The best advice is to test before you buy. I was all set to get a Pungo until I test paddled the Necky Santa Cruz. She's fast and handles the rough conditions very well. It's a SINK.
The advantage of a SOT is that it's easier to get into and out of but some of them are quite slow. When things are rough I'm glad that I'm in my SINK. As to surf landings , they take a lot of practice in a SINK. So get two yaks a SINK and a SOT.
FishHawk
Hybrid Mode
