Which one for that "Next Kayak"???

My current kayak is the F&S Eagle Talon 120, and it's a great boat for $400.  I wanted to make sure I really wanted to be into this sport before buying a $1,500 boat, and I'm there now!  The Eagle Talon like I said is great for the price, but I'm looking for a few features it doesn't have.  Here's what I'm looking for, along with some boats I'm currently looking at.  I do a lot of lake and river fishing, but will also be fishing on the coast a few times a year.  Please throw out some options I haven't thought of yet!  Cheers!

Wants:
- Handles surf and rough water well ( a more narrow profile than a wide barge)
- Less than 85#
- Paddles and tracks well
- Transducer well, port, or recessed scupper
- Center hatch access (for storing rods and my catch bag)
- Adjustable seat height
- Budget: ~$1700

Boats on my short list:
- Vibe Sea Ghost 130 - $899 https://vibekayaks.com/products/vibe-kayaks-sea-ghost-130-angler-kayak?variant=15687073734
- Ocean Kayak Trident 13 - $1299 http://www.austinkayak.com/products/22193/Ocean-Kayak-Trident-13-Angler-Kayak-2017.html
- Wilderness Systems Thresher 140 - $1450 https://www.wildernesssystems.com/us/products/thresher-140
- Jackson Kraken 13.5 Elite (On sale for $1500 at backcountry)https://www.backcountry.com/jackson-kayak-kraken-13.5-elite-kayak

I have an OK T13 and absolutely love it. It is basically everything on your want list except the adjustable seat height. Unless a newer model has that.

I believe the new T13 does have adjustable height, although it looks like just in front and not the whole seat.  To be honest, it's at the top of my list.  Well within the budget and lots of great features.

One thing I don't like about it though is that when I paddle, I am constantly scraping my knuckles on the side handles. That could just be me and my lazy/incorrect paddle technique, but the shit hurts after fishing all day. I am also not too impressed with the mod pod. it seems the slots for the rod holder mounts aren't really deep enough and my rod holder seems to constantly pop out of them.I highly recommend getting the rudder too. When I started fishing, it was in lakes and bass ponds and I didn't really notice the rudder making a difference. As soon as I got out on the ocean the rudder quickly proved its worth. If you get it, don't get a scupper cart....see this link http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=77964.0   But their customer support was really helpful.

Good info, thanks!

Trident 13

Its not on your list but I paid $1700 for my used 2013 Hobie Outback.  Pedals man!  Pedals!

Its not on your list but I paid $1700 for my used 2013 Hobie Outback.  Pedals man!  Pedals!

+1.  Hands free fishing, faster, longer, etc etc.

I like my trident 13 more than anything ive tried so far. If you wanna try mine out shoot me a pm and i can meet ya somewhere to try it. Im in vacaville so somewhere in the middle im up for or in this area in the sloughs. We can hit timber or ocean cove to but i think a bit far for you

You could try to make it a twofer if you like.  I'm in Dixon with a Kraken 13.5

Thanks all for the replies, I appreciate it!

Those all seem like good choices.  I can't come up with anything else off the top of my head that I can personally recommend that would fit your specifications, as I haven't tried them.  The other two that would fit your specs that I can think of are the FeelFree Moken and the Malibu Stealth. Neither of those have transducer scuppers or adjustable seats, although their seats are a vast improvement over the stuff I rode on when i first started.

However, if you decide to lean more towards the freshwater stuff and are not very confident you'll fish the salt then you may want to consider something a little more general.
Center hatches are "nice" but do take up real estate that I personally like better to have a pedal drive system or flat deck standing space. They're really only necessary in the surf zone and the rest of the time I prefer to have my gear more readily accessible.

And if i were to throw out a recommendation from all your choices above I'd probably say the Trident.  If you want to save the money, I've only heard positives about the Sea Ghost, but its not going to be as good of a paddling boat as the Trident is.  Whether that's worth $400 is up to you.

Thanks again for all the replies.  It's really a tough decision, but in the end it came down to being able to get all the features that I want and still have money for a fish finder.  With tax and shipping the Thresher and Kraken put it at the top of my budget with no room for goodies.  That leaves the Trident and the SG130 which by all reviews are both great boats with a loyal following.  The SG130 has a protected transducer well and the ability to elevate the seat, and other than that is very similar to the Trident, although probably a tad slower. 

I've decided to go with the SG130 since I got a deal on shipping and can have it delivered for $1000.  That leaves me enough for a Lowrance Hook4, battery, wiring, etc.  Hopefully I won't regret my decision.  By all the reviews and videos on YouTube it looks like there's a lot of happy customers including people taking it out on the open ocean.  Boat should be delivered early next week, and I'm planning a trip out to Trinidad at the end of this month.  I'm going to do an in-depth video review of the assembly, customization, and fish finder installation.  Cheers!