You didn’t ask, but it worries me…
…that you’d take up to 3 under-7’s out in any canoe. I think you’re really risking spills. A rowboat might make more sense in terms of stability, elbow-room, etc. I presume they’d have PFD’s, but little bodies chill much more rapidly than adults, due to the bodymass/skinsurface ratio.
Sportspal weights
The Raddison weights are for a canoe with the foam sit-on-the-bottom seats. They are not the same as a Meyers Sportspal.
The published Meyers weights are accurate, just make sure the weight is for the style of seat you are buying. The aluminum bench seats are heavier. And all weights are for just the canoe, not the motor mount, oars & oarlocks, which are in the canoe as delivered and when you lift it at the dealers.
Young children are not as big as problem as most people expect. they are short, light, and have a very low center of gravity. In a Sportspal the foam floatation sponsons have more buoyancy than a 7 yr. old can submerge standing on the gunwales.
The mentioned Royalex hulls are better all around paddlers than the Sportspal, but for fishing with kids the Sportspal would be my choice. The foam liner is not as slippery when wet as the interior of a royalex canoe.
Bill
PFDs
– Last Updated: Aug-23-06 9:57 PM EST –
are a must. Additionally, when I am with all 3, it will be on a small nearby lake. They have been on kayaks before. I have taken them on a row boat but I cannot carry a row boat on my own so a canoe is my next best option.
I have read many articles (and seen on nearby lakes) about people taking very small children on canoe trips. Plus, i know my son's cub scout troop permits children to use solo canoes.
Lastly, I am looking for a canoe to grow into. The kids are growing like weeds. I want a canoe that will be with the family for many years.