Rick said: <<My youngest daughter has FINALLY (thank you, Lord) taken an interest in paddling with me, and has her heart set on a Umiak >> Rick, My daughter loves her Umiak. She started out around 8 years old with the added thigh braces and now, at 12, has removed those. She just learned to roll it in the pool this year. She never paddles far, a couple miles at most, but plays lots of tag in it. She will use it this year at a week long kayak camp I run for a church camp and will make an eight mile round trip overnighter. If you find yourselves up in the Annapolis area, you are welcome to test drive it (or at least your daughter is). Brian Blankinship *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Rick: I'm sure I've posted this before. Our kids love the Umiak. Our youngest started using it at the age of 6 1/2. She was small for age. At 8 (and still small) she maneuvers easily and even enjoys going out in moderate swells (1 - 2 ft). Yes, in a strong wind, she may get blown away, but she is never unsupervised. Our older kids also enjoy it, but I don't have a good upper weight/height limit. Unless they are large for their age, kids can probably use it into their low/mid teens. (When she gets a little bigger, it may be an easy boat to roll, perhaps.) Consider a float bag. Tom Joyce ------------------------------------------ The information contained in this e-mail message may be privileged, confidential, and protected from disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient, any further disclosure or use, dissemination, distribution, or copying of this message or any attachment is strictly prohibited. If you think that you have received this e-mail message in error, please delete it and notify the sender. *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
> Actually, my daughter tried the umiak and found it totally unresponsive > and > we ended up purchasing the picollo by Wilderness systems. Someone else also mentioned that boat, but said it wasn't built any longer, and I couldn't find it on their web site.... so they must be correct. Rick *************************************************************************** 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 10y/o daughter, Claire, tried a friend’s Umiak at Barkley Sound. She loved it tremendously. I talked her into Pigmy’s Osprey 13 telling her that it would be faster than her friend’s kayak. She loves that boat, though I think she would have been very happy with the Umiak. I was surprised to see how fearless she was in it, since she’s usually cautious. She also is surprisingly fast. Both of these boats will last her into her teens possibly beyond. Once she’s older, she may use this as a play boat, small stream boat, or as a second boat when paddling with a friend. If you go for a Pygmy, I’d recommend this over the 10 ft. model, which is only good up to her current size. Also, you’ll score many brownie points. Bill O'Brien *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
> Now, as for how to get her to enjoy paddling and not get discouraged, here > are some strategies you can use. Gordon, great suggestions! Thanks - I'll be trying them out soon! Rick *************************************************************************** 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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