Scott, maybe see if some additional ballast would add stability...?

Dave, yes, I think you mentioned that the Sea Otter was less adept than the Sea Dart 15 -- unfortunately, after my project was well under way (bulkheads cut, and my first post on the project, I think).

As far as sitting on the skin instead of on floorboards, that's my preferred plan for the Sea Dart project. I'm not doing it to get low, as much as to save weight. And because, with confidence in the skin, I just don't see any need for floorboards. I'm going to put 1 inch of minicell on either side of the 1 inch keelson, and most likely use the same Happy Bottom pad (not really thin) that I'm using with the Sea Otter. I'll probably glue the spacers to the seat pad, and use some bungees around the Happy Bottom's hip pads to hold it in. So, I'll be sitting at the same height from the skin as I am with floorboards.

And, I'm going to eliminate foot braces, and use a foam foot block, as I've enjoyed in my wood boat. Along with use of the floating coaming -- thus eliminating the base ring -- I expect to cut several pounds, and come in under 28 lbs. total, with rigging and float bags. That's still with the 12 oz. nylon skin and Corey goop.

: The easiest thing to do (and we did this) is to remove
: the floorboards and sit directly on the skin and keel. A little
: padding on either side of the keel helps keep the wooden thong
: effect to a minimum . . . .