I'm about the same size (5' 7" 155) and found the Jefe a little hard to paddle at first but moved the seat all the way forward (which still left the boat trim looking like it was a slight bit bow heavy). Once I got used to the boat (give it a dozen trips or so) it felt great and was a lot easier to control and quite honestly the best boat I've paddled but I had to give it a little time.