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Old 09-26-2013, 09:51 PM
InternetPilot InternetPilot is offline
Sand Trout
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Ponte Vedra, Florida
Posts: 1
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A little late in chiming in here, but I love my Perception Sport Scout 12.0.

My main reason for getting it was that I'm a bigger guy (6'3", 235lb), and it seemed from all the reviews any SOT kayak that was less than 14' long would be a rather wet ride for me because of the scuppers. Price was also an issue. I would've loved to buy a Wilderness Systems Commander or a Native Ultimate, but they're literally 2-3x the price of the Scout 12.0.

I've rigged it pretty nicely for fishing, and even splurged a bit $ wise and installed a rudder. I installed two Scotty mounts on the center console (for a rod holder and a camera), two Scotty Rocket Launchers behind me (using the one stock gimbal rod holder and then installing another on the other side), an anchor trolley, two paddle/stakeout pole holders, and a few more padeyes. Keep in mind that most of the accessories/features that are missing from the cheaper Scout 12.0 version compared to the Destiny 12 or the Mad River Synergy 12, you can buy at HarmonyGear.com, which is owned by the same parent company that owns Wilderness Systems, Perception, Mad River, etc. So if you're looking for matching pad eyes, hooks, handles with built-in paddle holder bungees, etc., you can get them all and turn your cheap Academy version into an $900 kayak by just spending about $50. If you PM me, I can give you a link to pics of everything on another forum. I don't want my first (and currently only) post here to link people to another off-site forum.

I use it on the NE Florida intercoastal waterway, a local saltwater lake, and other inshore locations. Even in significant chop, or larger boat traffic wakes, I seldom take a wave over the top, and I have a cheap bailing sponge to take care of that.

About the only caveat is that it's a little heavy for it's length at 60lbs. The way I have it rigged, it's now probably closer to 70lbs, which can be a bit of a bear to get it on top of minivan for transport, especially after a long day of fishing/paddling.

The hull design makes it fast-ish for an SOT-ish type of kayak, but it also makes it a little tippy. Don't get me wrong, you'd have to really be doing something crazy to roll this thing, but I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't concerned about your intention to install some sort of raised seat in it. When I hurt my tailbone and fishing long days out of my Scout 12.0 was aggravating that, I put a rather thick seat type of PFD on top of the seat, and then put a coccyx pad (a seat pad with a cut-out for your tailbone) on top of that, and it significantly changed the center of gravity for the boat. Again, I didn't flip it, but raising the seat up those 4-5 inches kind made it feel a little more tippy than usual. If your planning on putting a seat on top of a platform that's mounted on top of the sides, that might just be high enough to more easily flip you. I guess it could also depend on what your height and weight are, too.

Hope this helps you. Good luck with your decision (if you haven't already made it). I have no regrets and would buy the same kayak again.
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