Hi,
I am looking for a new sit on top kayak for use in Florida.
My main concern is that it be light weight. My old kayak is an ocean kayak Trident 13. Really want something lighter.
I am considering the Eddyline Caribbean 12 or the hurricane skimmer 116 or 128.
Does anybody have experience with these kayaks? Curious if they can handle surf well? I do not usually launch from the beach, but it is something I would like to try.
Thanks
Eddyline Caribbean 12
I have this boat and really enjoy it. I use it mainly for the summer because its easy to get in and out of and great for those summer months on the inter coastal or in the gulf. Its very stable, in fact you can stand up in
in and I have. Its definitely not a speed boat but I did not get it for that
reason and you can pack a lot of stuff in it for your day trips . I have not had it in the surf so can’t tell you anything about that. It says it weighs
45 pounds but my scale says 47. I like the seat that came with it and its really nice how the front area self drains constantly so you are not sitting
in a wet seat all day. Hope this helps your decision. My friend who I paddle with has the Hurricane so she may weigh in and give you her opinion on that boat. Good luck on your decision.
Hurricane Skimmer 128
I’m the friend with whom PI in the first reply paddles. We’ve had our SOTs about the same length of time, paddle them frequently together, and both of us are happy with our choices. Hers, though, is her summer-time boat, and mine is my main boat, paddled year round.
You won’t go wrong buying either of these, and I also have 2 friends who are happy with their Skimmer 116s.
The Skimmer 128 is fast, extremely quiet (I also have a Hurricane Phoenix 120 which is a noisy boat, so I appreciate this) and dry–I don’t need scupper plugs for flat water, and so far I have not taken it in the surf. I have had it in enough wind for whitecaps, though, and it is quiet and splash free, and dry.
I don’t know how much this boat weighs, but having loaded the Eddyline and the Hurricane to the tops of a RAV4 and Hyundai Elantra many, many times, I can say they are close to the same weight. I use a cart, so I don’t pick it up anyway.
The back well is big enough for my cart, folded, to be stowed, and the little hatch in the back is just right for the cart’s strap to be out of the way.
I don’t think standing up in the Skimmer would be a good option–haven’t needed to try that.
Hurricane is very proud of the new seats in their SOTs, and they should be except for one thing. The seat is not removable, so if my boat is loaded the night before and it rains, the seat is wet and stays wet. The seat back is adjustable (I keep it in the lowest position and it fits right under my Astral V8 PFD) and great, but I do wish the seat cushion were removable. Were that the case, this boat would be perfect for me.
Don’t know if it is important to you, but the Eddyline Caribbean costs about $300 more than the Skimmer 128, and I don’t see why.
Both are very nice boats and good choices for light weight SOTs.
Thanks
Thanks for these reviews. They are very helpful. The problem I have is I have not found any stores near me that sell these kayaks. So I am probably going to have to buy one without seeing it first.
But I am feeling more comfortable about it after reading your reviews and other reviews that I have found on the Internet. At this point I think I’m probably splitting hairs. Both sound like really good options. And the only other light weight that I have seen that looks interesting to me is the Delta catfish.
Speed is not that important to me, but I have read that any of these three are faster than most sit on top kayaks due to materials and hull design. I know my old ocean kayak was pretty clunky in the water.
Thanks
While you’re looking.
Hi 1stCoaster,
I know you’re asking about an SOT, but what the heck, as long as you’re looking at Eddyline boats, I would urge you to take a real good look at the new Raven. I’ve paddled this boat and it has to be right up there in the top three, or four boats–ever.