I couldn't agree more with all that - I tried the Etain and North Shore Atlantic at Kayak Centre's spring demo day in April.
The Etain was fine but more of a barge to paddle than other big boats I've paddled out there (Explorer/Nordkapp). The North Shore Atlantic and LV were a welcome surprise. To me they were a bit like NDK boats (explorer/romany), perhaps slightly less rocker, but with better thigh grips and comfortable cockpit. I heard the North Shore boats are an old design given new life by Valley. I'd like to try them again.