Caribbean 14

I have 2 14ft SOT kayaks. The Eddyline is by far my favorite, primarily due to superior construction and a much better seat. I bought a silver/silver version in summer 2019.

Likes: The carry handles are all placed perfectly and are very good quality. The Cloud 10 seat is the most comfortable I've ever been in or on a kayak, no butt/back pain after several hours. The hull responds to leaned turns well but still tracks really well. Fit and finish is superb. It is not as fast as my Eddyline Fathom but I can keep up with the groups I paddle with just fine. Lots of fun to play with in the waves! I only day-tour and I don't fish but I can see how it would be a great fishing platform. Also, since it is light and well balanced it is pretty easy to take out and load on the vehicle. Easy on and off for swimming or snorkeling.

Gripes? The forward hatch could seal better - ants got in and started laying eggs, they were a hassle to wash out.

Mine is a new 2015. As advertised , it is a very stable boat and comfortable. I would challenge the " highly efficient" comment in the ad. I have owned WS Tarpons for years, typically 16' , and the Carribean has only two characteristics that are better. - Weight. At 50 lbs it is much easier to move around out of the water. - Turning. Much easier than the Tarpon . I expected that since the Carribean has a flat hull. I was able to get the Carribean to 4.4 mph in a sprint and it cruises easily at 2.5 mph. It is certainly not a fast boat. For a SOT , the seat is high and dry. The high back seat is comfortable but is up to my shoulder blades and gets hot. I'm considering cutting it down. It is so paddler friendly, I find it boring. I have only had it out on flat water. It will be interesting to try it on some bouncy water.

Because of a knee issue, I use a SOT kayak for day paddling and multi-day trips. I have owned a Necky Vector 13 for three years, and wanted a longer but lighter weight SOT kayak. After much looking I decided on the Eddyline Caribbean 14. One foot longer and 10 pounds lighter than the Vector 13. I purchased through a west coast dealer and had it shipped to Salt Lake City Utah. The kayak arrived in perfect condition. I purchased in the fall of 2016, so I got a 2017 model and decided on the red top/silver bottom color combination. Very sharp looking boat. I got the standard model, but added a rudder. Since purchase, I have also added the non-slip decking to the cockpit area, and two Rail Blaza deck mounts just behind the seat for Go Pro and other accessories. I did not care for the stock seat that came with the kayak, so I got an aftermarket seat with a lower back from ACK.

The weight difference is very noticeable when I move my kayaks around at home. I can carry the Eddyline further, with less stopping than the Vector 13. I just completed my first 5 day trip with the Eddyline, and I must say I was very happy with it. I liked my Vector 13 a lot, and was hoping that I'd love the Eddyline as well. I kept the Vector 13 as a loaner kayak.

Handling - Tracks very well. Excellent initial and secondary stability. The rudder was handy in windy conditions. My Vector 13 has a rather flat bottom, so it spins little easier than the Eddyline with it's pronounced keel. The Vector was a pretty fast kayak as far as SOTs go, and the Eddyline is as fast or faster.

Fit & Finish - Very sleek kayak with lots of nice details. The seat area is slightly more raised than my Vector, and was very comfy for all day paddling. The seat drain thing works great and I had a dry butt all day. I love the position of the scuppers, just under the thigh area. If I got water in the cockpit from getting in & out of the kayak, it was easy to reach down and pop the scupper plug to drain the water. The kayak did to come with scupper plugs, so I bought some universal plugs from ACK that fit perfectly. That cockpit/leg area is generous, and this was an easy boat to enter & exit with a bad knee. The tank well is a good size and held a Watershed Yukon gear bag nicely. I love the rear cargo strap on my Vector and the overlapping bungies on the Eddyline work ok, but I'm working on a cargo net idea to secure gear better in the tank well. I was super happy with the interior room in this kayak for multi-day trip gear. I had no problem fitting everything, including all my water for 5 days. I even had room to bring my ukulele. The front, center, and rear hatches gave easy access to the interior of the kayak. I do think the hatch cover on my Vector 13 is a bit more waterproof than the hatch cover on the Eddyline, but we shall see how it goes in bigger water conditions. The Eddyline hatch doesn't seem as snug.

Durability - Too early to tell, but it handled 5 days on a southern Utah river with minimal scratches to the hull. The rudder functions well so far.

At 50 lbs with textured/ribbed carbon solid carry handles I can still pick up this kayak and carry it myself for short distances. The 14' feels a bit more stable than the 12' and I'm able to stand and paddle OK. It's by no means a stand and fish kayak but it's surprisingly stable for such a fast paddling kayak of this length. I'd say it feels just as fast as any sit inside kayak of the same length. The scuppers work great, are whisper quiet with no blow back like some other sit on tops(Ride/Slayer)The ABS thermoformed material is very stiff and slick and doesn't scrape nearly as easily as poly and is much lighter. (this boat is 20-30 lbs lighter than other 14' fishing SOT's on the market) The new foot rests are easy to use and solid but could be angled for more comfort. The new center hatch with a bucket is very useful for stashing a small drybag/keys wallet/phone/camera ect and is easy to use and doesn't leak a drop of water. The front hatch is very large/watertight also and can fit paddles inside along with the seat/life vest ect. during transport. The new textured reinforced seatpan is nice, high-dry and squeak free now and still has the drain so you will never get a wet bum.

The price on this kayak is quite hefty. Having said that you certainly get what you pay for as the fit and finish is the best in the industry by a large margin. You get so many great features that make it worthwhile. I'm as fickle as they come and I'm in love with this kayak. With fantastic speed, stability, great construction, great features, good comfort, light weight this kayak is a home run!

First: Carbonlite 2000. The boat is light and stiff with that well made composite boat look. The top deck, always a SOT concern, was solidly rigid due to its geometry and construction detail, showing almost none of the flex apparent in even heavily built poly SOTs. It is thoughtfully outfitted with bungees, functional hatches and retractable carry handles. The hull is hollow throughout its length, like most SOTs. There are no bulkheads between access hatches so don't count on anything remaining dry just because it is in the boat unless you use their accessory front hatch bucket, and even then. I suspect this boat will remain fairly dry inside, but water always finds a way into through hull fittings. A stern drain plug takes care of whatever gets in.

The seat is, without question, one of the most comfortable and functional SOT seats I have ever tried. It is light and strong, gives solid wrap around back support, yet does not interfere with proper torso rotation. It is plenty wide, positioned so it is easy to enter and exit. The innovative clip, straps and deck eye system make it quick and easy to attach/remove or adjust for tension, without a lot of clumsy supporting structure. The back itself is notably stiff, no flimsy material prone to collapsing or shifting while in use. The slightly raised seat deck area provides a drier ride without unduly affecting center of gravity. The paddle holder system is clever and functional as is the tackle box (or lunch dry bag) holder.

Although seemingly designed and marketed as more of a fishing kayak, my evaluation was as a general recreational/sea kayak. Many folks likely to buy one will use it that way. Why a SOT? For their own individual reasons, many prefer a SOT to a SINK. I paddled the boat on Chesapeake Bay, wind ~6-8 kts, waves about 1 ft up to 2 ft across sand bars and tide current.

The hull resembles a quasi cathedral design, but with a finer entry and stern and a strong, stiff center line with rounded chines. It positively *looks* stable, and delivers. I was a little concerned about secondary stability while trying leans in calm water; "fishing" SOTs often have a problem here. But once I had it in 1-1.5 foot waves it proved its mettle. Into quartering waves, with following seas, and darting through troughs with waves abeam demonstrated that the boat had predictable and responsive secondary stability. I was impressed.

The Caribbean 14 shows surprising quickness in acceleration, easy to maintain speed and it tracks straight even without a rudder. It did not show a tendency to weathercock. It sustains a good glide. What all that translates into is more efficient paddling requiring less effort and correction strokes. Moreover, it did not have a tendency to "plow" when turning like many shorter SOTs but handled turns well, although learning to edge it takes some getting used to if you paddle standard sea kayaks. No problems here. It was easy to rudder with the kayak paddle when surfing in for beach landings; again the seat back design was an asset. Bow draws and stern pries were responsive and predictable, a properly executed sweep would spin the boat easily. Good design job, Eddyline.

I thought lacking thigh strap attachment points was an oversight by Eddyline, but it didn't seem important in milder conditions or for normal surf launches. I look forward to trying the boat in larger quartering/abeam waves and surf soon to see if it remains an issue. A slight shifting of seat force often proved adequate for edge control. Resting your knees on the gunwales helped too. And therein is one of the design issues I had...

The foot/leg wells on this boat are crazy narrow. I don’t think unless you have the skinniest of bird legs will you be able to keep your knees down comfortably. Forget any hope of using the accessory center console cover. If you have a large leg calf, this area was not well thought out. The foot braces, an excellent general design, take up about 3" total width, space that was already reduced by narrowing the hull from the Caribbean 12. Their locking mechanism projections extend ~into~ the foot/leg well, not down when locked, making it a sawtooth irritant. A simple engineering change could easily fix it and increase leg room. Rather than the current footbrace, a newly designed attachment using the same pads that fits into the top accessory track rails would provide adjustability and extend leg length 2-3". Plus, with no need for the current footbrace system, another 2-3" width in the leg well would open it up and remove that sawtoothed irritant. I can only guess that such an accessory would be cheaper to manufacture and install over the current footbrace too. My friend finds it fine for her, many will likely do so as well. Try it for your fit. I would fabricate something like I mentioned and remove the current one (the boltheads are inside the hull requiring a long reach). I know many kayak fishermen tend to be bigger guys who would likely choose this boat over alternatives. For the record, I am one of those bigger guys at around 6'3" and 275. If this boat is aimed at that market somebody on the design team needs to rethink this.

This is a great boat! I think it will be very successful, not only for those who like to fish but especially for those preferring a SOT for recreational use/light seakayaking fun. Women will especially like its light weight and ease of handling to load/unload on their cars. Most poly SOTs are too heavy to handle comfortably, and no other lightweight SOTs compare for rigidity, stability, performance or build quality of this boat.