Vector 14

The necky vector has been a great kayak my wife and I have used them on fast moving rivers, lakes and open water. They are easy to paddle and very stable. The cargo areas are easy to access with plenty of room. It took a few tries to find the right fit for the type of paddle trips we like to make. These neckys have been the best so far. Thanks VAL

Sat on the fence for a long time before I sold this one. It was love hate, the wet seat and too far to reach back to my crate because of the rear hatch. The looks build quality and paddling was just great, and also easy because of the narrow beam to dangle your legs over the side when it was hot. Bottom line I paddle to fish, and this was a bare bones boat that was a joy to paddle, but a PITA to fish out of at times. Finally let go and I don't regret it and I also still have some great memories with it as well. I'd give it a 5 as a touring sit on top for someone less than 200 lbs, but a 3 as a fishing kayak, it just wasn't made for that, so we'll aim for a 4 out of a 5 for the average.

I have to say I was a little disappointed, the performance was fine, the build quality is great but coming from a fishermans point of view, not a well rounded kayak like my Perception Tribe 11.5. If you want to sit side saddle on the Vector, forget about it, you are seated in too low of a position and have to bring your legs up over the sidewalls, uncomfortable.

If you are used to a sit inside and like having your legs locked in one forward position (though the footpegs move fore and aft) you'll experience the same feeling in this kayak. I am used to moving my legs around with more width on the Tribe, and sitting side saddle to get a break or reach behind into the tankwell. The narrow width of the Vector makes these things uncomfortable, reaching around to access the rear is harder on this kayak.

This is a touring kayak with a sit inside design and if you like to paddle and aren't concerned with fishing, the speed is fine. Not an all around or well rounded kayak in my opinion but wasn't designed to be. I found the hull to be very quiet in the water and efficient.

Two problem areas, one having already been mentioned, is that water will find a way into the seat and since the seat is on an upward angle from the floor it will stay. Every time I took a break and got out of the kayak, there was a puddle of water that I had been sitting in, the scupper plugs that come with the kayak aren't much help plugging under the seat, maybe some more solid ones would work better. On my paddle back to the put in site at the end of the day, the wind was blowing at a good rate, and this kayak weathercocked badly. I think a few other reviewers mentioned the boat gets rocked and blown around by the wind.

After all I've said here, I'll give it some time to see on calmer days how I like it. If I do keep it, I will be installing a rudder, in my opinion a must have for windy days and rougher conditions. As for now, the kayak is up for sale on the site, but as soon as the rodholders arrive on my doorstep, I'll do my best to make this into more of a fishing kayak. There is enough space behind the seat on either side to install flushmounted rodholders, or as I prefer, flat flush Scotty bases which allows the holder to be tilted or swung out or in at any angle.

I would have given this kayak a 7 but I blame part of my initial discontent on the crappy day I first paddled it. Very simply put, for it's intended purpose as a touring sit on top Necky achieved their goal. Maybe my mind will be changed, but to me it's a one dimensional one trick pony that's not suited well for fishing.

Material used--10
Hull rigidity--10
Fit and finish overall--10
Side handle placement--4; this is exactly where the knuckle sweep hits. The boats I found for my friends, both 2012 models had handles positioned such that all of us had trouble with any stroke other than high blading. Removed the handles entirely.

Seat center of gravity fore/aft: 10
Seat elevation relative to gunwhales: deep.
Seat comfort:8/9--8 for being a bit wet due to low position, 9 for good back position adjustment and comfort long [day trip] haul.
Seat material: 8--preformed cushion adequate but may become detached on extensive use.
Cockpit size for larger people-10 + 2=12. Absolutely great. This is the shining feature of this boat. The designers nailed it!!

Cargo aft space-9; access-5--web netting makes on water access cumbersome. Odd webbing, we ditched the entire cover and put loops into the strap openings then assembled bungee cross straps with eye hooks to allow access and multiple cargo options.
Tracking-9-a nice balance to as 14 foot boat, though long paddle stroke tend to cause nose wander. Shorten the stroke to ankle to hip and the effect is diminished. No installed guidance rudder on these boats on delivery.

Drift: 10. This thing does drift well once paddle inputs cease. Keel formed rudder straightens it out.
Fishing- tentative 9[not attempted, but deck works well for this configuration and overall hull design allows stability and range for most day trippers.
Handles bow and stern-4-anchored low profile handles are often twisting the hand in portage-we made loop handles with hose cushioned grips to fit on these handles and fixed the problem.
Weight: 9- not overly heavy.

Closing: nice design, great flatwater to significant boat and wind chop boat, front hull could use a tad more blade in the nose to cut side to side wander for longer stroking paddlers. Low seat / low center of gravity is absolutely great for tall people; cockpit size is a gift from the gods for tall people, many new boats do not really fit anyone over 6'3" well given foot stop positions and for whatever reason I keep running into people asking for help to find them SOTs that fit these titans. Go figure. I am 5'8". I can fit anywhere!

The kayaks are both the same width, but the Midway slips through the water much more easily and quietly than the Vector and leaves far less wake. The Midway is definitely faster for both top speed and cruising speed (a friend and I took both kayaks out together and paddled them both for comparison). I think this is because the Vector is wide for most of it's length and has a very flat bottom. The Midway is far narrower at each end, and has more of a V shaped hull (particularly at the ends). The Vector seems to push a lot more water at speed.

I weigh 190 and both kayaks are a wet ride as I'm effectively sitting at or below the waterline. The Vector seat has scuppers under it which eventually let water in, even with the fancy Necky scupper plugs. The Midway plugs are not so great at sealing (weep a bit) and the water from the footwells gets into the seat when you lean for turns.

Both kayaks are well designed. Summary of each as follows:

Vector: very comfortable seat and backrest, the best I've had. Lots of storage (two hatches + tankwell), one hatch easy to access on the water, and handy net bag and storage areas in the cockpit. Feels less tippy (higher primary stability) than the Midway. The handles tend to catch on your paddle until you get used to avoiding them. Excellent at traveling in a straight line (I don’t have the rudder), but slaps on waves in sea conditions (flat bottom).

Midway: comfortable enough, but carl brace does limit movement if you need to shift position after a couple of hours paddling. Tippy at first but good secondary stability and carl brace helps you lean to turn. Drier storage than the Vector after a day on the water (in fact, no water got in at all). Only one relatively small hatch storage (with bulkhead), which you can't access easily on the water, but large tankwell. Lighter to carry/lift than the Vector and better carrying handles. Cuts through waves cleanly and has good glide, but is harder to keep in a straight line than the Vector (due to tippiness) when not paddling.

My overall conclusion is:
Vector 14 is more comfortable and OK on flatwater: best of the pair for fishing.
Midway is faster and better in sea conditions: best of the pair for touring.

Performance was good, in fact it surfs very well. I found it a bit irritating that my butt got wet with the scupper plugs in under the seat. I weigh 235 so it sits fairly low in the water. The plugs are pretty, but today I replaced them with Minicell.

This boat was much faster than the Tarpon 140. The seat is also noticeably lower than on other sit on tops. I think this adds stability, but it also raises the odds of getting wet. It has scuppers directly under the seat. This would only be of concern to heavier paddlers, I would think. It wasn't a problem for me.

I do a considerable amount of paddling in open water, and my concern with this boat was that in spite of its speed, it could be a handful in high wake conditions, which is what I have much of the time. While the top speed on this boat was higher, I felt that the Vector 13 met my requirements better.

If you're looking for a touring sit on top, and don't mind a little water in the boat, this could be your kayak.

The Necky Vector 14 behaves pretty much like a Chatham 16 would when it comes down to speed & maneuverability departments, yet she feels rock solid on both primary & secondary stabilities. The layout reveals a very well thought cockpit for those adventurous kayakers that like to think out the box for a multipurpose kayak.

She can be a bit of everything and very good at most of the tasks one could ask her to perform in order to enjoy some quality time on the water. Some features are worth a million such as the seat's back band which gives an awesome lumbar support yet it is never compromising the kayaker's movements while easy to adjust both in height as well as in its lumbar angle... Seat's pan with its ergonomic leg support is unbelievable helpful for one's long time comfort when paddling. Hardware & Rigging are prime rate quality and one of the best designed for 2012. Those cross lock strapped self suction inner gasket hatches are truly fantastic in keeping water out while allowing for a lot of under deck packing.

One thing that really shines on this boat (other than her versatility) is her performance. Even though rudder ready from the factory I never felt the need to add one (I am partial to rudderless boats so take this with a grain of salt), keeping a straight line on the wind is no feat, stability in any condition is secure due its superb design.

One nice boat, different than most sit on top kayaks, good for clamming, fishing, diving, camping and cruising around, awesome capabilities, excellent carrying capacity for her length.

If you want the SIK performance without feeling so tightly enclosed you owe yourself an outing on the new 2012 Necky Vector 14.

Boat specs:
Length: 14'1"; Width: 26"; Weight: 63 pounds
Paddler:
5’8” 250# 58 years old

The boat was easy to paddle as long as I did not try to exceed its capability. It paddles with no effort at about 3 MPH but to go faster you have to work harder. Even against a strong current I maintained fairly good speed.

My only issues, and they are minor:
1) the foot peg adjustment hit me in the ankle unless my legs were flat against the boat.
2) My hand hit the handles on the side occasionally.
3) The replaceable drag plate on the keel is a good idea but executed badly. The counterbore for the mounting screws is much larger than is needed. They hang on rocks and grass and tear a grove in your yard when you drag it. Once the hole edges wear down it shouldn't be an issue.
4) The recessed area in the center that appears to be for laying a water bottle in should have a way for water to flow out. My GPS was laying in it and it stopped functioning.

All in all I'd say I'm about as happy as I could be with a SOT. The main reason I got a SOT was to carry a cooler...go figure!