> yes, they can be ugly, and the Necky sit-ons are high up, but a 55lb sit on top still weighs 55lb with paddler dumped. A closed deck boat could weigh at least 200lbs extra with water in the cockpit and that is a significant safety issue in the surf,let alone all the delays involved in rescue. There are a lot of good looking glass sit ons,Futura has a 24x14ft model,there a some Hawaiin glass boats that are gorgeous, The Tsunami boats are outrageous rock crashing Kevlar torpedoes. The money and fashion is in "sea kayaks". The good thing about sit-ons is that the paddler is pretty much guranteed to be wearing appropriate clothing. Closed deck paddlers usually make "risk assesments" for appropriate clothing. Some people assess risk differently.

All that said,I don't have a sit on. But I've been thinking of turning my North Bay into one. Back in Ca. some folks were turning their Coasters into sit ons.