Sun Dolphin Aruba 10-Foot Sit-in Kayak
FEATURES:
- 1-person sit-in kayak
- Great for rivers and lakes
- Shock cord deck rigging
- Large open cockpit
- Carrying handles
- Paddle leash
- Adjustable foot braces
- Protective thigh pads
- Adjustable padded seat
- Storage compartment
- Water bottle holder
You must be looking at an Aruba 10, or some sort of cheap, inexpensive kayak. Your probably thinking about getting into kayaking, and your not looking to spend a lot of money. This is understandable. A lot of people they think about something, they’re like,
“I’m not sure if I’m going to like it.”
So, I don’t want to invest $1,000 or $2,000 and then have to sell everything and not really be happy.
So, I have a couple of hours experience paddling these boats, and I figure I’ll help you out a little bit, and give you a little insight on the Aruba 10, and yay or nay on the purchase. Sit back and read.
So, the Aruba 10 this one was bought at Walmart at 190 bucks. And it’s the 10 foot non SS version. It’s just the regular Aruba as we can see. So a couple upgrades, couple things added to it. As you see, I’ve got another one over here. And I paddle these boats a few different times now, so got a couple of things to say about them.
First thing, there’s not much a seat in this. Now this back bend, this comes with the boat. And it’s not heavy duty. But, it’s probably going to hold up for a while for light use. Down here, that blue pad, that’s called a hot seat. I bought it on Amazon. They stick in with an adhesive. You know, peel off the back, stick it on. Works pretty well.
It’s neoprene. Doesn’t hold any water. Add some comfort, and it gives you kind of a place holder for your butt. Because this cockpit as we can see, its a big cockpit. Recreation quality boat. It’s got a big opening. Your kind of swimming in the cockpit. Especially smaller users. So, for a small kid, there’s a lot of space in there, your definitely not going to get stuck. And it does have these little neoprene knee pads that give you an idea that you can put your knees on there, and get some control. But it’s really just to keep you from getting banged up with your knees getting in and out.
If we can see … Can’t really see. But there are some foot braces. They are adjustable. And they’re better than nothing. They work pretty decent. You know, I would definitely say over the eight foot boat, if your going to do any kind of paddling, and your not a small child, stay away from the eight foot boot, because the 10 is the bare minimum, really. You got a 175 pound adult in this thing, and it’s riding somewhat low in the water, not dangerously low, but lower than you’d want it in rougher water. So, lighter users, beginner, amateurs, your going to be good with this boat.
Now this is a wide boat. 30 inch beam. Flat bottom. I’ll flip it over in a minute. Very good initial stability. Very stable boat. Turns pretty well. Track, eh, track’s okay. Turns well, doesn’t track so well, that’s a compromise your going to have to make on any boat. See on the bottom, it’s pretty flat. It’s got a couple rims. Pretty thin polyethylene. Gets scratched somewhat easily.
Again it’s not a whitewater boat. It’s a recreation boat. So it is what it is. For 188 bucks, it’ll definitely get the job done, get you out of the water. One thing I’m going to add, right here, there’s three screws that hold in the foot braces, and those come with just a hole and a screw in it. And they will leak water. So, what I did, is I put some silicone marine sealant under each one of those just to keep it from taking in a little bit of water, make it a little bit nicer.
It’s got a storage in the back. Bungee storage. Got a tile sponge in there. There’s some modifications people do with that. I would recommend against it. There’s no bull ked in this boat, so your flotation comes from some styrofoam blocks that are stuffed up in here, up back into the seat. And whatever air is trapped in the boat. You get this thing upside down to fill with water, and you cut that back hatch away, and you remove that styrofoam, the boat’s probably going to sink. It’s not … It’s going to be negatively buoyant, which is unsafe. You could lose your boat.
So, if you need that kind of storage space in a kayak, you need to be looking at a different kayak probably. This isn’t the boat for you. So what’s good about this boat? Well, I’ll tell ya. It’s cheap. It gets you out on the water. It’s got really good initial stability. Very stable, easy to get in and out of the boat. The back band? It’s okay. You know, you can get some adjustment.
Specifications:
- Length: 10’
- Width: 30”
- Weight: 41 lbs.
- Maximum capacity: 250 lbs.
- Materials: Rugged UV-stabilized Fortiflex® high density polyethylene
- Manufacturer’s 2-year warranty
- Model: ARUBA10
You don’t want to be leaning way back in this thing, so that’ll get you up off the back, get you more centrally located. Centrally buoyant in the boat. It’s got a little bit of bungy. So you could put a jacket or something under there. Put your lunch in there. It’s got a little bit more up on the front for a water bottle. This is a waste of time. You can’t reach it when your paddling. But you could put a jacket or something up in there. Water bottle for later.
It’s got this paddle holder. If I can get it with one hand. This holds your paddle on the side of the boat. And it … You know, it’s mildly useful. When your sitting there at the edge of the water stopping for lunch, put the paddle there, it keeps it from getting knocked around, floating away, whatever. So I use that. It’s got handles at the end. Front and back. T-handle. Makes it easy to carry. It’s got a drain plug.
They’re hard to get in and out. But it’s possible. One trick. I put sunscreen on there. If I pull that thing out, you can pull it out pretty easy. Getting it back in is difficult. Put a little sunscreen on it. Pops right back in. Good for draining the boat. But ultimately, your going to need a tile sponge, and your going to need to get in there and mop the water out to get it all out.
Other than that, for 188 bucks, do I recommend it? I do. You know, I got some people on the water with these things, got some enjoyment out of them. We’re still using them. They’re fun. I loan them out to people. Good. Have fun in it. Safe boat. Is it going to be an awesome fishing kayak? Probably not. Is it going to be a whitewater boat? Not if your smart.
Are you going to spend three days camping and put all your gear in there, and go on some big expedition around Greenland? Probably not. You need to be looking into something more along the lines of that style boat. But, getting out, having fun, flat water, you know smooth, hour or two at a time, yeah. No problem. Get what you pay for. I wouldn’t spend $300 for this boat. But, $188, $200 all day long. Just get a good PFD decent paddle, and I think you’ll be good. Thanks for reading.
