No I don't know him. I was at the Volvo Ocean race re-start in Annapolis at the Fleet Reserve Club and saw the boat across ego alley. I took that picture just so I could post it here.
On the seats, the base is made of plywood. Thats the way they were when I bought the boat. The base is just 4 sides and no bottom so no storage underneath. They are not secured to anything, they just sit on the deck. This works out well because you do need to move the seats to open the engine cover. I also like to move the seats forward when the boat is covered so the seat back does not interfere with the cover.