So, a little update. I went ahead and bought one and tried it out last week. At first I was a little miffed that instead of coming in a box it came in a bubblewrapped envelope. There were a few minor scratches on the tube, but after using it for a few hours I can tell you that the minor scratches it recieves in shipping are nothing compared to a few hours of use - LOL - no biggie, I'm not out to win beauty contests - I just want the gear to work.
Did it work? YES - and quite well. Takes some time getting used to it, and I had one accident that caused my loaded BC with regulator, weights, etc. to pop out of the SDAS and hit the deck, busting a hose on my regulator - but I was in some pretty significant swells, didn't have the safety strap on it, and wasn't paying attention. Lesson learned.
The other divers really liked it, and honestly my only complaints about it are this:
1 - There are only 4 positions that the bottom of the unit can fit into a rod holder. Basically you have an "+" cut into the bottom, so it will fit into the rod holder crosspiece in the bottom, but only in 4 different ways - I would have preferred 8 cuts so you could have 8 potential positions.
2 - Or instead, and I think this is a better idea, instead of the rows of three holes where the plastic hold brackets go in, one or two more holes need to be drilled so you have a lot more positioning options. I've got my pins set all the way to the right and I still need another 3/4"-1" offset for the tank to sit perfectly on the top of the gunnel. I may just end up drilling the holes myself to customize it exactly to my needs.
I will make one suggestion - spend the extra $38 and get the upgraded SS pins that also have a lanyard on them - no chance of losing these important parts! I also got the welded SS rod holder and backing plate upgrade so I don't put uneccesary stress on my fiberglass gunnels.
