I have 2 ocean kayaks, a Frenzy and a Scrambler XT. I live in south Jersey and like to ride waves that break from sandbars off the beaches. I am around 280 lbs. and am looking for a new boat that suits my needs. I find that I am a little large for the Frenzy, but I can control the Frenzy well in the waves but am slowed down because of my size and amount of water in the kayak. The Srambler paddles great and I have no problem catching the waves but it is very difficult to control. Does anyone have any suggestions on a kayak that I should look at that might suit me better?
Unfortunately you are above the weight of most boats designed for surf play. The scrambler is about as good as you are going to do with a SOT. You might look into some high volume planing hull whitewater boats. I’m not up on current best selling models. You might also think about investing in a real High Performance sit inside surf kayak or international class surf kayak. The IC class will hold your weight easily and will be good for the surf in NJ. Mega makes some excellent surf kayaks and IC class boats for larger paddlers … http://www.surfkayaks.com/home.php?cat=287. Another possibility might be a BigBoy longboard waveski from Island, Roy can custom make a good waveski for a very good waveski for a large surfer …
Yeah it’s hard to find surf craft for bigger folks. I’m 6’2 and 270lbs, with size 13 feet and a 38 inch waist. I can barely squeeze into Mega’s current ic boat the Ghost. The Mega Megatron would fit and float you, but it’s an high performance (hp) boat, and needs steep clean waves, which we seldom see in the northeast. Can also be tricky to roll. There’s a Mega Mighty Kahuna which looks like a sot and might be a good fit for you,
I’d look around for a used Dagger Kaos to see if you like surf kayaking enough to invest in a custom jobbie later on. Might be a bit of a wet ride but would probably work well enough to get a taste of diagonal wave riding.
There’s also Cobra kayaks which if you could find would be a good long boat for smaller mushy waves.
http://www.cobrakayaks.com/recreational-kayaks/radical-kayaks/
@Johnnysmoke said:
Yeah it’s hard to find surf craft for bigger folks. I’m 6’2 and 270lbs, with size 13 feet and a 38 inch waist. I can barely squeeze into Mega’s current ic boat the Ghost. The Mega Megatron would fit and float you, but it’s an high performance (hp) boat, and needs steep clean waves, which we seldom see in the northeast. Can also be tricky to roll. There’s a Mega Mighty Kahuna which looks like a sot and might be a good fit for you,
I’d look around for a used Dagger Kaos to see if you like surf kayaking enough to invest in a custom jobbie later on. Might be a bit of a wet ride but would probably work well enough to get a taste of diagonal wave riding.
There’s also Cobra kayaks which if you could find would be a good long boat for smaller mushy waves.
http://www.cobrakayaks.com/recreational-kayaks/radical-kayaks/
Yeah, I would go with the Dagger (formerly WS) Kaos. Seen different 200 lbs plus folks ride it well. The first few diagonals in this video were of a RI surf paddler - Bubba - who was definitely north of 230 lbs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXwYTb0ra6A
Not sure there is any current surf specific SOTs larger than a Kaos, unless one finds a used Cobra Revision. Yeah, if one is really into surf paddling, I think a custom waveski is not out of hand.
I spent all of last week on the Maine coast surfing knee/thigh highs with my Infinity longboard (9’) waveski. Small medium period swells were all I got (shrug). The longboard, however, made the best of what I got, especially given the heat wave we were in (As a spectator came up and said - “I enjoyed watching you enjoy yourself on those waves!”) Made me think of adding the 9.5’ Legend waveski from MacSki sometime in the future. 
http://www.macskisurfgear.com/legend/
(Fingers crossed for some Florence swells at the end of this weekend…)
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