I just went through the kayak purchasing research this summer...

Basically came down to two boats*: the Redfish by Heritage, and the Tarpon by Wilderness systems (both 14').

The Redfish didn't come with a rudder, has a more comfortable seat, and is more stable than the tarpon.

The tarpon (at least the ones I looked at) has a rudder... is about $300 more expensive, and is a faster paddling boat.

Both come with a little extra to make them fishing boats (the tarpon had a scotty rod holder.. the redfish a paddle leash. Although either way, I was buying what the other didn't offer as standard).

I went with the Redfish mainly for price (I got it for $650 new), and I wanted a stable boat to fish from for my intro to kayak fishing (not saying though that the tarpon is unstable).

Unless you're an experienced paddler of kayaks, I'm not really sold that paddling each will make one much more attractive than the other. How would you really know which is better?

* If money was no object, I would have 100% bought a Hobie kayak with the drive system.