I am not sure that sots are safer. When somebody tells me a boat is safer
I always ask "safer under what conditions?"
If I lived in a warm climate I would use an sot, here in the northwest having
the lower half of my body exposed to wind and spray would chill me most of the
year. this is not a small concern, even on a cloudy summer day one could get
dangerously cold if the his whole body was wet and exposed to the wind.
Until recently there were two types of SOTs; plastic ones that were slow and
dorky (but fun) or high performance surf skis, neither of these typesseemed to
carry as much camping gear as a conventional kayak. Some makers now seem to be
making SOTs that are more like conventional kayaks.
I am not sure why you think a convetional kayak is less safe. While its true
that you might be able to hop back in a SOT you will still be in the same
conditions of wind and wave that caused you to dump in the first place. I
think that you will find that a regular kayak, with watertight compartments at
BOTH ends does not get very swamped when capsized.
Finaly, the unknown safety factor; speed.
The sots I have paddled( I certainly don't know them all) have all been slower
than most regular kayaks. Most people under estimate the importance of this.
Speed is not everything but a fast kayak gets home before the storm breaks, and
spends less time in rough conditions because you can get off the water faster.
Just my experience, for what it's worth.



I have had a Perception Prism (a sit-on-top) for a few years and
want to get something in a composite. I've looked at several sit-ins, but
saw an article that said SOTs were the best for expedition since they are
inherently safer. This was due to the fact that they can't swamp and you
can easily re-enter. What's the deal? There are so many more sit-ins than
SOTs. Any comments or ideas?

thanks,

John