I'm happy with my selection of a carbon freak, but both my buddy and I were talking this weekend, he has an identical freak to mine, and I wish I had the cajones at the time to get the -4.3. It is so incredibly stable, yet so maneuverable at the same time any shorter length could easily be made longer by a longer ride plate if you wanted to add some for different water conditions, in flat water or even moderate chop on the Chesapeake it's 1 1/2-2 feet on average you can run wide open all day long chasing boats. Tem has a real winner of a hull, I just wish I had more talent to showcase it better! I can wreck myself as spectacularly as ever now though!