The award-winning Petrel is the ultimate adventure kayak for those who want speed without sacrificing stability. The long, sleek design’s DNA is a blend of Malachite and surfski. Same comfort as the Malachite, same performance features and loads of packing space, but with a hull that screams speed. The Petrel begs you to go exploring and do multiday trips, but it is just as happy to be taken out for some fishing or fitness training.
WHAT THE PETREL IS ALL ABOUT
Hull design
Engineered for maximum speed, while maintaining good stability and a high carrying capacity.
The hull’s streamlined design offers effortless gliding, with a subtle rocker profile and piercing bow to keep it going through and over waves.
The full-length hull grooves enhance structural rigidity and improves tracking.
The soft rails were designed for the Petrel to be steered like a touring kayak: keep it flat to go straight, drop an edge to turn.
The Petrel comes standard without a rudder, but a rudder option is available. Most paddlers will find the Petrel manageable without a rudder; it’s primarily recommended for use in significant swells or strong winds.
Deck design
Like the Malachite, it boasts a complete set of features for maximum adventure and minimum hassle.
The seat is ergonomically designed for great comfort and support without a backrest, although D-rings are added to accommodate a backrest.
The centered footwell and extended paddle cutaways enables an efficient paddling style.
Generous bow volume offers abundant storage space, easily accessible through the large oval front hatch.
The shallow tankwell on the stern features a recessed oval hatch, maximizing internal hull storage. This design keeps the center of gravity low for improved stability while reducing wind resistance.
The Petrel features 6 comfortable handles: six strategically placed handles: one each at bow and stern, plus two on each side. The dual side handles significantly ease solo manhandling and assist with re-entry after a swim.
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.
The Petrel 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!
SPECIFICATIONS
Length: 488cm / 16′
Width: 67cm / 26.5″
Height: 37cm / 14.5″
Weight: 29kg / 64 lbs
Carrying capacity: 130kg / 290 lbs for best performance (150kg / 330 lbs possible)
Centre lunch hatch size: 10″ round
Centre lunch hatch volume: 3L
Bow hatch size: 44x26cm oval hatch
Bow hatch volume: 115L
Stern hatch size: 44x26cm oval hatch
Stern hatch volume: 175L
FROM THE DESIGNER
As I write this, I have just returned from the Paddlesports Show in Strasbourg, France. It is the most important and prestigious international show for the paddling industry. At the show, I had the honour of receiving the 2026 Product of the Year award in the Recreational Kayak category, and the design I received it for is this one, the Petrel.
At the event, I revealed the first Petrel out of the mould to the world. I call it the preproduction version, as it represents the final design and was made using the production mould, but still needs a few tweaks — such as optimising the weight and fine-tuning the cooling jigs for the correct rocker profile. In other words, the Petrel I showed wasn’t 100% the real deal yet. Nonetheless, its DNA was unmistakable: a lean machine built to go fast for long distances, yet with comfort and loads of packing space. The Petrel could easily have been a contender in the touring kayak category too, as it straddles the realms of touring, recreation, and fitness training.
I designed the Malachite before the Petrel, and that turned out exactly as I intended. With the Petrel, I took the concept of the Malachite and created a real fast version of it.
The cockpit is identical — same seat, same footwell, same hatch in front of the seat. The deck is also very similar in terms of the front and rear hatches, the shallow tankwell on the stern deck, the water-bottle holder behind the seat, the six handles, and so on. The only real difference on the deck is that the paddle cutaways are more substantial due to the narrower width, which allows more vertical paddle strokes and reduces the chance of hitting the deck with your paddle.
The main difference between the Malachite and the Petrel lies in the hull. Both are very stable; both are fast. But the Malachite is even more stable, and the Petrel is even faster.
A quick note about speed: it’s a very relative concept when talking about kayaks. The Peregrine is faster than the Petrel — it’s 42 cm longer and 13 cm narrower, after all. But the Peregrine also requires somewhat more skill to paddle, especially in challenging conditions. A racing K1 is faster than both the Peregrine and the Petrel, but the skill required to paddle one is exponentially higher. So when I say the Petrel is fast, I mean that it’s about as fast as a 16-foot kayak can be — and certainly one of the fastest, if not the fastest, kayaks that fit within the recreational sit-on-top category.
If someone were to ask me whether they should get the Petrel or the Malachite, it would be a tough choice. I would say the Malachite is the better all-rounder. If you want one kayak that allows a full variety of adventures, you really can’t go wrong with the Malachite. But if your focus is more on speed and covering longer distances — with a slight compromise on stability and manoeuvrability — then go for the Petrel.
Celliers Kruger
COLOURS
Yellow – Orange – Light blue – Lime green- Yellow/Orange combo – Yellow/lime combo – Orange/blue combo – Pink
Note: the actual colours might look somewhat different from what is shown here. Just roll with it.
ORIGIN OF THE NAME
Petrels are sea birds known for their remarkable abilities to fly vast distances. They are masters of energy-efficient flight, using techniques like dynamic soaring to travel thousands of kilometers over the ocean. It just seems like an apt name for a kayak designed to cover big distances!
The Petrel is now available in South Africa. It will be available in the USA and Europe from Spring 2026.
