The Dagger Blackwater 13.5T has a bulkhead and hatch with a drop skeg, cheaper seats, but a slightly lower price. The Twin Otter is 14’, no hatch or bulkhead, nicer seats. The prices are very close and the boat will generally be used by one adult and one child on flat water. Any other pros or cons we should consider?
Any opinions??
flotation is always nice
the Blackwater has a hatch and bulkhead, which is built in flotation. The Otter lacks these so you will need to buy flotation bags to put behind the rear seat.
From the pictures I can’t tell which seat is ‘cheaper’.
The skeg will help the kayak go straight easier, which might be nice because you can never tell how much help kids will be in that area.
The Blackwater is 10 lbs heavier which seems surprising because of the beefy rails on the seat system of the Otter.
kayak material
The Old Town is made of Polylink3 material wich is much stronger and has a foam coar sandwiched between two polyethylene layers. This foam creats alot of floatation, thats why Old Town has much higher weight capacities. The Dagger is made of a single layer of polyethylene and is required to have additional floatation like a foam bulkhead. Just something to consider.