I purchased the 2008 LL Bean Manatee DLX a few weeks ago from my local LL Bean store during their boat sale. Having looked at many other kayaks in the same price range, I was delighted to find the Manatee DLX came with all of the features it does. The padded seat is a welcome respite from the hard-molded seats that you tend to find in other kayaks of the same size and price as are the fully adjustable foot rests which are fully capable of being adjusted "on the go" without need for tools or to be outside of the boat.
The Broad beam means excellent stability for beginner and intermediate paddlers. It also means that if you are of average girth, you don't need to worry about waist pads as the gunwales are well out of range of your mid-section as you paddle. The re-design of the Manatee also incorporates standard knee-pads along the gunwales which provide you with not only a comfortable trip, but with a good shoulder pad when it comes to portaging your kayak either to and from your vehicle, or around obstacles on the river.
The '08 Manatee also has a water-tight hatch cover allowing quick access to the rear storage area of the boat without having to dig behind the seat. While the hatch cover will keep water from coming in through the hatch itself, there is no bulkhead separating the rear compartment from the cockpit of the boat. This means that if you plan on carrying any cargo that needs to remain dry, you should invest in a high-quality dry-bag, or at least a good double-wrap job with a heavy-duty garbage bag as water from your paddles tends to pool in the v-notch depression that runs the length of the entire boat and ultimately winds up in the rear compartment. It isn't as if it floods or anything, but if you're stowing a change of clothes or a sleeping bag back there, you'll want to make sure it's secure in a dry bag of some sort.
In addition to the hatch access to the rear of the boat, the new Manatee also comes with two sets of gear webbing (at the fore and aft of the cockpit) as well as a paddle notch with webbing to keep your paddle secured to the starboard side of the kayak allowing you the use of your hands for everything from binoculars for bird-watching to checking your river charts.
The only draw-back to the boat is that if you want to move on to multi-day trips (though the Manatee holds enough cargo for an overnight outing and should be fine for small river or lake voyages) or trips with difficulty levels such as class III+ rapids or medium to large sea swells, you will wind up needing to purchase another, higher-end boat. The Manatee also tends to be a "short" boat in the sense that it is only 10' from bow to stern. While most kayaks in that range tend to suffer from poor tracking, the Manatee's two bottom channels combined with a keel-like bow and stern tend to handle most tracking issues you would encounter. With proper paddling, my boat does not wander at any speed yet still handles deftly when needed. The large cockpit can be a boon or detriment depending on how you look at it. While it allows ease of access to the boat, it also means that there is more area to allow water into the boat. Obviously a work-deck or half-spray-skirt would remedy that situation, but I would not suggest attempting to use a full spray-skirt with this particular model unless fully capable of performing an "eskimo roll" using the manatee itself as the broad beam means that it will be more difficult to right should you find yourself capsized.
All in all, if you are looking for a short-trip or day-trip kayak, for use on calm lakes, rivers, or even a little minor-to-moderate whitewater (up to class-II+/III-) it will serve you quite well. The addition of the cockpit cover for storage use as well as the carbon-fiber multi-position paddle means that all you need is a PFD and you'll be ready for a day on the water.
