Thanks Brian, your right on about trying to sell the old Skerry with the ocean cockpit. I had it up for sale all spring and 1/2 the summer with no luck. The boat has a lot of cracked gel coat. The cracking, plus the small cockpit makes the boat unappealing to the majority of folks looking for a kayak. Most of the experianced paddlers don`t seem interested in the 23 inch fish form of the Skerry. I saw a few hybrid strip boats this summer which started me thinking. The things I do not like about paddling the Skerry are the high aft deck, especially after cutting out the VCP seat and sitting lower on a foam seat. Secondly the deck could be lowered and still have plenty of foot room. Also entering and existing in any kind of surf is a pain. The hull shape is definatly a winner. I wiegh a little over 200 these days and that seems to be just about right for the boat. My goal is to shape the aft recess like the Redfish King. Redfish Kayaks calls it a rollers recess. If you haven`t already, check it out on there website. My intention with these posts was to see if anyone else on the board has already done this. I`m going for it, should be fun and not cost much. Thanks for the incouragement !