Comments on: Are Sit-on-Top (SOT) Fishing Kayaks Safe For Offshore Fishing?

By: admin

admin — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:58:24 +0000

Here’s a related comment I got by email from Jeff:
-”Remember we had talked about the product defects in kayaks. I saw a recall on some kayaks down in Australia, something about leaky scuppers. Anyway the recall notice mentioned that was dangerous. Under the result of the defect they listed drowning as a possible concern. I really wish I had mentioned something about the defects in sot kayaks long before now. You know we have folks on the JaxKayak site who regularly just stuff foam practice golf balls into their scupper holes to hold down the water levels inside their hulls.
Of course the other issue with leaks and hull water are the hatches. Last year one of our lady anglers flipped her [popular, 14ft long fishing SOT] over while reaching for something and had her front hatch off at the time. The boat flooded and she lost quite a bit of gear in the process. The water was shallow maybe 5 feet or so but still with a mud bottom things are never found. You would think there should be warnings about leaving hatches open.
One other thing in that regard about weaknesses in those sot yaks. [A manufacturer of pedal driven sot kayaks] sells their boats with those pop in wheels. You are supposed to put them under the boat with the support arms going up through the scupper holes. The whole idea is just nuts since that thin plastic inside the supper holes will wear and create a leak you’ll not find until you are happily pedaling the darn thing around. I suspect the pedaling effort gets a bunch harder as the water load in the hull increases.
Jeff”

By: admin

admin — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 22:37:51 +0000

Absolutely - Polyetheylene (PE) is the best and most durable plastic material I can think of when it comes to kayaks and other small watercraft, and that’s why it’s by far the most popular in this industry.
Being a bit flexible makes it resilient (compared to say fiberglass, or carbon fiber), and it’s very stable chemically, so doesn’t bond well with anything. These factors (flex and low bonding capability) are at the root of the problem of waterproofing holes in PE hulls.

Although the W kayaker can see every drop of water that may be on the bottom of his W kayak hulls, we take the precaution of never drilling holes anywhere near the waterline, simply because we know that stuff happens.

Yoav

By: sot.guy

sot.guy — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 22:25:52 +0000

Isn’t the wavewalk hull made from the same material??

By: admin

admin — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 22:09:37 +0000

John,
This sounds like a traumatic experience.
I agree it’s a design flaw, especially since you must assume that there will be holes made in the hull, whether it’s for deck rigging (handles, eyelets etc.) or fishing gear (e.g. rod holders) - and anywhere on a SOT deck is by definition too close to the water to be really safe.
Worst of all - when it comes to polyethylene hulls there’s no way to get a hole perfectly watertight forever, and all SOT kayaks are molded from polyethylene resins.
Yoav

By: John Boswell

John Boswell — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 21:59:05 +0000

Rented two individual SOT plastic kayaks yesterday to take to Santa Cruz Island off Ventura California. One hour out in moderate chop and swell I fell off my kayak 3 times. Realized that hull was half full off water which made it completely unstable. No way to empty it. Had my son tow me and the half submerged kayak back to a beach which took about 40 minutes.
Turned out the rod holders were not water tight and were allowing water into the hull. Never a life threatening situation but under different circumstances could have been extremely uncomfortable and or dangerous. Serious design flaw.

By: Avaz_Bob

Avaz_Bob — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 20:42:35 +0000

Like many other products, fishing SOTs are over hyped to a point where many people feel they must own one just because it’s “Cool”… and then they discover that it’s not that cool to suffer from a wet butt and sore back for hours
Bob

By: Knucklewalker

Knucklewalker — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 20:37:17 +0000

Sit on top kayaks are just glorified paddle boards outfitted with a nasty combination of foot rests and back rest that’s guaranteed to hurt your back.

By: admin

admin — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 18:08:53 +0000

Ron,

You can use expanding foam from cans or mix two components in a cup and pour it in. You just need to do this job gradually, using small quantities of foam at a time because the expanding foam could deform the hull.

Our experience with foam is that side flotation is the most effective, and therefore we offer all our new models with it, standard.

Yoav

By: Carp

Carp — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:33:55 +0000

It costs money to fill those sots with foam, and it makes them heavier.
Carp

By: Ron Wagner

Ron Wagner — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 12:26:04 +0000

Seems like all kayaks should have maximum closed cell foam in all hollow areas not needed for legs or storage. There should be some ways to retrofit this, even if using spray expanded foam from cans. Would appreciate any info on best way to do this. I think SOTs are much safer for all but the fully trained and skilled ocean kayaker in good pysical shape and properly dressed for falling in the water, or rolling. I am curious why manufacturers don’t fill with closed cell foam. Probably to keep weight down, and buoyancy up. Keep the kayak sleeker etc. I would prefer a heavier kayak, with wheels for getting to the water.

By: Fish Wiz

Fish Wiz — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 20:35:41 +0000

Sea coyote,
The guy who wrote that review must have felt perfectly safe too when he launched his kayak that day
FW

By: sea coyote

sea coyote — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:03:01 +0000

I don’t disagree with what’s said here, I just want to say that personally I feel safe fishing in the ocean with my [SOT brand name] yak. I never go fishing alone of course.

By: Carp

Carp — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 23:36:02 +0000

The older your kayak gets the less reliable the plastic becomes, and the more prone to cracking and leaking. I agree it’s more of a problem in sots than in other types of kayaks.

By: admin

admin — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 14:48:44 +0000

Yes, by filling the hull with cast urethane foam. Doing so is a long and elaborate process, and it’s risky too since the expanding foam might distort the hull.
In any case, since neither SOT kayaks nor urethane foam are particularly lightweight, the result might be that the kayak would be too heavy to cartop easily.

By: Mitch_P

Mitch_P — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 14:41:38 +0000

I wonder is there a way to make a sot kayak totally safe?
thank you
Mitch

By: Pete

Pete — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:01:02 +0000

Great article, and great discussion!
Anything that inspires overconfidence can be dangerous. With sots you don’t expect problems, and when you have one it takes you too long to realize it, and sometime it can be too late, and that’s the real danger.
Pete

By: LeblancF

LeblancF — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 21:15:47 +0000

This is a provocative article but it sure gave me some food for thought.
Frank

By: HerbS

HerbS — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 13:14:07 +0000

SIK, SOTs and W kayaks each have their own pros and cons for offshore fishing. I think the most important is not to go fishing out in the ocean all by yourself.

By: PatrickTT

PatrickTT — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 21:06:18 +0000

That’s a scary report and a sobering article. I think I’ll stick to fresh water fishing for now –Pat

By: Fish Wiz

Fish Wiz — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 17:59:29 +0000

I agree with what bluefish and others have said here: You can’t overestimate the importance of comfort and ergonomics. The more comfortable the kayak the safer it is.
F.W.