Yes, committing early can be risky--IS risky. I'm benefiting from not being #1 and there are changes on my boat that 'should' make it better. But subsequent boats will be better. Last time, I was boat #10 and it was better than 1-9 but 11-20 were better refinements. I think it's part of the general trend of things. There are still unknowns but I'm not going in blind. The current unknown is the launch date--July 'sometime'.
Tentative plans are the Newport and Annapolis shows so I'll be passing through your area this fall. We'll stay in touch.