I think Matt was having his ear bent off by many people at the show, and still is presumably.
The Drascombe/Devon lugger was the great boat of its day, but I really do think the Swallow Boat design has moved things way beyond it. As Claus Riepe said on another thread, if you want a good Lugger, there is no need to buy a new one, they don't offer anything extra over a good second hand one. Drascombe themselves have realised this in the design of the Drifter 22, which has the rudder in the right place, on the back and not under the bottom. The Drifter, and Swallow Boats, also makes much better use of the internal spaces than any of the Luggers or Long boat derivatives (I shall probably get shot by Drascombe lovers for saying this.) I always felt that the Dabber was the best Drascombe design and I loved mine for 13 years until I wanted a cabin boat. The Drascombe Coaster offers amazingly little accommodation for a boat of its size, and then you have to yank the rudder out in shallow water. I tried one out at a Drascombe Rally and thought it was horrible. The little 16ft Winkle Brig I did buy then was like a palace by comparison, even though it was 5ft shorter. When I saw the BayRaider at Beale I thought it ideal, and what the Lugger could have developed to, if only it had a cabin...