looking to add a rough water playboat to the quiver. kinda got it narrowed down to these two... any thoughts? also looked at the Nigel Foster boats from Seaward...
TIA!!

I just demo'd a Romany standard size and the low volume one for play in offshore break. I also sat in a friend's Anas acuta for about 4 seconds before jumping out of it! The NDK Romany stnd felt like home. This will make my 3rd sea kayak. Steve

thanks for the note... Im leaning that way, too

Hi - (sorry for the long post, hope it helps - my stats: 5'9", 190lbs, 51yrs)
I've got an Explorer and I love it dearly. I've never been so comfortable and confident in a boat. If I had to only ever have one boat it would almost certainly be it. But I have been in situations (like a local tide race) where it takes everything I have to maneuver it through the waves. This was certainly due in part to my abilities and experience (read: not great). Also, if I needed to just get through it there wouldn't have been much problem - the boat is great. But I decided to get something maybe a bit smaller and with more rocker to be more playful (and hopefully accelerate my learning). I wanted to try a Pintail but ended up (through recommendation and research) going with a VCP Avocet. I'm at the top of it's size range but I don't plan on anything but daytrips in her. I just learned it won't be in until mid-May so I can't say how it really compares, but the hour I demo'd it it seemed just what I was looking for. I'm still interested in the Pintail (especially with the ocean cockpit) - it has a reputation for being VERY maneuverable (not too good at straight), but also a bit squirrelly (helps if you are very skilled).
So, I guess what I'm getting to is - Do you want to go out on the open coast, tide rips, surf, are you big/strong/skilled enough maneuver the Explorer (it will do it), or do you want something built to be more nimble.
Good Luck, Randy