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Meets all my needs, and then some!

I’m a long-time sea kayaker (of the plastic-boat, 17’ long, 22” wide variety), but as I get older and (ahem) fatter and more arthritic, I find the prospect of getting in and out of the boats — especially a deep-water reentry — more daunting, and it’s been cutting back on my kayaking enthusiasm. That’s unacceptable.

A sit-on-top was an obvious solution, but aren’t all SOTs horrible top-heavy barges? I didn’t want a surf ski — while I race occasionally, I want a boat for touring and camping and dragging up on gravel beaches. So I googled “fastest sit-on-top kayak” and found the Swell Scupper. Honestly, watching the video on the Swell Watercraft site was all I needed to put in my order!

The Scupper is 14’ long but doesn’t feel like a short boat (other than its greater maneuverability). It’s 25.5" wide but doesn’t feel wide due to the narrow paddle entry. I use a wing paddle, and I haven’t had to adjust my paddle stroke in any way to accommodate the Scupper. I was worried that a SOT would feel “dumbed down” but the Scupper doesn’t feel at ALL like a step down from my sea kayaks in handling or speed, and it’s a step up in comfort.

I’ve seen some comments that the Scupper is a little tippy initially. I don’t notice that at all, but remember I’m coming from skinnier sea kayaks. It’s got a bit of initial wobble, but it never goes farther than that. To me, it just feels “alive” and not barge-like. I can sit in it sideways to get in and out (this is a major bonus point for those of us with non-functioning knees!!) and it doesn’t want to dump me out. Ignore that initial minor wobble and you’ll be just fine.

I’ve had the boat on flat water and on rivers with current. Handles power-boat wake with ease. My average flat-water touring speed (comparable effort to a medium-speed walk) is 4 mph. Easy peasy to keep up with my long-boat touring friends.

I car-top on a small SUV. I load the boat from the rear: put the bow on the back edge of the car roof, walk to the stern, lift up and slide the boat onto the racks. I haven’t perfected carrying the boat across the ground the way I carried a sea kayak with my shoulder inside the cockpit, but I have a set of wheels that work great for getting the boat from the put-in parking lot to the water.

The manufacture is very good: the boat is solid and stiff. Storage is immense, and the open rear deck is perfect for stowing garbage that you pick up on the water (sadly). The padded seat with adjustable backrest allows for upright posture. The below-waterline footwells make for comfortable sitting on long trips. I haven’t had the boat out in extreme conditions, but it’s been quite dry so far. Only a little water in the footwell, but my feet don’t come in contact with it.

I have the “Adventure Package” version with a rudder. The boat tracks well without the rudder, but I use it to stay on track when I’m coasting and using both hands to take pictures. The rudder-pedal tracks are on the outside of the footwells in this model, which make for a responsive rudder, but the end of the track poked into my shins. A thin piece of foam padding between the track and my leg solved that. I love the gear tracks for my GPS and GoPro.

Before I ordered the boat I exchanged several emails with Swell Watercraft, and he was delightful to work with. He took extra steps to get my boat to me after a COVID-19-related delay, for which I’m eternally grateful.

Enough writing — I’m off to paddle my Scupper!