The Lekker Albatross Is Leading A Double Life

If you’ve seen one tandem sit-on-top kayak you’ve seen them all, or so someone may say who has yet to meet the Lekker Albatross. The Albatross is like the bird it’s named for—sizable and ready for a journey. The boat is 14 feet long and capable of covering ground, yet is easy to turn. The seating puts the paddlers in an engaged position. It has two sealed hatches to store gear below deck. And, it has a high bow to ride over waves and through rapids.

The Albatross is a double kayak that is just plain fun, especially for coastal areas and rivers with mild to moderate whitewater. In short, it’s a boat that feels like what a tandem kayak was meant for: setting off on an adventure with a paddling buddy.

Review of the Lekker Albatross tandem sit-on-top kayak

The Albatross is Lekker’s first tandem kayak, but it wasn’t born from a lack of experience. Lekker’s founder and boat designer, Celliers Kruger, also started Fluid Kayaks in South Africa in 2002 and Vagabond Kayaks in 2018. The Albatross is an evolution of previous tandem sit-ons Kruger has built. His first, the Fluid Synergy, and the more recent Vagabond Mazowe. The Mazowe especially has been a hit with outfitters and adventure racers since its release—two interesting crowds to look toward for a sit-on-top’s seal of approval. Outfitters need durable, forgiving and straightforward boats for inexperienced kayakers to paddle, and adventure racers need a boat with speed capable of handling a variety of water conditions, including waves and whitewater.

According to Kruger, the Albatross has taken the positives of his previous tandems and combined them with feedback he’s also received from outfitters and paddlers to incorporate into this new tandem. When Kruger started Lekker in 2024, a big goal was to focus on improving the performance of recreational kayaks—boats intended for casual outings in sheltered waterways. Lekker has labeled the Albatross a rec kayak, which seems like it undersells this kayak in an attempt to not scare off new paddlers. But this is exactly Kruger’s point: recreational kayaks have been overlooked when it comes to innovation, and in his view, are in need of some tweaking to offer a more enjoyable experience.

Rethinking the sit-on-top kayak seat

A major way in which the Albatross sets out to accomplish the goal of a better paddling experience is with the inclusion of design elements more often seen on high-performance kayaks, and which the Lekker team believes every paddler would benefit from having on their boat.

The cockpit seating area is where kayakers spend their time, and one of the first places I noticed the Albatross differentiates itself from other tandem kayaks. Two-person kayaks and canoes are commonly called divorce boats for a reason—getting where you want to go can be a true test of teamwork, conflict resolution and emotional intelligence. One of the common causes of strife is the clanking of unchoreographed paddles. To address this, the seating position of the Albatross places the paddlers far enough away from one another to alleviate it.

The molded-in seat of the kayak is built to be a standalone piece of outfitting, without additional framing or pads inserted, and puts the paddler into an active and engaged position for strokes. I felt like the plastic seat of the Albatross was comfortable enough as is, and keeps the need for attached pieces of outfitting to near nonexistence. However, if you prefer more padding, Lekker does have an optional kayak seat made to clip into the boat.

When it comes to legroom, sit-on-tops often put a small day-storage hatch right between the paddler’s legs. This seems convenient for keeping personal effects handy; however, I sometimes find this puts my legs in an awkward, frog-legged position. The Albatross has no storage between the legs, and with the free space, they’ve put the foot braces closer together. I found this comfortable, and combined with the seat, puts the paddler in a good paddling posture.

If there is something about the Albatross seat positions to consider, it is if you try to paddle it alone from the rear, the position of the back seat causes the bow to wheelie a fair bit. It is after all a tandem kayak meant for a pair, but the trim in general seems to lean toward the stern and it is noticeable when the front seat is empty.

Speaking of paddling, alongside each seat, the Albatross includes what are referred to as paddle cutaways on the deck. These are areas where the surface of the deck bevels. This makes it easier to reach the water to place paddle strokes. It’s a feature more commonly found in the shape of high-performance sit-on-top racing kayaks called surfskis that let the paddler reach, sink and pull their paddle through the water closer along the kayak more effectively. In this case it also helps avoid smashed fingers.

Ease to paddle and steer

The shape of the kayak makes it a fun tandem to paddle. The boat is 14 feet long, has a keeled shape under the bow and stern, and transitions to a relatively flat-bottom center of the hull with two channels running most of the length underneath. The sides of the kayak round gently as they transition from the bottom to the sides of the kayak, which gives the boat secondary stability when it rocks toward one side or another. The boat also has a high bow rising up from the waterline.

The length and keel at the bow and stern help the boat carry speed and track in a straight line. What was surprising though was how well the boat turned for its size, especially from the bow paddler position. With the Albatross, while seated in the bow, it felt like I could slide the boat around into different directions rather easily without my paddling partner in the back helping out. A boat this size doesn’t always have such a slick, quick-turning hull, and I believe this is attributed to a few things on the Albatross, including a less pronounced keel that ends early and transitions to the flat surface area under the paddler that lets the hull spin more freely.

On flatwater, the ease of turning could be helpful, but where this aspect of the Albatross will really show is on rivers and tackling mild rapids, where you want a kayak that can change direction quickly. The high bow will also help the kayak punch over waves or paddle into surf with less nose diving, making it a fun tandem to enjoy around the coast. And, if you plan to paddle the Albatross in open water, there is also the option to add a rudder to the stern to further improve tracking and steering in rolling seas.

Additional features

Building on what makes the Lekker Albatross stand out are a few more parts of the kayak.

For starters are the two deck hatches for storage. Most sit-on-top kayaks have tankwells on the surface of the kayak—recessed open areas where you strap down your gear. The Alabatross all but eliminates exterior storage and instead has two large hatches for dry storage compartments near each paddler. The result is a less cluttered deck space with all the gear stowed lower in the boat and tucked away from exposure to the water.

The Albatross does still have very shallow deck storage spaces with bungees at the bow and stern in case you want to keep a small bag or layer nearby. It also has two slots on the deck near each set of foot pegs to lay down a paddle. This integrated paddle holder that is part of the plastic shape rather than a screwed-on piece of plastic is a useful little touch that keeps the boat streamlined.

There are two more small features on the Albatross I appreciate. The first are the bungee straps for a water bottle underneath the seat of each kayaker. And the other is the included scupper plugs attached to the kayak with accessory cord for the five pairs of drain holes. The scuppers, or drain holes, are what allow water to empty out of the boat when it splashes in; however, in flatwater you want these plugs sealed to keep water from lapping up under your legs and butt. By having plastic plugs attached to the kayak, they can live in the Albatross and always be there when you need them.

Each feature on the Albatross appears meticulously thought over and integrated into the boat’s construction itself when possible. This keeps the overall cost of the kayak down, and also in many ways makes for a better setup with fewer pieces of add-on metal and plastic to snag or break.

Where to buy the Lekker Albatross

Lekker is a relatively new company based in South Africa, expanding its North American distribution. Currently, Lekker Kayaks are available at two U.S. paddlesports dealers, Lodi Paddlesports in Lodi, California, and Headwaters Adventure Company in Redding, California. The kayaks are also available through direct sales, and you can learn more about the Albatross and their other models, including the Piper kid’s kayak and Osprey touring model, at Lekker Kayaks.