The Wilderness Systems Tarpon 12/14
Ocean Kayak Scrambler 11 (The DIVE Kayak!)
Ocean Kayak Tetra 12
Ocean Kayak Trident 13
If you could find one in good shape the top of the pile, the holy grail of diving/free diving/spearfishing SOT kayaks is the long discontinued Ocean Kayak Scupper Pro TW at nearly 15 feet long, fast, seaworthy and can carry a load. I have four kayaks, a OK Scupper Pro TW, an Emotion Stealth 10 (fishing), OK Scrambler 11, OK Tetra 12 (my wife owns it).
You cannot in my opinion use a sea kayak or a sit inside type for SCUBA or free diving, only the SOT (sit on top) types. Look for a model that has a nice and large tank well, a large forward hatch for an extra tank or spear guns or fishing rods etc. I would favor length over width but a long narrow kayak though faster will be more difficult to handle on land.
Yeah, I am partial to OK. I prefer a model that has a large forward hatch, however, the Scrambler, though it has not a large hatch, can have two rigs buckled down on top, I have always like the Scrambler. I can paddle my Scrambler at about 3 MPH, my Scupper is much faster for the same effort and has a rudder. Get a bright color like lime green or yellow or red etc. I consider two or maybe three miles the maximum practical one way distance for kayak diving. Think of it as an extension ladder to help you reach places that you otherwise cannot, not a replacement for a boat.
Kayak diving can be sort of difficult what with all the toting, dragging, loading, paddling, wrestling, paddling, toting and resulting exhaustion but it is FUN! Oh, Everything must be tethered, tied, clipped all of the time, EVERYTHING, including you.
Seating, I prefer the low seating position for stability, though not desirable particularly in some of the angler models. Hobie, uh, nah, not my thing. I have flat outrun Hobies in my Scupper and some of them seem to have high seats. Maybe I am being overly critical, probably am.
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