I apologize for coming to the party late Moss.  I am in the Indianapolis area, and have a Bell Magic.  You are more than welcome to come paddle it.  I have a friend who has a Prism, and I am sure we could work it out so that you could paddle both.  Of course, finding a day to do it would be the hard part, but I am willing to try!
My biggest grievance with the Magic is that my CCS Pioneer is just at the size to be a tight fit in the Magic.  Sometimes the straps snag while loading/unloading.  The solution is to have a smaller pack, not a wider boat, though!  I wish I had bought the Explorer instead.  But, something to think about if you already have hundreds tied up in a portage pack.
Honestly, the Magic "may" turn a little better than the Prism, but neither one likes to turn quickly, although leaning does help.  I did not notice a significant difference in tracking between the two.

GC Don, Thanks for the offer to test drive your Magic.  I would be happy to travel the hour and say "hello" but my next couple of months are full and I would imagine your time is short as well.  I appreciate the offer though.

Your and Solus's messages on appropriately sized packs is something i have already fought with last September.  I took the 2 smallest canvas packs I had and both were too big.  They did lay flat below the gunwales behind the seat and forward of the front thwart, but not without a fight.  Every portage I came to they were a chore to extract and to replace.  I am determined to reduce gear and have packs small enough just to drop in place and pull back out without swearing.  I already bought a CCS Rucksack for the bow of my Independence. I have always been surprised no one makes a line of packs just for solo travelers?

Do you lay your packs flat or on edge (side) to make them fit the solo boats?

Regards,

MossBack

Granite gear made a nice solo pack for about two years, didn't sell well enough and they discontinued it. I have one, and used it in my minimalist single portage mode (significantly lower volume than the Kondos Outfitter Special or the CCS Pioneer). The Granite gear Solo is really well designed but not as well manufactured as the CCS or Kondos. Repairs have been frequent.  The Kondos fits nice in the Advantage unless I stuff it to the gills. I insist on laying packs flat. I had Kondos install a grab handle below the hip belt (standard on the CCS) for ease of extraction.

I use a CCS Bushcrafter (a Rucksack with two bottle pockets) for the front pack (in double portage mode).

The "pack mistake" that I make when tired at the end of the day that makes me crazy is when I gather myself for the big heave from the ground to my back only to discover I'm standing on the hip belt.