Alchemy 14.0 SM

This boat is exceptional and easily my goto ocean play boat. I am a very medium-size person at 5’9” 170 pounds and with size 9 feet. The fit is nice and snug, quite adjustable, the boat feels sporty and connected to me. It has decent tracking for 14ft, excellent maneuverability, and works just as well for a new kayaker as it does for an intermediate and expert. This has easily become my go to boat for surfing, tide races, and rock gardening. It covers miles much more easily than a short boat and is very maneuverable when you put it on edge. I’ve heard people say that this is not a good boat for surfing but I’m not sure what they’re talking about. If what you’re looking for is a long boat for strait line rides to the beach your in busines. If you’re looking for a short boat that you can do bottom turns in you should be looking at a surf kayak or river boat.

My girlfriend is a new paddler who is significantly lighter than me. She is able to use it for overnight camping and at 23” she feels confident in it in chop.

One particular thing that I like about this boat by comparison to the new Stratos is that there’s a day hatch. This adds additional flotation safety and the bulkhead behind the seat does not go deep into the day or stern hatch making it much easier to drain on top of your friends boat after doing a reentry. The skeg system is solid but like most it’ll need a little bit of cleaning sometimes out in the water, especially with rocky beaches. I always give the skeg a test after launching, if it’s not working I have my buddy run my knife along the inside of it and it’s usually functioning fine within moments.

I’ve added a few things to this boat to make it safer in rock gardens and surf zones. I’ve added two hatch straps on the front, back, and one on the day hatch. The only thing I haven’t done yet is change out my foot pegs for a foot plate. I suspect I’ll be doing that this winter.

I also added a p70 compass because in the Bay Area you always have to be prepared for fog. The compass was a breeze to mount and works well with the boat.

It was easy to create screw caps for the compass and hatch straps. The hardware store always had something that I could cover them with, add glue and whala no sharp points.

Here’s where this boat struggles a bit. The bulkheads needed regluing after a season. It’s been great since I cleaned it and applied lexel (translucent). Also the hatches are like most roto boats only soo good at keeping water out. Expect a cup to a quart after a dynamic day out. The hatch straps and bulkhead repair have made that more like a cup.

I purchased this boat as a back up for my beloved sea kayak and was surprised to find I choose the Alchemy almost every time we go out. It became my go-to boat for everything from small rivers to big lakes. It fits me like a glove and is especially easy to control without ever using my skeg. It edges and turns very efficiently and it accelerates easily. I tend to fall behind my group to oogle plants and wildflowers or take photos and am able to quickly catch back up to them. I am 5'6" and about 135# and love the fit with thigh and hip pads. It has a water bottle holder between my legs which is handy. The hatches open and close easily but leak if I roll. I highly recommend this boat if it fits you!

First off, I now insist on a skeg (as opposed to a rudder), so in looking for a second boat this was an absolute criteria. I also wanted a rotomold (plastic) layup to compliment the conditions that I didn't want to use my glass boat for. It's hard to find a good plastic boat with a skeg...there are presently very few models to choose from. I also wanted something 14-15 feet... a good size for paddling rivers and tight mangrove tunnels found here in south Florida, but also long enough to keep up with the touring yaks.

Finally, I wanted the kayak to fit me, and being a small-framed person, that is hard to find these days. The Alchemy SMALL seemed to fit all these criteria.

So on her first paddle, we did about 8 miles and she kept the pace well. Since, I have done 20-mile paddles in this boat with no problem. Yes, she is a bit more sluggish than the 17-footers, to be expected, but I can usually make up for it in endurance. This boat turns very well because it has a long bow and relatively short stern, so your pivot point is set back. It also edges easily but be careful! Primary stability is good but secondary stability is harder to define...I have unintentionally rolled this boat on several occasions, caught off guard while aggressively edging. I think this has to do with the pivot point being so far back and the hard chine. On the upside, the boat feels really responsive when maneuvering in surf.

I rarely find that I need the skeg, but if I do, it's nice to have. Unfortunately, like other Wilderness System boats (Zephyr/Tempest), I find that the skeg flops back in forth when deployed, making a clicking sound against the skeg box. It's very annoying but doesn't seem to affect the performance... just part of the design I guess. My glass boat doesn't have this problem, though. Also, the skeg slide is indented well-enough so that you don't hit your hand on it when taking a close-in stroke...this is an improvement over my glass boat.

The deck is low, which pleases me very much since I paddle with a greenland paddle and also like to roll. I can go into a static brace very easily with this boat, even more so than my glass boat. And rolling this boat is a breeze. The outfitting makes it very comfortable for me to roll as well, with hip pads and thigh braces holding you tight. Because of the low volume, most people will probably find the tight fit confining. Just remember, you are supposed to wear a kayak, not sit inside one. If the small size is too tight (and it will be for many), there is also a larger volume.

The hatches stay dry for the most part...oval shaped hatch covers (common to the Confluence company) all leak to a certain degree, especially if you roll the boat.

I was getting a lot of water in the back hatch though, and found that the skeg box was leaking only after a few months having the boat. I tried to tighten the nut and found that it just free-spun in the box...it was supposed to fit just so inside the box but the plastic gives too much to hold it in place. This is a bad design flaw because you can't tighten the hardwear enough to get a good seal. I ended up just coating it with silicon and that fixed things for now. Beware of replacing the skeg cable, as it is incredible difficult to do.

Again, I compare this to my Impex, which has a much simpler design. I have replaced the cables on both and the process left me grinning in one case and close to tearing my hair out in frustration in the other case. Look up the how-to video online before you try... it will help you figure out the system BEFORE you do damage. Again, I like having a skeg on this boat but the bad design is a drawback to this boat, and I imagine it is common to the company's other skeg boats as well. Hopefully they will engineer a better design in the future.

All in all, I'm very happy with this boat.

What I like about its outfitting:
The seat and thigh braces are excellent and provide lots of good contact. The footpegs are super easy to adjust from the cockpit (just lift and slide) and have not popped on me in rough water. The foam pillar and keel stiffener keep the cockpit structurally sound.

What I like about its performance:
The rocker makes it easy to spin. Stability is predictable and reassuring in confused water. The short length is very handy in rocks, caves, slots, etc. Despite its maneuverability, I find it quite neutral in the wind and a pretty solid tracker, even with the skeg up. Compared with a Delphin or Elias, for example, it's much less squirrelly. It also doesn’t feel slow, though obviously it's maximum hull speed is limited by its length. That said, I don't feel a struggle to keep up with others on a day paddle. And on land it's an easy carry (short, not too heavy).

What I don't like:
The rear hatch leaks on most Alchemy's I've seen. After a rolling session, expect 2 litres or so in the hatch. The front hatch leaks slightly and the day hatch is dry. The skeg is compromised by a wire slider and several Alchemy's I've seen have kinked skegs. I hope the newer boats have a metal rod slider. Finally, I've compared two Alchemy's side by side and noticed considerable difference in the rocker profile, so they're not coming out of the factory uniform in shape.

In short, the concept is awesome, but the application needs some improvement. Still, for the price this little boat is attractive and can suit the needs of a beginning kayaker or a more experienced rough water paddler. Again, I paddle the S version. I am just over 6', 170 lbs, with a shoe size of 10.

My particular example had several manufacturing flaws. The rear bulkhead was not properly sealed and the rear hatch leaks badly when upside down. Other owners I have talked to did NOT have these issues.
I highly recommend it!

I'm not sure but the hull V and chines seem more pronounced on the small model, the secondary stability is superb and the kayak is very agile on edge, ride is slightly wetter on the small but you'd expect that, more than made up for by the sharper handling.

I found the large needed skeg in the wind where as the small still needs a bit for crosswinds but nothing like as much, maybe a quarter. Hull speed isn't bad but this kayak really comes into its own in tight spots like sea caves and narrow passageways etc, a great rockhopper! I've gone from proper sea kayaks to a Dagger Charleston flat water tourer, which was ok but this kayak fits my needs better than either, still small and agile like the Charleston but with proper sea kayak features and handling, highly recommended!

I have had the boat less than 30 hours, but I did get a chance to get it out on a pond a couple of hours back. Again, I wanted something that would do well in open water and handle choppy conditions well.
It turns out my first opportunity to paddle it was a perfect test - SSW winds at 20 mph gusting to 30 mph. The boat passed with flying colors - all I wanted! The skeg control is in a recessed slot just below the hip. Being recessed, there is no way to hit it accidentally. I was able to find a "sweet spot" where it would neither weather cock nor lee cock in those 20-30 mph winds.
Chop? What chop? There were 6-12" waves which would have shaken my kidneys loose in the Blackwater 115. I hardly noticed them while headed straight into them. (When they were side waves, I was glad for my skirt and PFD!)

Although just about everything on the seat adjusts, well, once you get that skirt fastened and are out on the pond, nothing adjusts. The cockpit is tight. Wonder which I would have bought had I sat in both the 14s and the somewhat wider 14l? Whatever, you don't sit in this boat, you wear it. However, this does give great control! Although there is a middle bulkhead with a day hatch, there is also a surprising amount of room behind the seat for stashing a dry bag.

Here are the few picky things I found. First, there are no drain channels for the coaming and the areas around the hatches, so water accumulates there. (There is also a 3-4" bowl, presumably for a compass mount. They should have simply left a flat area, but it doesn't hold that much water.) The cover on the day hatch is probably impossible to re-seat from within the cockpit. It's pretty difficult even when out of the boat and standing over it!

In summary, this is a very nice boat!