Thanks to all who posted particularly John whose comments cockpit
fit and posture I've recently come to appreciate. I'm now about a
month later in my search and am welcoming a well fitting cockpit which
only a month ago I found confining. The boats I still like are the WS
Tempest 170Pro, the P&H Quest, and the Necky Chatham 16 (only demoed
the plastic model). I've settled on a 21 to 22 inch beam and a boat
that has reasonable primary stability bit feels lively on the water.
I need a large deck depth for size 11-12 feet . The other boat on my
mind is the P&H Capella which has more rocker than any of the boats
listed above. Unfortunately I can't keep that boat on track with even
moderate to light quarter beam breezes unless I spend a lot of energy
edging and sweeping. Of course the skeg solves this problem, but I
have it in my mind that I shouldn't need the skeg under such gentle
conditions. Just to give you a little background about my novice
experience level I had the same objection to the Ellesmere and Night
Hawk. Is keeping the boat on track something else that will improve
with time and experience or is my initial judgement correct that the
Capella is a more playful boat that trades off tracking efficiency.
The Quest tracks great but is a bigger boat than I really need. (Not
planning a multi day expedition anytime soon). So far the Tempest
seems to provide the best tradeoff: tracks well but not exactly on
rails and also turns easily. Good stability but also lively, and a
cockpit that can be adjusted to fit like a glove or a little looser if
you prefer. I'm waiting to try out a composite Chatham whenever anyone
gets one close to my location. Anyone out there want to comment on my
reflections P&H Capella?
Another subject: recently paddled a P&H Orion. This is similar but not
the same boat as the CD Gulfstream. While the hull may be similar or
identical, the cockpit and deck are quite a bit lower resulting in the
absence of sitting in the bathtub effect that I experience with the
Gulfstream. The cockpit width seems a little tighter but the boats
beam is still wide.

Thanks,
Gene