Re: [Paddlewise] 1st Kayak for 6 yr old

In a message dated 9/21/2001 7:26:39 PM Pacific Daylight Time, rebel_at_snip.net 
writes:


> Hi all,
>    I need suggestions for a first kayak for my 6 year old son who is anxious
> to get out on the water with dad. He paddles with me in our Old Town
> Discovery 146 and actually maneuvers quite well. I would like to get him
> something small and stable. Does anyone have children paddling this young?
> Would I be better off getting him a sit on top or a large open cockpit? It
> would be used on still lakes and some small streams here in Southern New
> Jersey.
>   Thanks for your help
>                  


   I had my daughter in her own boat at about five or six. She rode around 
with me and really enjoyed it, but I pretty much towed her all the time. She 
actually didn't start paddling on her own until around ten or eleven. I gave 
her a paddle (with a leash so it wouldn't get lost when it fell overboard), 
but she just wasn't really all that interested in using it. Which I think 
brings up one of the most important points about paddling with kids. Never 
try to force them to do anything. If you don't keep it fun, you'll lose them, 
and they will grow up hating paddling. I'm afraid I made this mistake with my 
second daughter.
   As for the boat, whatever you can find for a good price will work. I 
initially found a small fiberglass kid boat at a garage sale which worked for 
a couple of years until she outgrew it. Then I got the Umiak by Perception. 
It's really a pretty nice boat, which I now stuff myself into for a rolling 
boat ( I'm a rolling God in that boat :-)). She didn't outgrow that until her 
early teens, which is when I got her a full sized boat. 
   Which brings up the second point. Kids don't need performance. And pretty 
much anything that floats will be stable enough for them. I have a waveski 
which I will bet non-paddling friends that they can't sit on and paddle 
across the pool - I rarely lose. My daughters happily paddle it all over the 
place without a problem. Their smaller size and light weight turns that 
waveski into a rather stable boat for them. Which is why I say to look for 
whatever you can find the best price on. Because for a kid's boat I just 
don't think the design is really all that important. Heck, they're going to 
outgrow it in a couple of years anyway!

Scott
So.Cal.

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