Basic (hard plastic) kayak from lifetime was just purchased, but didn’t come with a paddle. My kindergartner had previously jumped on her friends & was a natural—like a duck to water! She saw one at local store, so we HAD to puchase! No paddle was included. Any recommendations on length, brand, etc?
Ps-We definitely want 2 sided kayak paddle (which is what she so deftly used in Boca Raton inlet).
PSS–most internet sales seem to be roughly 6ft in length.
child’s paddles
The smallest child sized paddle is usually 180 cm (about 70") so that would probably work for him – the main thing is that they have a narrower shaft for their small hands and a smaller blade area so they are lighter and don’t require as much force to draw through the water. Patrick Onno of Onno Paddles makes a really nice child’s paddle, I hear, that has often been recommended and highly praised on the forums. Per his site it appears they are still only $75.
http://www.onnopaddles.com/bargainbin072014.html
Other folks have reported making a child a wooden Greenland paddle, something many people can do with basic woodworking tools – these are nice for kids because they are light and have narrow blades. A standard adult “storm” style Greenland paddle is around 183" – you can sometimes find wooden Greenland storm paddles for a decent price.
Mahalo Willowleaf … I can do these
in any length. The width of the boat plays a large part since the kids are small ( low ) still …
And YES, the blades have to be small for them to be able to turn the paddle over with efficiency and not be bogged down.
kids paddle
We bought a wing paddle for kids from Max Paddle. He custom makes it for each kid. Or Onno paddle will also make a kids paddle that they’ll also use for years. We did that with our boys at that age and they are still using it 3 years later. Good luck. Chaz
Kid’s paddle
We got this paddle for our boys. They paddle the little Emotion Sparky from REI, it is 6ft.
http://www.rei.com/product/784908/bending-branches-splash-paddle-kids#descriptionTab