Those scuppers pour out above the waterline, so if you were to flip the kayak over, and then right it, water would drain out of the cockpit, except the bottom 4 inches, which is the area that is BELOW waterline. If these scuppers weren’t there it would be harder just to climb back in. Lots of other safety scenarios that make those helpful, like draining huge waves immediately, draining any waves deflecting from the bow, draining in case of broken valves that for whatever reason cannot be removed, tidal convergences, extreme conditions,etc
Got it.
To my understanding this is not true. Long flat areas can roto mold just fine, but on SOTs they need the scuppers for rigidity.
The tri bump is simply a reflection of Niemier’s adapting a hull to fit a scuba tank, it working way better than expected, and every other designer following suit. In fact the Vagabond has no tri bump, and uses flat hulls.
On the Swell Scupper 14 we removed the seat scuppers, which Niemier said would cause problems molding, and lo and behold he was right., So we inserted little “kiss offs” in the plastic of the seat to connect the top and bottom sheet, which fixed the problem 100%. In the end, these kayaks won’t mold correctly without the scuppers. In the case of thermoformed kayaks the scuppers are necessary for rigidity between top and bottom sheet, and they still add stabilizers to add even more rigidity to make the boats paddle efficiently.
The thing is, though, they’re enjoying a great deal of success at it, in no small measure because of the boats’ light weight. More expensive, yeah, but still way below the exotic-materials class, which doesn’t include fishing and rec SOTs anyway. And it’s obviously easier to make a prettier boat in thermoform than rotomold; Bic even does it in PE instead of ABS.
I love the people, products and process at Eddyline and bow down to their success. I enjoy their kayaks. They made our hatch covers for us. Just GREAT people.
Bic has struggled to make good kayaks, but they too deserve respect. Unique process only, no copy cat designs, made in France. I really like the design you highlighted in this thread. They rule in the sup world for similar reasons.
No disrespect to these great brands.
Geez, talk about hijacking a thread for flagrant commercial marketing. Is this really going to be considered OK here?
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I’d like to see you guys have some success too, if just to add to the diversity of choices in the marketplace. I think it helps that you’ve focused your effort so tightly, with a single hull and some accessories. I also like the direction of your design effort, to get the paddler down in the boat and simultaneously in a more comfortable and efficient position. I’ve been looking carefully at the vids and pics of so many SOTs, and most of them have the paddler sitting really high up or with their knees up in the air, or both. You’ve set yourselves apart in that. I’ve toyed around with boat design a little myself, and never managed to solve that problem.
I was shocked to learn that Bic had been in the watercraft business for so long. Until I started looking at boats, the last I’d had to do with any of their products was lighters and disposable razors. Staggering, they made their millionth windsurf board in 1979.
Flagrant or not, some good info and a nice looking SOT.
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I got a reply from Bic about the Scapa. They said:
Thanks for your interest in the Scapa Fit. I’ve answered some of your questions below, and have also copied our product manager here who will be able to assist with the additional detailed questions. This may take a bit of time as he is currently traveling for work.
So, I should be getting some more info, but they answered some of my questions inline, highlighted. Rather than worrying about losing formatting, I just snipped an image.
Odd that their ad copy calls it a “magnificent sea kayak”, yet their reply to my query says it wasn’t made for that.
None of their attached images showed me anything new.
That Bic looks interesting but it looks like it’s just for paddling and not much else. The Eddyline is twice the price but the bic is 20 percent heavier and the Eddyline looks like a way more versatile boat. Room for gear and setup for fishing.
No, the Scapa weighs the same as the Caribbean, 50 lbs.
“Just for paddling” is what I want. I’m beginning to think I’m in a minority of people who don’t buy a SOT to fish from, because I don’t fish. I don’t carry much gear to speak of, either.
But since I do want to get out in waves and current once in a while, it looks like the Scapa is not a good choice for me.
Just for paddling is what I do. I have had 4 Tarpons , a surf ski, a Carribean, and now a Skimmer, not counting the sea kayak, 4 canoes, and 3 sit inside rec boats. The Tarpon is the winner after all the years I’ve paddled.
We’ve done shallow creeks, rivers, swamps, and some nasty ocean trips.
But, that weight has become an issue as I’ve aged. Luckily , I have friends who help handling it out of the water.
We have a range of engagement of industry and retail types in here over the years. Frankly, one designer and rep from a company went way over the top, IMO, for a number of years. And, it seemed fine to most here. I remember having a conversation here with Matt Broze of defunct Mariner Kayaks about their designs. Matt quickly went off line because he conveyed he didn’t to get into the “stuff” that can and do happen here. I frankly wished he had engaged a bit more than he did. Now, I just keep looking for a Mariner coaster to show up on the local craigslist instead.
Kind of up to P-Net owners to decide how much “commercialism” they want to allow into these threads…
sing
Fair enough - it seemed odd to me, but I can live with it. I’m not remembering prior commercial stuff going over the top, but I may not have been paying attention. Sing, if you ever make it to the really big city, you’re welcome to try out my SOF version of the coaster.
Well, I may have invited it by posting that link to the stripersonline review in post #5. It doesn’t bother me, though. Yeah, Swell got a bit salesmanly, but we all got information on the boat, and some that isn’t on their website, and Swell got some more input from the field.
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