The issue is not which is “better” or “best”. I tell people there is no absolute best or perfect kayak, only what is best for the specific user depending on what aspects & features they desire, their preferences, type of water, budget, intended use, environmental conditions, etc.
For everything mention as a plus for SOT, I can give you a minus. SOT easy to get back on from deep water ---- Con it is easy to fall off with higher center of gravity. I can do the same for every feature of a SINK also!
That’s the problem with this site and most others when someone asks " what kayak should I get". Many people volunteer their own boat as the quick answer.
I will have a hemorrhage when someone here recommends a Pelican as a great kayak.
I think one of the main advantages is safety for paddling alone in rough water conditions. I can re-enter my sit-on-tops in less than about 30 seconds if I get thrown out. If I miss a roll in a sink and have to wet exit, I am in a lot more trouble. This was brought home to me about 10 years ago when I was surfing a sit inside surf kayak and dislocated my shoulder trying to roll up when a board surfer had dropped in on me, making me get worked by a large wave and was trying to help by straddling my kayak and trying to tip it over, while I was still inside thinking something had bitten the stern of my boat. If I had been alone and further offshore I would have been in very big trouble. Since then I pretty much surf waveskis 95% of the time, since I am usually by myself. I have three SOTs in my garage, one for surfing, one for whitewater, and one for touring. I’m comfortable paddling alone in all three of them. I don’t paddle in my whitewater or touring sinks ever by myself.
Rather than the Stellar Kingfisher as the SOT counterpart to my Sterling Progression, the Mirage 583 FreeRide may be more the wave playing SOT.
The Carbon Mirage weighs in at just a bit over 40 lbs, but it is 19’ x 21.5" as compared to my Carbon Progression’s 16’2"x22" at 39 lbs. The cost of the Carbon Mirage is about 75% of my Sterling, not including shipping cost from Australia.
IMO it’s exactly the opposite when it’s not in contaminated flat water. Very easy to be at the right temperature in a SINK, the bottom is warm when cold weather and cool in the heat (cooling evaporation is great with skirts like Reed). Less sun burns and easy to cool down by bracing or rolling.
most of my paddles are 4 to 6 hours, and i drink a lot of water. self-bailing sot and a wetsuit seems to be the only option, but if someone has a suggestion for how you get around that in sit in, or for that matter a drysuit, I’m all ears
True, humid and often some little water rolling inside the cockpit. Depends of practice I guess, hard for me to imagine kayaking without wetness.
I do a lot of surfski and seak kayak, in tropical and cold countries, and for me much more pleasant and easier to control the temperature in a skirted sea kayak.
Since part of kayak safety is related to immerson precaution, for me, the control of core temperature is more a function of immersion wear choices rather than the craft:
