[Paddlewise] Report on Umiak Purchase

I was able to launch my daughter and her Perception Umiak this past
Saturday.  Just wanted to report back on our opinions of the boat.

My daughter seems to really like it a lot, but being 11, can't
articulate the reasons why.  So, here are my observations of it.

We were in protected water with no chop, waves, swell, wind or anything.
We paddled for 55 minutes and went a total of 1.78 nm, but that included
stopping to eat skittles, stopping to look at birds, stopping to just
raft up and talk, and so forth.

She had no fears of it whatsoever.  She never seemed to be off balance,
and she never made any mention of the boat being "tippy".  A few times,
she'd lean over to pull a bug off the water surface, and I'd cringe, but
she'd be fine.  I need to get over that :-)

She said that it fits good and the seat is comfortable, but she's got
nothing to compare it to, so take that with a grain of salt.  We haven't
done any outfitting with hip/knee pads, etc, and I may not for quite
some time unless she continues to build skills and use this particular
boat as more than an initial "starter boat".

The boat turns so easily that I'm curious about tracking in wind, but
we'll have to examine that later.  Her paddling form is the pits, and
yet she was still able to paddle at a good little clip when we were
"going" instead of "meandering".  With better form, I think she'll have
no problems keeping up with bigger, faster boats. 

All in all, I see no issues with this boat, coupled with her size and
level of paddling skill.  Seems like a good choice for a paddler of her
size (65 pounds) and skill (complete novice).  Now, she wants me to take
her to Granny's pool and teach her self rescues.  COOL!!!

Thanks all who offered opinions (pro and con) before the purchase!

Rick - Poquoson, VA 
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