MALACHITE

WHAT THE MALACHITE IS ALL ABOUT

Hull design

Stability and balance is the name of the game, accommodating heavier paddlers and heavy loads easily.

The hull has good speed and an easy glide, while the rocker profile and bow volume keep it manoeuvrable and able to climb over waves.

The full-length hull grooves enhance structural rigidity and improves tracking.

The soft rails help for maximum secondary stability, but they were also designed for the Malachite to be steered like a touring kayak: drop an edge and let the hull do the turning.

The Malachite comes standard without a rudder, but a rudder option is available. Most paddlers will find the Malachite highly manageable without a rudder; it’s primarily recommended for use in significant swells or strong winds.

The Malachite also comes standard without a backrest, because the seat ergonomics is designed to be comfortable without a backrest. But a backrest is totally available for those who want it!

Deck design

Everything you need to have a real adventure, nothing unnecessary.

The seat is ergonomically designed for great comfort and support without a backrest, although D-rings are added to accommodate a backrest.

The footwell keeps the feet together, which helps for a more dynamic paddling style. Combined with the extended paddle cutaways, you’re set for a comfortable and efficient outing for much longer.

The bow boasts substantial volume, with loads of packing space that is easily accessible through the front large oval hatch.

The stern has a very shallow tankwell, to allow maximum packing space inside the hull through the back large oval hatch. This helps to keep the centre of gravity low for added stability, and it reduces wind interference.

The Malachite boast 6 comfortable handles: Front and back, and also two handles on each side. The duo side handles make solo manhandling of the kayak much easier and also assist with re-entry after swimming.

A 10″ hatch a with moulded-in bucket in front of the seat keeps essentials easily accessible. Use that for snacks, meds, or a camera.

The design is finished off with adjustable footrests, a paddle holder, bottle holder, multiple bungees and bungee hooks. All fittings are recessed to prevent snagging.

Two interfaces for attaching rodholders are added.

FROM THE DESIGNER

As is the case with some other Lekker designs, the Malachite is a more advanced and refined version of what I’ve done before.

Over the course of the past 20+ years, I designed a good number of single-seater sit-on-tops, most notably all of Fluid’ and Vagabond’ kayaks, but also a number of other models for other brands. Some of these designs were quite similar to what else was on the market at the time, some were quite groundbreaking. Through it all, I kept learning and kept getting feedback from many different users: beginners, experts, commercial operators, anglers, expedition paddlers, adventurers.

With Lekker, I have the opportunity to take all that knowledge and experience and reimagine recreational paddling. The Malachite is the first of my new line of single sit-on-tops and I couldn’t be happier. It is more advanced and more refined than any sit-on-top I’ve designed before.

The Malachite is essentially a high performance recreational sit-on-top. The “recreational” part means that anyone can paddle it, no specialized skill or past experience needed. The “high performance” part means that the hull is fast and efficient, the deck has all the bells and whistles needed without anything unnecessary, and good ergonomics was a major part of the design criteria.

Talking about ergonomics: I am a big proponent of having the feet together in a single centered footwell, instead of having the feet apart as is standard on most sit-on-tops. This has 3 main advantages:
1) It enables a more efficient paddling style, with the option of keeping your knees together and getting proper core rotation. This might not matter much if you’re just floating with the occasional paddle stroke to keep some momentum, but if you’re paddling longer distances or doing a faster workout session, it makes a massive difference.
2) It makes larger paddle cut-aways possible. This helps for a more efficient paddling style too, and it also stops the irritation of hitting the deck with your paddle.
3) It is much easier to get into and out of the kayak, being able to put your two feet together or one in the middle of the footwell.

As with the Albatross, one major departure from my previous sit-on-top designs is ditching the large, deep tankwells for stowing gear. The following is what I wrote about that for the Albatross, which is just as relevant here: “These deep tankwells is a standard feature of most sit-on-tops on the market, and I followed suit in the past. But having used these boats (my own past designs and others) on longer trips, I’ve come to resent these tankwells. Sure, they seem handy for easy packing, but it is a pain to tie everything down securely and keep it all dry. More than that, it increases the centre of gravity with gear loaded on top, making kayaks less stable, and it also increases wind resistance, which can be a real hassle when paddling on open water. I believe these tankwells were seen in the past as the logical option; if the paddler is sitting on top instead of inside, then the gear should be on top too. I’ve come to realize that it is a fallacy, there is no good reason for doing that, unless the goal is to cut manufacturing cost to the bone. That is not my goal; I want to make the best possible craft at affordable prices, not the cheapest thing that floats.

I now have very shallow “tankwell” type cavities, so you still have the option to tie things on top if you really have to, but recessed into these cavities are hatches. The goal is to load things inside the boat, which is more secure, keeps the centre of gravity low and doesn’t turn your kayak into a sail.”

I designed the seat to be very comfortable and with great support, with the feet lower than the bum, so that a backrest is really not needed. The reasoning is simple: A backrest prevents proper core rotation, it is one more thing than can break, and it is in the way when remounting after a dip in the water. But I do have a backrest available and added attachment D-rings for that, so if you want it, you can have it!

These main features combined with all the little details make the Malachite an incredibly versatile sit-on-top that will appeal to those who really want the best.

Celliers Kruger

ORIGIN OF THE NAME

The Malachite kingfisher is a river kingfisher that is common throughout Africa. It is one of my favourite birds to spot on river trips, and the Malachite is the perfect kayak to spot it from.

The Malachite will be available in the USA from July 2025, and later in the year in South Africa. Prebook yours now!