The new Dragorossi Performance Outfitting system is more traditional than the Elite Outfitting system.
It comes with adjustable hip pockets which fit most people.
The super slender can easily use one of the shims as a template to cut more padding, which can be added in the pocket.
Notice the velcro pad on the side of the seat.
This does most of the work of holding your hip pads, and will allow you to adjust the position of each hip pad to fit your personal body type.
Feed the top strap through the holes in the seat (where the backband straps are) and thread the end through the buckle on the front side of the hip pad.
Get in the boat with the buckle a bit loose so you can adjust the hip pad position to fit you.
Tighten everything up when you have found the correct placement.
The rotomolded bow pillar is new for 2009. It has a thumb screw that is set loose when the boat is new. This is so you can move your seat forward or back. Once you have found the correct seat position, tighten the screw down so the bow pillar will do its job of keeping the boat's shape and making it strong. (it will compliment the foam pillar that runs under the seat, and the pillar in the stern, making a unified I-beam along the center line of the boat)
Notice the rounded, concave shape to the pillar. It's meant to be used in conjunction with a bungee cord to hold a water bottle or small throw rope. (the larger rope can go in back)
The bulkhead for 2009 is mostly traditional, with one new feature; the adjustment plates.
They can be adjusted to fill in any gaps, and prevent your feet from slipping past the bulkhead.
While not needed for general river running, if you plan to use this boat as a creeker then I'd recommend cutting a foam plate to cover all of this, that is at least 3" thick.
A special note on the adjustment plates:
BOTH the black and white plates adjust, so the adjustment is both horizontal and vertical, allowing you to fill the gaps better than if it was just one way. Essentially, you can make the plate expand or contract as you move it up and down.
The traditional thigh hooks can be adjusted with the included allen/hex wrench. (4mm)
I took two pictures so you can get an idea of the adjustability.
The thigh hooks are held in place by three screws. Be sure to loosen them all to make your adjustments.
A word of caution: when tightening them back up, you only need to make them hand tight, no need to crank down too hard. Let the gaskets do their work without making them totally flat and your boat will be dry for a long time.
The new, larger DR Performance backband is softer than the old one, and makes stern access eaiser, for important gear such as a spectra throw rope.
It's much easier to access the stern by lifting the backband up, instead of trying to stuff things over the top.
Here are way too many photos of the first Mad Boy that was unwrapped last week.
