The Texas 200 is destined to be one of those grueling boat races where the most common question asked will be 'Why? Why am I doing this?' I'd love to do this race, but I don't think I'll make it. Still, it does not stop me from dreaming. These are the doodlings of my dreams.

If I were to do this race, I'd use a Chinese Lug for the sail. Lug sails do not go to windward as well as Bermuda sails, but the Chinese Lug has that wonderful feature of built in reef points. I can't see any reason to have more that ~ 70sqft on a PDR, so a Chinese Lug with an 8ft boom is perfect.

I'd also have a flat floor. With a flat floor, I can tell myself I have enough floatation to go with decking rather than airboxes. I also believe this will be more comfortable for sleeping.

A PDR floats on its side in no more that about 4 inches of water, so 6 inch side decking will keep the water out as well as airboxes. With decking, I can stuff things under the decking, roll over in my sleep, and just have more options for stowage.

I'd have (2) positions for my (1) seat: One position for sailing and one position for rowing. For comfort, seats need to be at least 10 inches above the floor (11 is better, 15 seems optimum, but 16 starts getting too high.)

For rowing, the oarlocks need to be at least 6 inches above the top of the seat (7 is better, 8 seems optimum, 12 is too high.) I plan on sailing more than rowing, but to minimize cockpit obstructions and weight, I'd make only one seat and make it movable from one position to the other.