I already Held Forth about the tradeoff between quality and accessibility in kayaks when we purchased Lulu’s Ocean Kayak Tetra 12 a couple years ago. And, since that publication, we’ve had a global pandemic that has hammered the domestic kayak market so hard that, despite record demand, companies have been largely unable to supply enough boats due to raw material availability, quarantining, and labor instability.
But the light is now peeking through the end of the 2020 tunnel, and Dick’s Sporting Goods is again brimming with cheap (but not as cheap) recreational barges. I recently turned to this market tier while trying to find a new sit-on-top boat for The Empress. She has outgrown her Old Town Loon 86, and has been begging for a sit-on-top since the beginning of last season. It’s not hard to imagine why she wants one. She sees us lounging in our Tetras, lazily dragging our feet in the cool water, and easily jumping on and off.
“Oh, thank God,” I thought, seeing this restocked collection of accessible boats.
Craigslist was a ghost town this spring as it has been for the last year, and I nearly choked on my Dogfish Head Slightly Mighty while beholding the $600 price tags of the “quality” rotomolded offerings from Johnson Outdoors and Confluence (the Malibu 9.5 and the Tribe 9.5, respectively). For a kid’s rec boat that will be outgrown or abandoned in five years, I decided to move downmarket. I was about to pull the trigger on a Bandit NXT (the Dick’s name for Pelican’s ubiquitous $250 six-pack toter) when kiddo spotted the Bali 10 and asked for it. It was hard to argue with her. Behold this beauty:
She has dual paddle parks, dual drain plugs, dual deck pockets, a day hatch, and a real bottle holder – not a shallow indent that couldn’t hold Dixie cup (I’m looking at you, Ocean Kayak).
This is an inexpensive, fully featured boat that will meet the needs of most day trippers. No true hatch means that the boat doesn’t need a lot of hull rigidity. Less rigidity means less plastic, means less weight (and waste). The bow and stern deck lines are criss-crossed over hooks, not screwed to the hull in anchors. You can easily unhook the deck lines to keep them from stretching out when the boat is stored.
I fitted the Bali with a GoPro mount and a $50 canopy from Amazon to help extend Her Majesty’s tolerance for longer sessions on the water.
The maiden voyage was … rough.
As you may suspect, a kayak retailing for half the price of other domestic competitors may have some quality issues. There’s a lot here to despise if you are the kind of person looking to make an investment in a durable craft that you can rent to weekenders. This hull will not take abuse and UV scorching like an Ocean Kayak. The fittings aren’t always screwed in tight. The adjustable foot braces look like something out of a toy elevator. The lines are anchored to through holes that will be sure to slurp plenty of smelly creek water into the hull. There’s no true bow hatch to allow access to that smelly water, just drain plugs. The hull doesn’t so much have rigidity as a strong suggestion of shape.
Also, when I tried hooking the stabilizing guys from the canopy to the back deck lines, I inadvertently created a spectacular catapult. One of the loose deck hooks popped free and was flung clear across the garage. I reattached it with a power driver and some Marine Goop.
But the main problem with the Bali is not build quality or durability. It just plain doesn’t want to paddle in a straight line, unless you are very heavy and can push the boat’s ruler-straight gunwales into the water. The boat seems to have been designed to turn easily. With kayaks, you get inherent tradeoffs – stability vs speed, rigidity vs weight (or cost), and tracking vs maneuverability. Sundolphin has decided that its customers will likely value the ability to position their boat for fishing over the boat’s ability to hold a straight line on a cruise.
The Bali got sold to a lovely couple who are expanding their family fleet for adventures around St. Mary’s County. We wish them the best of luck.
We took a bit of a fiscal hit to learn a lesson – just be patient and buy the used quality boat. After looking all week for a replacement for the Bali on Craigslist, I had given up. Then Lulu spotted a barely used Ocean Kayak Mysto in Arlington last weekend. We’ll see how Her Royal Highness likes that boat today…