The snow is finally melted up here at the great lakes (I'm in a Cleveland suburb) and it's time to get the boats out for some great adventures. Issue facing us now is that our 7 year old daughter no longer fits in the hatch of my boat, and we're tired of renting open cockpit boats to give her space. So I'm looking for suggestions. I really don't like paddling the open cockpit barges like the Wilderness Systems Pamlico (though I LOVE Wilderness Systems boats - my wife and I paddle WS boats). So I've assumed we'd go the route of a tandem kayak like the WS Northstar. I have two questions for the community here: In your experience, is a tandem the way to go with a child not ready to paddle on her own? Do you have tandem recommendations? Boats I've seen recently include: Wilderness Systems Northstar, Perception Carolina II, Necky Manitou, etc. Thoughts? Thanks for the community, stories, and good info in PaddleWise. --Jeff P-D Jeff Peterson-Davis | jeff_at_peterson-davis.net Life is a gift to be received with gratitude and a task to be pursued with courage. -- Confession of 1967, Presbyterian Church (USA) *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
On Sat, Apr 19, 2008 at 11:04 AM, Jeff Peterson-Davis < jeff_at_peterson-davis.net> wrote: > The snow is finally melted up here at the great lakes (I'm in a Cleveland > suburb) and it's time to get the boats out for some great adventures. > Issue > facing us now is that our 7 year old daughter no longer fits in the hatch > of > my boat, and we're tired of renting open cockpit boats to give her space. > Jeff, You might consider the Pygmy Osprey double and/or triple. They are not small boats but they are remarkably light; coming in at about 60 lbs for the triple. This is about the same weight as my Nimbus Telkwa HV but it's carrying capacity is huge. We've considered a triple for carrying grandkids and acting as the safety boat for larger groups (easier to put an incapacitated paddler in the center cockpit than towing him/her and a support paddler). The downside is that you have to build one and it takes a couple of weeks. But that can be offset by the pricing; under $1200 for a boat you can probably resell for lots more. www.pygmyboats.com Craig Jungers Moses Lake, WA *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
We have paddled for 1-3 weeks every summer on the west coast of Vancouver Island for the last 27 years. In the middle of that, we had two kids. We owned a Seascape II which is a large double made by Northwest Kayaks. Once I got over the shock of not being able to paddle a single, it proved to be a pretty good system. When the kids were infants, they were in my wife's lap in the front. Then they graduated as two yo to the middle hatch (one at a time - they were two years apart) which came in a large version on that boat. I built a big fiberglass wind/rain domed cover for that middle hatch (open in the back) that they were small enough to stand under for a couple years. Then the older one was put in the back hatch. We managed all the transitions until they were completely on their own in kayaks at about 12-13. We called that domed cover the "skull" because it had two openings to allow the kid to look forward. The whole thing could be covered up in a nylon bag/sprayskirt for heavy rain/wind or waves. It worked very well. We paddle with three other couples who had the same boat and one to two kids and we all managed to continue the trips through those years. I think that that Seascape is a excellent boat for this. Stable and big enough to carry gear for the 3-4 people traveling in it for a week at a time. It was balanced enough that I never felt the need for the rudder, which I liked because I am not a rudder fan. I have paddled other doubles that required a rudder to be manageable. With that Seascape, I used the rudder only a couple times in all those years. My friends, with the same boats, did use the rudder so it partly a matter of style. We were out on the open ocean with this system. But we had had a lot of experience before the kids arrived. After a few years, as the kids got better we started dragging a single. I wanted more room for "luxury" camping gear. The first year we dragged a little plastic kayak. After that we dragged an original Mariner which in fact towed better and caused less drag. We loaded it stern heavy so it would tow well which it did. That way we could carry more gear and have a single when we arrived at our destination. Eventually that allowed a transition period when my wife would paddle the single and I would paddle the double with a kid in front. Then we transitioned to two singles and the doubles with the kids alternating. Then FINALLY all back in singles. But those doubles have their uses. Last summer we had one double on the group at large and one of the now early twenties kids fell off a rock and injured himself but we were able to complete the trip because of that double. On Apr 19, 2008, at 11:04 AM, Jeff Peterson-Davis wrote: > In your experience, is a > tandem the way to go with a child not ready to paddle on her own? > Do you > have tandem recommendations? *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
I am almost as big a guy as you are. Using the double as a "single" is not great with the BIG doubles such as the Seascape II. With you in the back, the front will blow around if it is unladen But you need a BIG double to support 3 to 4 people on a camping trip. Plastic double kayaks often are not that big because they are trying to make them stiff enough which is hard as the boat gets bigger. Loading the boat bow heavy can largely compensate. When I paddled with my 8 yo daughter in front, I would put all the heavy stuff like the fresh water and the stove and such in the very bow of the boat. Creative packing can go a long way to returning the boat to a "reasonable" trim. On Apr 21, 2008, at 01:13 PM, Jeff Peterson-Davis wrote: > Robert, what is your experience with single paddler > balance on the NW boats? *************************************************************************** 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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