Safety and ergonomics are closely linked in many products we use, including kayaks.
Here’s a new article discussing the issue of kayak fishing safety from a comfort perspective, that is comfort being a factor in your paddling and fishing safety:
Is An Uncomfortable Kayak Safe For Paddling And Fishing?
Needless to say that what is true for kayak fishing is true for kayak touring as well.
After yesterday on the water I had to comment. I met up with three other anglers all from our Jax Kayak group. We faced blue washed out skys, sunny with air temps around 45 degrees. They all had sit on top boats from 9.5 to 12 feet long. We fished for around 5 hours and I was the only one who never had to get out of my boat for any reason. The W500 was warm, dry and quite comfortable and much easier to handle in the wind. The only concession I made to the cold was a thin foam butt pad since the W seat is a little chilly in nylon fishing pants. By the time we left it was a straight blow from the NE at 18 to 21mph with a nice chop. We paddled into that on the way in and within 25 yards the W500 was well ahead of the group. The only wet that I got was from paddle drip. No kayak I’ve ever used and that covers a bunch of them can handle going right into the wind as well as the W does. No fish were landed, they showed more sense than us and stayed home. Time was well spent though with good friends on the water. But I did hook a pelican that tried to eat a subsurface lure going over an oyster bar. That is a whole different story.
Kayak fishing is a misnomer, if by “kayak” you mean those paddle boards branded Sit-on-Tops, or those other kayaks that force you into a peculiar sitting position shaped like the letter L that you wouldn’t otherwise dream of staying in for longer than a couple of minutes.
My pretty much educated guess is that out of all fishermen who’ve tried fishing from those ridiculously uncomfortable and unsuitable floating objects, only a small minority still does.
Pete