you were close to me here near Pittsburgh - you could have tried a few of our kayaks or another option is in May there most likely is a demo day (fridays) at Lake Arthur (Morraine State Park) with a bunch of kayak and canoe reps who bring their boats for a free trial - paddles and pfds are available also - this might be a great time to try a solo versus a tandem as there are usually a pretty good variety of boats.
A little addition: If you shop at REI - they have a very good sale on their Aquabound stingray paddles (small shaft for small hands) for about $100 bucks in 210 220 and 230 cm -great paddles (on their outlet section) 2 in Pittsburgh area.
True. And it is hard to say what is worse when you’re paddling into a headwind - towing a nonpaddler behind you, or trying to paddle a tandem from the backseat with a nonpaddler in front, leecocking all over the place.
Second the small paddles. The kids just want to be like Dad / Mom and actually spin the paddles … This means they should be WAY WAY shorter and smaller than what is commonly available or listed as a “kids” paddle. IMHO, they would have more fun with a 60" stick than a heavy, too long and too large for them to turn over paddle.
The shaft should be shorter + smaller diameter as well.
My 5 year olds latest paddle he got for Christmas is 57" with 14" x 5" blades. Shaft OD is just under an inch. His single blade is 16" x 5.750" The weights of these are 10 an 6 ounces. He can use these on anything that floats and actually contribute to us moving forward with alacrity.
If anyone is interested please call or write. We can make these for kids custom in all different colors using fiberglass. Humbly priced for family budgets.
kayaks I bought used perception carolinas for my 5 and 6 year old. I took them on slow moving rivers, and they did just fine. I got kid paddles off of ebay for 20 bucks each. Before I took them out on their own I capsized them and made them practice swimming out. Kids catch on very quickly. It is the middle of winter, and every week they ask how long it is till we can go again.