New boat -- Scupper 14

I got into kayaking because of the simplicity that it offers -- throw boat on car, throw paddle and life jacket into car, get on the water.

After moving out to Pugetropolis I discovered the benefit of peddle kayaks - more hands for fishing more better. I also found that this benefit comes with significant cost: my Revo 13 is heavier and bulkier than paddle boats and it has more gear that I have to schlep around. While this doesn't keep me off the water when the salmon are in town, it does make me less likely to take the kayak out for non-fishing activities. 

So while my Revo (and Adventure) probably won't gather insane amounts of dust, I decided to get back to what got me here in the first place: I ordered a Scupper 14 and it was delivered about a week later. At 14' long, 25.5" wide, and ~64lbs, this puppy will get me where I need to be when I need to be there.

I intend to make the following immediate modifications:
- In-hull rod holder
- Horizontal rod holder for surf launches
- Thigh braces
- Kydex transducer cover (must be secured on top of the deck through a scupper)
- Through-hull wiring for FF
- Foam in the forward part of the footwells to reduce the footwell volume

I'm also thinking of a few more invasive modifications. If not too structurally unsound, add a center hatch for stowing gear and fish in the hull... If not too structurally unsound and warranted by calculated weight savings, cut out the rear storage area and replace with a composite structure that offers fewer storage possibilities.

If anyone has one of these boats I'd be curious to hear how you rigged it. Very pumped to get back into paddle SOTs, and very pumped to be doing so with this particular boat.

Looks like a great boat.  Does it come with a rudder? 

Be sure to post a review when you have some time on the water and please give updates as you accomplish your mods.  The 16 looks interesting and I do miss paddling kayaks.

I believe your choice of mods might have been done before. Search archives here and on our sister site . Dimly it seems the time frame was about 10 years ago.

Looks like a great boat.  Does it come with a rudder? 

Be sure to post a review when you have some time on the water and please give updates as you accomplish your mods.  The 16 looks interesting and I do miss paddling kayaks.

I got the base version so rudder on mine. Yeah, the 16 looks pretty sweet, I might have to pull the trigger on it while it's still discounted. Will keep folks as updates are made, but it's gonna be a little while... I'm moving back to NC this summer/fall and the boat is waiting for me back there.

I believe your choice of mods might have been done before. Search archives here and on our sister site . Dimly it seems the time frame was about 10 years ago.

Thanks -- a couple east coast kayak fishing forums have posts detailing modification of the Scupper 14; I'll poke around NWKA and NCKA for the same

Shad's very kind offer of a free OG Scupper reminded me that I left this review unfinished. I wanted to hold off on the review until Swell's Iowa operation was up and running, because
(a) The Scupper 14 has a ton of potential if delivered in its spec'd out form
(b) I suspected that the issues with my hull were related to the fact that it was made in S. Africa.

The good:
(a) The boat is ridiculously stable. Playing frisbee w/ my 45lb dog is a breeze: She stands in the back of the boat, I throw the frisbee, she jumps out & brings the frisbee back, and I haul her back into the boat.
(b) The boat paddles well.

The meh:
(a) Holding a straight line was nearly impossible in a ~10mph wind w/ ~.5 miles of fetch. I am not surprised by this; I expect it could be mitigated w/ the addition of a rudder.
(b) The fittings that came with the boat felt quite cheap; some of the screw inserts moulded into the plastic are so off that they do not function (pic 2: hard to see, but at least two of those inserts are so off kilter that they won't accept screws when the accessory is attached). I don't mind cheap fittings; in fact given the price point of the boat I expect them. The poorly fit screw inserts though are discouraging.
(c) The cockpit holds a lot of water and that water doesn't drain very quickly. Exiting the surf zone will be very tough once you take on water. I plan on filling much of my cockpit with foam to minimize the amount of water that can be retained.

The bad:
(a) My boat weighs 73lbs, 9lbs over the spec'd weight of 64lbs. Pretty lame considering this boat's light weight was a key selling point.
(b) Installation of rod holder revealed the hull thickness to be disturbingly variable (pic 3). Given this, I won't be shocked if a scupper fails the first time I endo in the surf.

Overall I would endorse buying this boat if I knew it would arrive as spec'd. I regret purchasing the boat that I received from Swell. W/ Jim now overseeing the operations in Iowa, I expect the quality to be much better. I'd just email them to make sure they've gotten rid of all their S. Africa stock; if my hull is any indicator, their S. Africa stock is trash.

Upshot
Sweet boat as spec'd. My boat, a 2021 hull made in S. Africa, is a big disappointment. I believe that boats produced in Iowa will be produced much closer to spec.

@bogueYaker - I considered getting a Swell Scupper 14 but eventually ruled it out due to the 64lb weight. Given your report I am glad I did not get one, but I recently read that Swell eliminated the foam layer for the Iowa models to reduce weight. Hopefully the structural integrity is the same.

While searching for kayaks I stumbled across a Craigslist ad in Bellingham, and it turned out to be Tim Niemier offloading some prototypes. Cool guy. He gave me a tour of sit-on-top kayak history, and I ended up buying two fiberglass "Scuppro" kayaks that I believe he developed after splitting with Swell. They're basically a Scupper 14 built out of fiberglass. The fiberglass definitely is more fragile than plastic (I've done a couple of repairs already), but it's also lighter (45lbs'ish) and likely a bit faster. I just added a yet-to-be-tested under stern rudder to the Scuppro to help with tracking in the wind.



I also picked up a scratch-n-dent Stealth Fisha 500 that reportedly came out of Jim Marsh's shop before he stopped distributing Stealth. I almost prefer the fit and comfort of the Scupper Pro and Scuppro kayaks over the Stealth, but I've only taken it out twice. The Stealth is heavier but has a more solid build. It doesn't have the excessive water-in-the-footwell problem of the new Scupper, which is a plus.



As you can tell, I have a kayak problem. Ever searching for the perfect light/narrow fishing kayak for the Puget Sound area. My next one will likely be a fiberglass surfski retrofitted for fishing (Epic V5/V6'ish). Or possibly a cedar strip built surfski https://www.thomassondesign.com/katalog/mina-kajaker/splash.

I think many of us on the forum have a "kayak problem".........

@bogueYaker....

Dude that's funny as hell, I responded to Tim's CL post in August 2022 looking to buy that fiberglass Scupper. I'm glad you got it first -- sounds like you're really putting it to good use! I've been tempted to 'splash' my S14 hull -- the fact that it'd be my first fiberglass project and the technically immoral aspect of it are what's holding me back. The second point is mostly mitigated by the fact that I feel like I was duped into buying a boat that I wouldn't have bought if I knew its true weight.

Post a build thread if you decide to go the cedar strip route. For a couple years now I've been dreaming of a long-ish narrow-ish fiberglass peddle driven boat. Something that's easy to handle both on and off the water. You know, the opposite of the plastic peddle driven john boats that currently flood the market.

Also, get out to Makah Bay and kill some groundfish. And post pics

I think many of us on the forum have a "kayak problem".........

+1 lol