When you say your looking at the photos and like the dummy silencer, do you mean my length of soil pipe tool box??? :-)
I'm 5' 10" and a bit and find the Dommie really comfy for around 160 miles, then things start to get sore. Luckily that's about a tank full so rest stops give me the chance to stretch a leg. Did try a sheepskin cover but found it a pain, more recently I've tried cycling shorts and they seem to work.
Didn't you look at a Dommie seat on ebay recently?? You should have bought it, it went for a song and would have been Ideal for recovering with greater padding.