Okay, this is going to sound rude, especially through text, but that boat is simply going to be too big for you unless you plan on piling a ton of gear into it.

I'm 6'1 and 165-170 and my 17 1/2 foot boat is just about perfect for me. Even if you modify the boat to fit you better, you're not really going to gain much from the added length.

That said, if you decide you absolutely have to have the length and volume, you can easily modify these to fit you better in the cockpit, even if not elsewhere. You could take one of the designs and scale it down to 95% or something like that, but you'd have to build from scratch to do that.

The best part about these boats is the ability to make slight mods with drastic effect. You can lower the coaming at the foredeck half or three quarters of an inch and that will make a big difference in the feel of the cockpit. You can do the same in the rear to help keep a consistent look or if that's less important, just flatten the whole thing out a little.

There are lots of ways to outfit the boat to fit it a little more suitably as well. Once you decide on a boat, perhaps a sheerwater 17 or a arctic hawk (roughly 17' I believe) would be good options. I've paddled both and liked them very much. Again, I think they'll still be a little big but both can be tweaked.

FrankP