Re: [Paddlewise] kids and kayaks

-----Original Message-----
From: Dave Uebele <daveu_at_sptddog.com>
>We have a 22 month old, and are mostly interested in
>sea kayaking, in the Puget Sound area, reasonably protected waters.
>
>When she was really little, I had my daughter on my lap
>while paddling in a double.
>Now that she is older and bigger, I've tried putting her in the
>front cockpit of a double, and rented a "pungo" single large "recreational"
>cockpit she can move around in.  This works ok if she is all the
>way forward in the cockpit, but if she moves back, it
>interferes with paddling.
My kids sat on my lap or between my legs until they were 7 or 8. As they got
bigger the on the lap position could not be maintained as long before my
legs tired. They gripped the paddle between my hands and could add the
ammount of effort to my stroke that they pleased. They also learned stroke
mechanics so that when they got in their own boat they were naturals. Some
hints: put a waterproof foam pad between your legs for them to sit on. In
that position their head would rest on my belly but they could see out
easily. I would also suggest that you pad the middle of your paddle with
some light pipe insulation so if you bang them in the teeth or head with the
shaft it is no big deal.

>
>Another option, that we haven't explored yet, is getting ahold
>of a smaller, kid scale kayak, put some sponsons on, and tow.
>At some point, I'd like her in her own kayak, even helping paddle
>a bit, and getting a tow when she gets tired.
>I'm willing to try the towing arrangment now, but my wife
>is nervous about that.
I'd wait until she is wanting to be on her own more rather than be just be
snuggled up to daddy to do this. You probably don't need no stinking
Sp*ns*ns because small children are very stable in even a kayak that is very
tippy for a larger paddler. I bought a kids Olympic trainer that I could
hardly keep upright. At first when they were small it was very stable for
them and as they grew their balanced improved with time in the kayak to
match the increasing degree of tippiness.
When they were younger than 11 or so and in their own kayaks a mile was as
far as they wanted to have to paddle. Bring towlines so they can stop
paddling when they feel like it (so you don't push them into never wanting
to paddle again just to get back to the car.
Matt Broze
>

>--


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