Fastest, stable sit-on-top?

Yes, Sir,
I’ve previously owned the Hobie with their drive, fitted out for freshwater big lake fishing ( with downrigger) and enjoyed the hands-free component but found I enjoy the padfle in hand even more. Truly a seaworthy vessel. I appreciate the suggestion.

I have a Revo 13 and love it for kayak fishing in the RIGHT conditions. One time pedaling back in from the outer Boston Harbor, the offshore wind seriously picked up beyond the 10-12 knots forecasted. It was gusting up to about 20 knots according to the Boston Buoy. I have to say I was exhausted when I got myself back to shore. At times, I was barely making headway. I then switched to the paddle. That proved harder because of the width of the Revo and seating position which is not ideal for paddling. (I wish I was in my Scupper Pro that day!!!)

All kayaks have limitations. Learn what they are and stay within the parameters!

sing

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Two that I had forgotten about are the Cobra Tourer and Cobra Strike + ( not just the Strike).

Cobra uses a denser plastic than most rotomolders, so it has less of an oil-can effect and produces more glide.

Anyone know if the early, two hatch, no adjustable foot peg Ocean Kayak Scupper Pros (designed by TIM N) had the same lower center-of-gravity “cockpit” as the newer versions?

The Cobra Strike Plus is just another name for the Cobra ReVision.

https://cobrakayaks.com/radical-kayaks/

I like the Cobra Strike Plus (ReVision) but it is not a general paddling SOT like the Scupper Pro. The ReVison is mostly a surf specific design.

sing

The Scupper Pros basically have the same hull design but two different storage configuration. One version had front and back hatches. While the Scupper Pro TW (tank well) had the open area in the back and a hatch in front. The Scupper Pro for an intermediate paddler is a pretty stable and still relatively fast.

When Tim Niemier went to create the new version of the Scupper Pro with Swell Kayaks. He did drop the footwell of the Swell 14, giving in a lower center of gravity. It’s talked about in the his description:

What is not talked about is that the lower footwell results in more water sitting in the lower cockpit area when the kayak in not moving. When it moves, the Swell 14 has a newer scupper hole design that supposedly drains the water faster. The scupper design is talked about in the 2:30 of this video:

sing

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Thanks, Sing! That’s exactly what I needed to know

everything is mostly a trade off

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Interesting development! I see a fairly big impediment to those becoming popular, namely, their increased weight compared with the old Scupper model. All that recessing and added features such as footrails and seatbacks carry a weight penalty.

62 lbs vs 55 lbs for the 14’ Scupper, IIRC, despite being slightly less wide.

Yup! Ultimately, after initial excitement about Swell, I am still hanging onto my “classic” Scupper Pros rather than going with the newer Swell version.

sing

Hey everybody!
I’m new here. I just bought a used Scupper Pro off of Craigslist in San Diego, CA. for $175. It has the “Designed by Tim Niemier” graphic on it, “Scupper Pro” along the gunwales, 4 scupper holes (two in the footwell; two at the seat) all original riveted anchor points with no add-ons, pretty clean overall except for one very odd property: It has no hatches! Both hatch areas are solid uncut “blanks” marking where the hatch is supposed to be but is the same continuous plastic as the deck/hull. No openings on the kayak at all except for a drainage plug on the stern. Ah, it also has a rather large rectangular factory sticker on the center console area, has the round pad up front in the cockpit for a compass. It DOES have a welded seam running from gunwale to gunwale right up behind the edge of the backrest. A repair? Looks like a very solid and factory-clean seam

I cannot find a single pic of a similar Scupper Pro online. Can anyone tell me what version/year of Scupper Pro do I have? Could it be a factory dud? Maybe it needed that seam repair and they never cut the hatch openings because of that? Just guessing…

No idea what the seam behind the cockpit would result from the way the kayaks are made; if it had been bent at that point in an accident you would think there would be damage elsewhere, Back when I joined the San Diego Sit On Top kayak club ~ 2000 there were lots of models of sit on tops you could buy that did not come with hatches and you had the option of having them installed or DIY. I seem to remember a paddler I knew who had a scupper pro with no hatches and it was red and in San Diego. Not impossible it was a factory second. There was a dealer in Carlsbad many years ago who had a source for “blems” and factory seconds.

Not personally experienced with this kayak, but most SOTs rely on a sealed hollow hull for floatation. The markings you see probably indicate where the kayak could be special ordered and fitted with optional hatches. Given the difficulty of repairing a plastic hull, usually involving plastic welding, adding hatches would probably not be a good DIY project, possibly permanently compromising the watertight integrity of the hull.

Curious where the Tarpon 14 would stack up against the Scupper Pro 14? I would assume some speed difference but it is a huge margin or just a little bit?

Well, I have a2003 Scupper Pro and it has a front hatch that’s very large…The back is a well for equipment and being only 25 inches wide, it has been known to be one of the faster SOT’s available from a while ago… I’ve seen other kayaks that don"t have the hatches cut out but they were lesser priced and more or less entry level

Here is a reference to scupper pro without hatches:

I still have my two Scupper Pro TW (front hatch and tank well in the back) kayaks. I use the SP for salt water fishing as well as kayak camping in the Boston Harbor Islands. I can maintain a decent touring speed of 3-3.5 mph with a “casual” (not too slow and not too fast) paddling cadence with my Greenland paddle as measured by my GPS fish finder. I have kept the two SPs because these are increasingly harder to find. The SP is a great no - fuss guest boat and great no muss summer boat.

-sing

“Fast” and “Stable” are mostly in opposition to one another.

Stability is having floatation of the hull more to the sides and thereby giving more resistance to sideways angles because of that buoyant effect. But in doing that it also means more water to push aside to make passage, and more surface drag.

So “fastest stable kayak” seems a bit like asking what is the lightest heavy weight. I am not sure how that could be answered.

Speaking only for myself, I favor the “faster” hulls for my kayaks, not because I value speed that much, but because “fast’ is another way of saying less resistance, or less power needed to go a certain speed.
When I got my first 'narrow” kayak I did a lot of capsizing. But inside about 1 month I’d learned how to use it. It reminded me of when I was a kid and learned to ride a bike. I fell over. Quite a few times.
But in a short time I developed the skill to use it well. Same with my 21" wide kayaks. So if I were looking for a SOT kayak I am sure I’d look for a higher preforming kayaks and simply take what ever time I needed to develop the skills to use and enjoy it. Enjoying it more as I learned how to use it is going to be far better then learning how to use an under-preforming kayak and wishing I could move it faster or easier over time.
Anyway, that is just my opinion. Others may be different and their opinion is just as valid as mine.

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I have a new Tarpon 14. Very stable but a bit sluggish compared to my old T160 but the motor has a lot of miles on it.

The later versions of the Tarpons are barges compared to the old Scupper Pro. The original versions of the Heritage Seadart (now about 24 years old) were faster than the Scupper Pro, the fiberglass versions were even better. If the plastic is still good an old Scupper Pro is a pretty good boat for ocean paddling.

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I have a Necky Vector 14 that I really enjoy when it gets super hot here in Texas and I want a change from my sit-insides. Not sure what would compare to it out there these days but it’s pretty quick for a SOT.