Brandon,before you decide on length and cockpit size,give some thought to having a small cockpit on the foredeck that would have a dogger fold up to conceal the dog,and a handy access for storage.I forgot who on the site had pics of such a set-up.The dog in the cockpit while trying to rise and shoot from a reclining position is problematic,at best,and muzzle blast is too close to the dog.The option I like is having a bowed dogger that the dog can fit under,right behind your head while layout hunting.