[acabtp]

IMO, your best bet is to take the $200 you would have spent on that one during black friday and go to craigslist where that will buy something that will fit your needs better. it is the right time of year to buy used boats. you might have to wait a couple days or weeks to find it, but you'll be happier in the end.

i speak from experience, as the first kayak i bought to go fishing in was a ~10' sit in model that dicks sells... i never use it anymore. it is just a spare kayak for when we have guests (who will just be paddling without any gear). i use my 12' sit in most... 2' longer doesn't sound that much bigger, but it is. occasionally i will take my neighbor's 15' hobie sit on top, but usually only if i will be out all day, because the sit on tops are heavier and take more effort to launch and put on the truck.

for maximum versatility, i stick with a sit in because sit on tops are next to worthless when it comes to anything approaching whitewater and i do a lot of river paddling. plus i use my sit in kayaks all year round, but you get a lot more wet in a sit on top so that limits the seasons of use. i think the guys with the big sit on top kayaks with electronics, trolling motors, etc all just wish deep down inside that they had more storage room at home for real boat, because the big SOTs are a compromise: without the portability, ease of handling, and low energy requirements of a smaller traditional kayak or the utility, capacity and stability of a real boat. niche market things for places w/o good ramps like splitrock.