Retro51

Well I just bought a Pelican with a cockpit, but the day before, I went to Cedar Hill to bike, and talked with some kayakers there about their sit-on-top models. He seemed to like them better - he had fishing gear, and they may be a little easier to fish from. It's pain to stick anything longer than your arm inside the cockpit. If I were to fish with mine, I would rig a bungee cord system to hold my rod on top while I paddled. In fact, I need to do that to hold my paddle when I'm not using it anyway. Lots of people fish from cockpit models. It's kind of hard to deal with a tackle box, something to keep your fish in, and maybe a lunchbox or cooler, but it could be done. You just simplify everything as much as possible.
He also told me, he likes to roll off into the water to cool off. That would be really hard to do from a cockpit, and even harder to climb back in. Well, I don't think I will do that much. Besides, I don't like the sun on my legs, which would be totally exposed if I sat on top. If I want to get out, I'll beach the craft, wade around or swim and walk around.
Finally, it would be easier to scube dive from one, but I don't plan on doing that either.
If you are buying, you need to consider the pros and cons of each one. Note: there are some really nice sit-on-top models for fishing, with rod holders and so on. If you plan to fish, you may want to consider these.