Splash II

I own several sit inside and sit on top kayaks (one that costs twice as much as the Crescent Splash II). This kayak is my favorite. All kayaks have their pros and cons, because they are designed for a specific purpose. This is a recreational boat: great for lakes, wide rivers and coastal waters. It is heavy, but if you use a kayak cart or a two-person lift, that isn't a problem. It is very durable, which is a plus on our North Georgia lakes with rocks. It is very stable, and fast when solo paddling. I typically paddle mine several miles each trip and it doesn't wear me out. Tracks well, glides very well, and if you weight over 200 pounds, this kayak will move faster and easier for you than a shorter kayak with less buoyancy. One thing that other reviewers haven't mentioned that is extremely important is self-rescue re-entry. If you tip this boat, and most people will eventually tip their kayak, it is very easy to re-enter it due to the low hull height and wide, stable beam. Just grab the sides, kick your legs to the surface so your body is parallel to the water surface, and pull yourself up. (Look at the kids jumping off the Splash II kayak on Crescent's web site; easy to get in and out of the boat in water over your head). I have other SOT kayaks that sit high above the water, and aren't as easy to re-enter. If you purchase a sit inside kayak, you should practice self-rescue re-entries A LOT. It isn't as easy as many people think. The Splash II is a strong, stable, easy-t-o paddle boat that will last a long time. And it's inexpensive!

I have a Cresent Splash 2 for about 3 years now. The kayak has plenty of weight capacity, cuts the water great and is more of a budget $600 at the time kayak. It holds up to wear and tear very well. I kayak on the Indian River/Mosquito Lagoon area of Florida and it has performed great.
Pros:
Weight Capacity
Able to carry multiple riders
handling in rough water

Cons
a little on the heavy side at 67 lbs
molded seats

Overall for a budget kayak it is great!

We got this for those days when we wanted to spend some closer time together and/or only load one boat for the two of us. It's a great tandem for recreational flatwater on the lake or river.

The biggest plus is the incredible stability. You can't turn this 'yak over if you try. You'll fall over the sides before you flip this thing. The 34" width isn't so wide that it's unmanageable though, it paddles very well for a great big 12' 80# (rigged) SoT. It cuts the water as cleanly and as fast as any of my single SoT's and faster than some.

Larger paddlers and heavily rigged fishermen will appreciate that the design allows for paddling from the center seat. The 450-500# capacity makes this a great single SoT for folks who are concerned about overloading a smaller single boat and flipping it.

Another huge plus, if you're the handy with tools type, is the ease of working on this boat. This kayak is particularly easy to customize and rig if you'd like to add components that don't come standard.

I can't say enough good about this particular model as tandems go. It's definitely not the same as some of the models that cost 2x or 3x as much and it's certainly not a touring 'yak. But as recreational flat-tops go, this is a very well designed boat with all of the stability anyone could ask for in a tandem SoT.

It would also make for an exceptional camp/rental kayak.
[PS: take it into the ocean and use it as a longboard - it's wide enough to stand on. Total blast!]

Great kayak for the money, handles very well, plugs work perfectly, but a little heavy to deal with. Grips on each side would be nice. I have a more expensive Cobra Tandem, it's lighter but doesn't handle as well. Tends to sway to the right. I would buy this one again.

Love my Splash II , bought it bought out of the roto-molding warehouse where they outfitted it on the spot. It has a great integrated rudder so it tracks well in wind, its quite wide for good stability in the ocean.

The only real con is the weight, Runs like 80 lbs for the tandem. Great boats for the kids. Can easily paddle my twins and with 3 seats, the kids work out well.

This review is for anyone interested in knowing how a Splash Two compares to other similar kayaks. First let me say that I own both a splash 1 and splash 2 and am very happy with both. Second let me say that you should not try to compare the Splash 2 to a touring or white water kayak. They are not in the same category. Third let me say that you should not compare a sit in to a sit on top; if you are looking at the Crescent Splash 2, I presume you are considering sit on tops. I also would like to say that this is not my first kayak and I have paddled very nice touring kayaks as well as recreational sit ins – No white water though.

OK so what I like. The price, considerably cheaper than other kayaks. Kayaks I considered: Liquid logic deuce coupe, Wilderness Tarpon 130T, Hobie odyssey and Kona and cobra double. What brought the splash 2 to the top, did I say price…oh yes! We wanted a kayak that could be paddled solo and also would fit three. The Splash is very comfortable for two adults and one child in the middle and extremely comfortable for two adults. It tracks well and for the type of kayak it moves along the water smoothly and fast (once again, do not compare to a touring kayak.) It handles the waves really well and it is fun. This kayak is also supper stable. At 34 inches wide it is very hard to tip it.

What I also like is that you can stand in it and paddle it like a stand up board or just get a better view around. Notice that if you stand up on it don’t let your kids rock the boat…you will land in the water but the boat will not tip. It has really well defined seating wells but you must get the seats for a really comfortable ride.

The other thing we like about the Splash 2 is how well designed the middle seat is. Most other kayaks just had a (rear end checks) holder with no defined back rest. Solo paddling is great. Compared to others this kayak has a good amount of storage and we had the factory put a second hatch in the front for additional storage. It works well.

The bad: It is heavy. At 70 pounds and 12 feet long it can be awkward to handle especially for one person. If you are using it in flat water I highly advise scupper plugs. We put it in the water without the plugs and three people and we had water come up and stay there. Unless you exceed 300 LBS solo paddling should be OK without the plugs.I weigh less than 150, solo paddling form me is fine without plugs. Any how I still recommend the plugs. Scupper plugs give you better buoyancy and keep you dry. If you are using in the ocean or class one or two rivers take the plugs out…you want the drainage and besides you are going to get wet anyways. The kayak is made of very good plastic and definitely competes with all the brand name kayaks out there.

Bottom line: I like it and if one thing I could change is that it would be a little lighter. Otherwise it is a fun boat for relaxing, exercising, taking the kids out, and more. I would even do a weekend camping trip in it. Are there other kayaks I would have preferred? Sure, but once again price and features made this our choice. Hope this helps anyone looking at the Crescents.

I purchased my first ever Crescent kayak; the 3 man Splash II. The kayak is a sturdy, easy to manage, competitively priced vessel. From the get go Zack patiently and expertly answered all of my questions. If all kayaks were the same (which they are not) I still would have done business with Crescent because of their excellent customer service and follow-up. Crescent Kayaks. Superior Products, superior service. A win, win.

Our family loves Crescent Kayak's Splash 2. We initially were looking at a pair of single sit-on-top kayaks from another brand, but decided to go with the Splash 2 since it could be used as a tandem kayak, or by one person in the extra middle seat.

So far it has been really durable and performed well. We've taken it out on nearly a dozen trips, and each time its been stable and easy to paddle out on the water. The best part about the kayak was the price. I saw comparable tandem kayaks going for nearly double what this one ran us. It comes in lots of cool colors too. We got a nice lime green one.

All in all, I'd highly recommend Crescent's Splash 2 to anyone that asked.

We bought a pair of these sit on tops directly from their factory in Carrollton, GA. They outfitted them right on the spot and the price from the factory can't be beat. We took these to Florida and proved to be very ocean worthy and great on the back waters too.

The Splash II has 3 molded seats it's great for me and my twins. Easily handles two adults and cargo. They track great in the wind. Also nice and wide, and extremely stable. You can even stand to fish.

The negatives: They weight in at 75lbs+ outfitting. A Kayak cart is a must for these babies. The wide beam can also make it difficult to rack these... I use a trailer so its not an issue, but they would be a beast on a car top.

I was looking for a stable kayak that I could use either as a tandem with my wife, or solo if my wife didn't want to paddle. We already have a tandem sit-inside that works well for when we both paddle but with non adjustable seats it wasn't suitable for solo paddling. Our last few camping trips to FL convinced me that a sit-on-top for use on the beaches and for easy climbing on and off for snorkeling would be a welcome addition to our fleet. After doing a lot of research I came across the Crescent Splash II, which is billed as a tandem kayak, yet has 3 seats so you can move to the center seat when paddling solo. We could also carry a small child in the center seat when we paddle tandem which would be impossible in our tandem sit-inside.

I've used the Splash II on 3 trips now. Two were on lakes and the latest was paddling 10 miles down the Chattahoochee river. The Splash II is very stable, and it paddles well. It also tracks straight due to it's built in "keel" so it worked well with my picture taking. The middle seat is probably just a little in front of the center of gravity, so if you don't have any gear in the back you are probably riding just a tad low in front, but that was not troublesome at all. We had steady winds yesterday on our outing but they did not affect our speed or direction much so this is much better in the wind than our canoe is. We have the optional high back "Seals" seats that are very comfortable and have brass clips that allow you to switch from tandem to solo easily.

The Splash II is heavier than most sit-inside kayaks but at 66 lbs seems to be average weight for tandem sit-on-tops. Although it weighs less than my old Scanoe, it does have the drawback of not having any side handles to help one person lift it or steady it after you lift it. I can get the kayak up on my shoulders and carry it easy enough but without handles on the sides to hold onto while doing that it's pretty unmanageable. I temporarily solved the problem by wrapping one of my tie-down straps around the center and that gives me something to hold onto and maneuver easier when it's on my shoulders. I plan to install two handles that I ordered on the sides to solve this oversight.

Overall, compared to other tandem sit-on-tops I think this is an excellent value and hope to have many happy trips on lakes, rivers, and beaches.