Ok folks need some insight, I have been looking to add to my small fleet, I have a feel free 13.5 lure fishing kayak and a riot 14 foot touring kayak, I am a covid newbie, 54 5’7 190 on a good day, have a shore home on the Delaware Bay so weight is not much of a issue, I will only transport the kayak once from buying it to my home, the bay is much tougher to paddle than the lakes and rivers I was on last summer. I am looking at 3 different eddy lines all used, a fathom,(16.6 feet) a older falcon ( 18 ft) and a Stinka LT ( 14.6 feet) Am I in the right ballpark, they will spend 99% of their time on the Del bay, I do not see anything more than a day trip in my future. the Stinka seems the hardest to find used right now. I do not think I need anything like fiberglass or composite bc of where I am gonna paddle, if I scratch it I do not want to worry about it to much. someone recommend a dagger stratos as well but have not seen them around for sale I am hoping to grow into the next Kayak I buy I will keep the ones I have. I have no problem waiting until the right kayak comes on the market but want to be able to act when I see it. Any insight would be helpful TIA
Lol, it’s called the Sitka, not the Stinka.
I have a Fathom LV and a Samba, which is now called Sitka. I think the Fathom would give you a better ride in big water.
Kind of a coincidence that you made this post just now.
I’ve been looking at possible step-ups from a rec kayak and the Eddyline Sitka has stood out for me.
Just yesterday I emailed them a question about which of the three sizes would be best for me and they thought the LT would be it…
I’m also giving the Equinox a look. Less of a jump up from my rec kayak and probably better for class two rapids.
Fathom would be best. Gelcoat or thermoplastic they all scratch.
One of my friends paddles a Fathom now. He loves it and recommended it to me, but it looks like they no longer make the LV. This makes me grumpy. It looks like a nice boat.
Friends Fathom paddled nice.
Sitka and Fathom are both great boats. I’ve been thinking adding a fathom to the fleet myself. I paddled one four or five years ago. Very nice boat.
Judging by your current fleet my vote would go to the fathom, it’s more “different”, and as your experience and skill expands, you might want to do more serious sea kayaking then you don’t have to buy another kayak. I have a Merlin XT and I am really impressed with Eddyline with what they are able to accomplish. Have you test paddled any of them? The fathom will be tippier at first, I have seen people adapt to it after half an hour on water to on the other extreme where people just give up and saying they don’t feel safe in it.
They are a bit more scarce in the 2nd hand market which I think also speaks about their quality so not that many owner are dumping them.
I’m assuming when you say “older” Falcon 18 it is fiberglass and has the no skeg or rudder. As a former owner of an 18’ Falcon, they are for going straight and fast. It takes a lot to turn them compared to any other hull I’ve ever paddled. I also have paddled a Fathom as a rental, and it is a much more forgiving and well rounded sea kayak. Good luck in your hunt for a new boat!
Second the directional orientation on the Falcon. I tested one. It goes straight, fairly fast. And you don’t need to regularly be dealing w 18 feet of boat wht bother. You still have to get it in and out of the water.
Go for a boat with more generalized characteristics. I am not personally familiar w either of the other two, but each have fans. The Fathom is a more middle of the road length for bigger water.
I have been unable to paddle a Sitka or a Fathom, I think if the falcon is not fiberglass the ad says it has a skeg and is made of CarbonliteI, so I may try to see it. I have seen a few of the fathom on the 2 hand market but only one Sitka and it was gone b4 I could inquire. I found my riot tips coming from a stable fishing kayak so hopefully I can adapt if I end up with a Eddyline
The ad says it has a skeg and is not fiberglass.
Eddyline’s discontinued model list states the Falcon was made of fiberglass or kevlar. The Falcon S18 is thermoform, EDY’s Carbonlite 2000.
I owned and paddled a Sitka LT for about 18 months. I’m 5’7", 160 lbs and the Sitka always felt just a bit too roomy for me. My wife has a Sitka ST (the smallest Sitka) and loves it as it fits her perfectly. For me it was just a bit too snug and did not provide enough room for my feet to be comfortable.
One thing I noticed with the Sitka LT was that I had trouble keeping up with my wife (not that either of us is a serious paddler). The Sitka LT is a bit wider than the ST which probably explains at least some of the speed difference.
I recently traded my Sitka for a Fathom LV and the fit is much better for me. It also has no problem keeping up with my wife. Overall, I am much happier with the Fathom LV. The other thing I noticed was that the Sitka LT was surprisingly heavy for its size versus other Eddyline boats. Eddyline lists the LT as either 47 or 49 lbs. (depending on which brochure you read). The ST is only 43 lbs. and feels much lighter when I compared lifting it versus the LT. The Fathom LV is a foot longer but weighs the same or less than the LT. The full size Fathom is 2 feet longer than the LT and yet weighs only 1 to 3 lbs. more.
Given your size, you might find the Sitka LT a better fit than it was for me. I have not tried the full size Fathom, but that would likely be faster than the Sitka and a bit better for more active water.
Then it is the updated S18, not the same as the 18’ fiberglass boat I used to own. I have no experience with the S18 but I’m guessing that they loosened the stern a bit and made the newer hull more well balanced and a little less stiff tracking. Good luck and best advice is to test paddle before purchasing.
Seth,
Don’t take my comment as anything other than a remark on what I’ve experienced as an instructor teaching ACA recognized classes. Eddyline has been critical of my thoughts in the past, yet I can only report my experience. I personally would not own an Eddyline boat for one reason: I’ve experienced several instances of deckline fittings literally pulling out of the deck during rescue/recovery situations. I mean pulling completely free of the boat leaving a significant hole. This leaves me quite suspicious of the material/construction methods……. Whiile I personally don’t care for the design and handling properties of their boats, thats simply my preference, not a critique.
Since you asked: my 2 cents. Good luck.
Had deck lines pull out with Swift boats, also whoever made the Mystic one time.
Should be pointed out that, in what I saw, the Swift boats where this seemed to be more likely were also the ones slanted towards use on quieter inland bodies. They were not boats that someone anxious to do a lot of rolling would have.
Would be great if that were the case with the Eddylines I’d seen. These were regular touring boats.