I picked mine up in mid-June and I'll get around to putting photos up and my thoughts on the boat in the bragging section one of these days here soon.
It really suits the type of fishing I do and so far I am completely satisfied with performance and fishability. I fish the jax beach area creeks, mainly on low tides and when I can catch a flood or right high tide, predominately on the fly.
I have the tiller, with a grab bar, 45 yeti in the middle, pre-rigged for a trolling motor with the suzuki 20 hp. I still havent decided if I want to add the TM or not, as I would only use it trying to exit a flat or creek into the wind on a high tide while still fishing.
With the gear I have loaded in the boat, 2 anglers (175lbs each) I am drafting around 5 inches and I have found with the mud we have here, I can cheat that to about 3 inches and still pole (somewhat). It fishes best with 2 people. When Im poling by myself, the stern drafts 6 or 7, but i keep most of my gear in the back hatches. I am working on dialing in my load distribution. Im sure I can level it back out by sliding my cooler farther forward. On the pole, it tracks straight, and turns tightly. It gets a little "drifty" when the wind picks up to 15 mph or so.
The ride is very comfortable, great in wind chop in the ICW, and handles boat chop well. I have only had one "oh chit" moment so far and that was with 60' yacht in a narrow part of the channel, but even then, I did not feel uncomfortable. I dont have a tach or GPS, but the advertised numbers are probably pretty accurate. Upper 20s, maybe touching 30 running empty and solo. Upper mid 20s with 2 people and gear. It will cruise decently with 3 people with anyone sitting on the gunnels getting some mist. In my experience, it handles best with one guy sitting on the middle cooler and me standing in the middle running the tiller. When I run by myself, the boat will lean unless Im balanced in the center. I dont have tabs and next time I'm solo, I will move my cooler all the way to the front.
I really like the storage layout without the bulkhead. There is enough room for all of my "occasional" and USCG items. I keep my tackle bag and life jackets under the deck overhang. They are out of the way when you need them to be, but I dont make a lot of noise and can easily access those items when I need to.
All in all, it does what I wanted it to do. Runs the ICW comfortably, fishes skinny with a buddy, and has a clean and smart layout. The guys at ECC are great and down to earth. Plus their shop is 5 minutes from where I grew up.
PM me if you have more specific questions. And since you are in the 'dina, we might be able to meet up for a wet test/fishing session.
