Eddyline Caribbean 14 vs Bic Scapa Fit

Advice
#1

When I got my new kayak last year, a Perception Tribe 11.5, I was buying more stability than I now think I need, at the expense of characteristics such as glide and speed.

Now I’m looking to correct that misjudgment with a longer boat. Since I favor SOTs, and since the boat needs to ride in the shortish bed of my pickup truck (seven feet and change with the tailgate open), I’ve been looking at the longest SOTs available now, which are 14 feet.

My research: I have read and viewed every video and user review I could find on both boats.

Uses: Mostly lackadaisical cruising on a calm lake, with occasional forays onto Lake Erie. If I like how the boat handles it, more Lake Erie. Rivers, when I can find one with water in it.

Me: Five feet eight and overweight at about 180 lbs. Want to shed some of that.

My gear: One medium-sized dry bag, one waist-pack dry bag, and my cane.

I had the choices down to the Eddyline Caribbean 14, the WS Tarpon 140, and the Hurricane Skimmer 140. I’ve since eliminated the Tarpon due to weight, and the Skimmer because of its mostly-flat bottom.

So I thought I was done, (aside from saving up the money), until I saw one I’d forgotten because it never seems to get mentioned anywhere: the Bic Scapa Fit.

I think I rejected the Scapa earlier because, to me, it’s just eye-bleedingly ugly. Honestly, it looks like an inflatable that’s lost a bunch of its air. Not that the Tribe is a thing of particular beauty either, but I was hoping to get a prettier boat as well as a less effortful one–another reason I didn’t much care for the Tarpon.

I may also have rejected it based on the many negative reviews I saw for their little jon-boats.

But here I am, seeing the Scapa is both longer and narrower than all my other choices … and $800 less than the Caribbean, which means a lot, too. And they both weigh the same, though the Scapa is mostly naked.

Its nakedness appeals to me, actually, and I’d like it better if it didn’t even have that little hatch up front, which I can’t reach from the seat. The other boats are here-a-hatch, there-a-hatch, everywhere a hatch hatch, and the Caribbean even has accessory rails. I don’t need any of that, though I’ll admit that the tiny between-the-thighs hatch in the Tribe is convenient.

I was a little surprised at the number of positive reviews of the Scapa.

Anyway, I’ve tried to come up with a list of pro and con features of the Caribbean and the Scapa.

CARIBBEAN
PROS:

  • It’s pretty, and I get to choose a color I like (green).

  • Its seat is supposed to be pretty nice.

  • Paddle keeper

  • Nice water-bottle holder with elastic keeper

  • Excellent reviews

CONS:

  • Price

SCAPA
PROS:

  • Longer, narrower

  • It appears to have a low profile, which might minimize weathercocking

  • Comes rigged with perimeter lines

  • Excellent reviews. Reviewers widely comment on its speed and good glide

  • Ad copy plainly calls it a “sea kayak”, which tells me it might be better suited to Lake Erie

  • Price

CONS:

  • Water-bottle holder is a simple well with no keeper.

  • Seat. Don’t know if their accessory seat is any good, but a simple back-band might work okay. I’d try it as is first, then shop around or improvise if I felt the need.

  • Orange. I’d prefer not to spend three or four hours in the sun with a bright color reflecting in my face, polarized sunglasses notwithstanding. But at least it’s not the bottom of an aluminum canoe.

  • UGLY. But then, I won’t be looking at it while I’m in it.

Now to other differences that I’d like input about if anyone can offer any …

Hull material: Caribbean is, IIRC, ABS; Scapa says it’s polyethylene. And it might take a plastics engineer to know the differences.

Hull shape: I’m looking at the bow shape of the Scapa, which looks a lot like surfskis. On flat water I’m sure it won’t matter, but I’m wondering if that would be better or worse than the Caribbean’s more upturned bow on short-period waves. I can’t help wondering if the Scapa would tend to bury itself in wave faces, but I also don’t know if that would be good or bad. Punching through waves instead of riding over them sounds like fun, actually, but exhausting, too.

BOTTOM LINE: I want to cover more distance with a given amount of effort.

#2

Had no idea that BIC, which makes lighters, also made kayaks. Learn something every day.

The Bic Scapa Fit looks more like a short surf ski. I saw a couple of comments in the review section by @FrankNC so he may be able to answer any questions you have. According to BIC’s specs, the boat is thermoform.

Raftergirl has not posted here for quite some time, but leads tours down the Colorado paddling her Eddyline Carribean 14. In this thread she remarked she was glad she added a rudder to her boat. Meander Canyon - Colorado River/Canyonlands Nat. Park

Always best to test paddle any kayak before you buy, if that is possible.

#3

BIC was big in price point windsurfers and paddleboards and of course pens…

#4

I owned a Carribean and didn’t like it at all. I now own a Skimmer and like it better.
I like the looks of the Skimmer’s hull better but they feel about the same in the water to me.
They both feel sluggish.
To be fair, I’ve had friends and relatives paddle both and they liked them.
I weigh 230# so that may account for my experiences with them.
I like punching through waves as long as the bow pops out on time to keep the wave out of the cockpit.
I like orange because it is highly visible.

#5

I hope you folks don’t come to hate me for this, but the thread just got complicated by another choice … the Swell Scupper 14–and it comes in green, and I like the looks of it. But, it’s 68 pounds.

No place for a water bottle? Center hatch, I suppose …

Decisions, decisions …

#6

I found what seems to be a comprehensive hands-on review of the Swell, here:

Wet feet; wet seat; scupper plugs don’t drain it completely or very quickly.

Interesting that they put the footrests inboard. That makes sense to me.

#7

With the rudder it’s 70#. And $1,400.

#8

That’s craziness…

#9

I’ve sent an email to them asking about the scuppers, whether they protrude below the hull surface when in the down/open position, and if the hull itself is formed with venturis at the scupper holes. The old Ocean Kayak Scrambler I had was made with venturi scupper holes, and it drained quite quickly.

I’ll let you know what they say, but for me, if the boat won’t drain without those plugs, and/or if the plugs protrude, it would be a deal-breaker for me.

The Scrambler was never completely dry; the footwells always had an inch or so of water and the seat often got wet, but I didn’t mind that. Four inches of water would be different, and I don’t like them saying that it’s stabilizing ballast.

#10

That should put the Tarpon back in the running then. Probably has the best seat and paddles nice.

#11

Yes, they do.

#12

Well, if it comes down to choosing between two 68-pound boats, I’d take the Tarpon for sure. For one thing, I can’t tell that there’s a whole lot of difference in the hull shapes between the two, and at a certain point those tiny differences get tinier as the computer refines the fluid dynamics. And for all I know the two companies may be using the same software for that, which makes you wonder about Swell’s claim of being the fastest.

Better seat; no-nonsense drainage; lower price … still, it’s a freakin’ battleship. I’m 70 yrs old now, and don’t look forward to manhandling extra mass, in or out of the water.

Guess I’m still leaning towards the Caribbean.

#13

I vowed to never buy a kayak that weighed 50 pounds or more. And I haven’t. My 14 footer is 42#, 16 footer 47#, and 17-foot boat is 48#. Two thermoform and one kevlar.

I appreciate the weight each time I load or move them around.

2 Likes
#14

And now for something completely different - called a kayak but looks more like a SOT. I’ve read some good things but not tried it, doubtful about Lake Erie, but it is light at 35 pounds, and it would fit in the short bed of your truck. I’m with Rookie, no more heavy boats for me…

https://www.seaeagle.com/RazorLite/393rl

#15

I did look at that one, carldelo, but I still have my first boat, a Sevylor Tahiti Classic, and I’m not interested in another inflatable. Last time I pumped it up I was too exhausted to paddle it, lol! And no, I wouldn’t go anywhere near Lake Erie on one.

#16

Swell Watercraft here: thanks for mentioning our kayak. Here’s a paddling.com list of reviews of the latest version of the Scupper 14: https://paddling.com/gear/swell-watercraft-scupper-14/
We agree it’s too heavy. That’s why we are moving production to a factory in South Africa that does 2-layer plastic that is lighter and stiffer than any in North America. We’ll get the weight down to approx 62 lbs and for our new 12 foot kayak 55 lbs. We’ll also be importing light fast SOT’s from South Africa from Stealth, Vagabond and Carbonology. We’ll start selling these in March. If you want a custom order, please contact us. Because these fast, light, efficient sit on tops seem to come from abroad, not the USA. Questions??

1 Like
#17

If you really want to impress me, move manufacturing to the United States.
Pretty sure two layer plastic construction could be done here.

2 Likes
#18

we will. as soon as we can increase our sales. we will do it ourselves when the time is right.

#19

@Swell_Watercraft–
Sorry to say this, but you’re not doing much to impress me. Lightening a 68-pound boat by six pounds, and then adding transoceanic shipping to a boat that’s already overpriced compared to others in its class (WS Tarpon 140)?

I have to side with SharpsRifle on keeping the manufacturing here.

Also, there’s that scupper problem that to my knowledge is still not adequately solved, at least for persons such as myself with some history of back stiffness (I’ve also had a hip replacement). You’ve given the procedure as follows: push the plugs down, paddle up to speed until the cockpit drains, then pull the plugs up. I, personally, could not physically reach those plugs from the seated paddling position, so that once the cockpit drained, I’d have to stop paddling and somehow scoot forward to reach the plugs–and while I was doing that, the thing would be filling up with water again.

I understand what you’re trying to accomplish: lower the overall CoG so you can narrow the boat and retain stability, and it’s a great objective; you’ve also put the feet a lot lower than the seat, which is a more comfortable and efficient position. You just don’t seem to have solved it yet without having a lot of water in the footwells. I’m not convinced it’s possible, but maybe you can engineer a one-way scupper valve that will make it work.

Hope I haven’t ruined your day.

#20

As to the Sea Eagle 393, Bic makes one like it, but with more features.