Which is more stable, a Sit-On-Top or a Sit-Inside Kayak? If a SIK flips over, you will have to swim to the shore to drain it out.You have no freedom to move freely in and out of water.If you intend to go for camping or longer fishing trips, a SIK is ideal because it has more storage areas for your gear. More secondary stability than SOT because the cockpit is located inside the kayak, keeping you on the water line and with less risk of tipping over.There are also no drain holes at the bottom, so the entire cockpit remains dry. You remain dry and out of reach of water because the cockpit is enclosed to stop water from splashing into the kayak.For this reason, a SIK is ideal for cold weather kayaking or for paddling in areas with shorter summer seasons. The spray skirt will prevent water from splashing into the boat and reaching your legs, enabling you to stay dry provided you don’t flip the kayak. You then wear the spray skirt around your waist and tighten its cloth-piece to stretch the skirt material around the cockpit’s rim, closing the hull’s interior. When using a sit-inside kayak, you climb into the open cockpit, sit inside the hull with your legs under the deck, and brace your knees off the walls. The cockpit also may have a backrest, armrest, cup holder and an adjustable footrest for more comfort. In the cockpit is a seat and foot pedals, which you can adjust to your leg length for more comfortable paddling. The cockpit is surrounded by a rim where a spray skirt can be attached to keep water out. You are guaranteed to get wet as soon as you get on water with SOT, as opposed to a SIK that allows a paddler to stay dry.Ī sit-inside kayak is enclosed and has a sitting area called the cockpit.They are ideal for nervous paddlers and for kayaking with kids who like swimming. SOT is an easier way to get on water and enjoy surfing, scuba diving or just paddling in warm environments.5Less expensive than SIK because they are thinner, made of fewer materials and are easier to ship than SIK.They are more comfortable for larger people because they have open cockpits and wide decks, which make them more stable and easier to use than SIKs.You won’t struggle to reach your gear as is common with sit-inside kayaks. SOT allows easier access to gear by offering a lot of storage space.The self-bailing scupper holes mean the water that gets in can be quickly drained out through the holes. If it tips over, it won’t sink, and you can just flip it over and get back on it with ease. SOT is user-friendly, very stable, quite easy to get inside and outside, and has no feeling of confinement.The scupper holes can be covered and blocked with the self-bailing scupper plugs in order to keep water splashes from getting up from underwater onto the deck through the holes, resulting in a drier ride. It’s quite hard to remain dry when paddling a sit-on-top as each riffle, splash or wave easily reaches the paddler who is patched on top of the kayak, since there is no “real” cockpit to shield the paddler.Ī SOT has a seat located on top of the boat where the kayaker sits, while tiny drain holes (scupper holes) at the bottom help drain water that splashes onto the deck. In fact, the only inward access in a SOT are the storage hatch openings, while everything else, including the seat and the foot wells, are rigged on the deck. Similar to the surfboard and typically used for leisure, a sit-on-top kayak is designed to allow a paddler to sit on the deck and has no “inside” column for the paddler to occupy. So what’s the difference between a sit-on-top and a sit-inside kayak? And for both, the deck usually has bungees or deck lines, the stern usually has rudders, skegs and grab loops, and both kayak styles also have some form of seats and some kind of foot support (foot pedal or foot wells). For both styles, the top of a kayak is called the deck, the front is called bow, the back called stern and the bottom called hull.

While there are several differences between sit-on-top and sit-inside kayaks, there are also a number of similarities. Sit-on-top (SOT) and sit-in kayak (SIK) are two basic kayak styles designed for different purposes.

Sit in kayak