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 Christian *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
From: "Christian" <rebel_at_snip.net> > 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. > *************************************************************************** 6 is a touch young for handling a kayak and attention spans can be short... The one commercial kayak advertised as intended for children is the Perception Umia, and it's really intended for an older child. Since you're in South Jersey, there's a livery outfitter called "Kayak King" down there in the Pine Barrens who builds kayaks especially for children. They're not expensive, either. Sorry, no phone number to hand but it should be in the Yellow Pages somewhere.... Joe P. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
My daughter is about to turn 7. We have an Umiak that was originally intended for our older kids but that she finds quite comfortable. She started paddling it this summer in Lake Huron and I was more than a little surprised to see how well she handled forward strokes, backward strokes, turning, and the like. By her own choice, she actually uses an old Greenland paddle that is more or less her size but that is unusually light. She occasionally tried 1-2 foot waves, but you have to stay near her: she packs so little ballast that the wind tends to blow her away. Tom Joyce > I need suggestions for a first kayak for my 6 year old son who is anxious > to get out on the water with dad. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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