here's an opinion question for everybody. Is the loose fit strictly a function of volume, or is it too much room in the cocpit (that could be adjusted out with padding maybe?), or is it some combination of the two?

: sorry for confusing the issue. I made a Coho for a friend your size and have
: paddled it in the surf and flat water. It's very nice, fast and
: maneuverable and if you have appreciable paddling experience you'll feel
: like you're swimming in it. These are classical displacement "180lb
: paddler plus 80lbs of gear" sized boats.
: If you are considering a four panel hull check out the Merganser 16, I'm not
: sure of it's weathercocking compared to the Tern but the Tern is also a
: bigger boat. The 16 might be slightly easier to paddle at cruising speeds,
: guessing the 17 a little faster overall, understand this is splitting
: hairs guestimates and really not as important as whether the boat is the
: right size.
: The OspreyHP and Osprey standard are fast boats, they just don't turn easily.
: I paddled with a guy that weighed 225lbs plus 25lbs of gear in an Osprey
: standard on a day trip in the ocean, he was not overloading the boat.