If you put King Kong on the transom seat, the Wherry will wallow.  The rigger can be mounted in a more forward position to better balance a load near the transom.  In this case, the Wherry will handle about as well as with a heavy rower.  You will need to talk to John (CLC), or build and adapt to the load you want to carry.  As long as you are reasonable with the weight and balancing, the Wherry will handle just fine.

Thanks, how difficult is it to move the rigger - can it be set up to be mounted in two positions, depending on the load?

I believe the Wherry can be set up for one or two fixed seat rowers and one or two sliding seat rowers.  CLC can certainly help with the how.  If you can build the Wherry, you'll surely be able to install the mounts for an additional rigger position. 

How difficult...?  Loosen two large thumb screws (or whatever you use to hold the rigger in place), lift and reposition the rigger, tighten the thumb screws.  Don't take my word for it, it's been a while.  Call CLC and get their opinion.  Better yet, go to a CLC demo and do the lookie-feelie thing (they have mini demos once a month, look at their schedule).

I have the Wheery set up as stated in the instructions. My wife and I weigh about 130 each. With her in the back seat there is a point where you will feel the boat kind of hit max speed. It didn't matter how much harder I pulled, the boat would not move much faster (via GPS speed). You must remember that this top speed is WAY faster than I could ever paddle my Chesapeake kayak, but it was still a noticable drag. With easy pulling the boat still really hauls with a passenger. When I took the boat out on my own, the transom wasn't sitting in the water and that top speed limitation wasn't there. I felt like I could pull somebody on water skis in that thing. If the weights are much different than my example you would probably need to move things around a bit. With the wife back there the transom sits pretty low. I'd have to say another 40 or 50 pounds back there might not keep the boat out of the water. But in the big scheme of things nothing beats a nice slow rowing day in a beautiful boat out for a picinic with the hot wife in the back seat with a parasole.

Our Wherry is set up with the row wing in the standard position and, treading carefully here, it drags significantly with my bride sitting in the rear.  I weight almost 200; she's about 150.  I agree with Ricks, on my own, it feels like i could pull a skier.   We selected this boat because we were interested in a pulling boat for a single rower.  If I were looking for a pulling boat to carry a passenger, I might consider the Chester Yawl or take a closer look at the new dory.

I never considered adding a second rigger but it's probably possible although you might have to reposition, or add, thwarts.  The other issue would be cost.  Between rigger and sculls, maybe another $800-$1000.

Hmmm, considering that my wife is not exactly a lightweight (she won't see this I hope) probably they Yawl is a better choice.  Also, considering where I would like to row it (san francisco and tamales bay)  the Yawl looks like it can take heavier conditions with two aboard.

I rowed an Anapolis Wherry last summer at the demo in Newport Beach and I don't know that I'd recommend carrying a passenger.  The ends of the wherry are very fine, and with a sliding seat rowing rig, your weight travels fore and aft about 3' with each stroke.  However, I'm 6'2 and about 250 lbs, so your mileage may vary.

 The boat I rowed immediately after the Annapolis Wherry was the Skerry.  And surprisingly enough, it rows just about as well as the Wherry.  More stable, tracks straight as an arrow, and that without even a sliding seat.  Were I considering carrying a passenger while rowing, the Skerry would be my first choice.  No question about it.  the skerry has a narrow waterline and similar length to the Wherry, but as weight is added, its ample flair and fuller ends mean its performance won't be diminished by added weight so much as would the slimmer, finer ended Wherry.  And the Skerry sails, to boot.

I'm just finishing up the NE Dory.  I 'm hoping it will perform well in the 21 mile Blackburn challenge Sat (if the paint dries!)  But this boat was the one I jumped at getting. I knew the Annapolis wherry was a one man boat and it had some difficulty when the chop got over 1-2ft.  The NE dory is a one or two man boat and it has a large capacity for extra weight. Freeboard is much better for open water and in my opinion, the lines are just as, if not prettier than the Annapolis Wherry.  Keep an eye out for the results of the Blackburn Challenge /  fixed seat single (or the new class; working boat single)  If the NE dory rows anything like the Annapolis wherry I tried at the 08 woodenboat show, I expect to do very well indeed.

I have the Wherry and love rowing it (alone) with the sliding seat. I did find the oar locks too low for my thighs. I then removed the supplied oar lock risers and made my own that raises it another three inches. It now works and I can have someone in the back without too much loss in speed (if I use the most forward oar lock position.  So it's 'doable' but I think the advice already given is on target... try it at a hands on demo and/or give CLC a call. They've proven to be incredibly helpful each time I've called or emailed them. Solid support.