanks guys. I haven't taken a tape measure to it,but I've got the royalex 17' penobscot (17'4"?,Ithink). It did pretty well in rough seas in the past,but then my little guy was only maybe 100lbs. He is growing fast! A couple of topics down ,they're discussing the backwards tandem issue and I've been following it. Seems that I ought to put a bunch of time in it going backwards down here (in Illinois) to get through any learning curve,before I 'jump ship'. I can still carry it,and sometimes 'making do' gives it's own satisfaction. Not getting needlesly bullied by the wind is something I'll try to work on down here. A slightly smaller affordable boat that I can customize is appealing. Thanks. I'll look to the backwards tandem topic-site for more info and let this one focus on solos.