Paddled a rental recently at Crystal River Kayak. I don't see many Delta's in my area so I was interested in paddling one. The boat has hard chines that seem to maximize it's 22.5" beam. Fit and finish of the boat was quite nice and the thermoformed plastic deck and hull looked really nice despite being a rental/demo boat. I wasn't knocked out about the skeg control rope.
The boat edged quite well to allow good maneuverability and the flat bottom made the boat a great day tourer in that it had plenty of initial stability. Very reassuring. Seat was also quite comfortable, more so than my P&H. Another rope cleat arrangement adjusts the back rest and it worked very well.
Speed was good to better than average....I was able to maintain around 4mph with little effort. I picked the boat up and put it back on the rack after paddling it....wish my poly Scorpio was that light.
The boat badly needs a day hatch. Probably the only negative thing about the boat. Really Delta?? No day hatch on a seventeen foot boat??
I like a deeper boat, and the deck is more accommodating than the specs would have you believe. FWIW, I'm six foot tall and about 205 lbs. This boat had plenty of room for me and probably more. Great boat to visit the manatees with