Seat for small kids

Advice
#1

This summer I’ll be taking out my oldest grand daughter in my Summersong. I need to rig up some sort of seat for her to sit on while I’m paddling. Any ideas?



Andy

#2

I used this type Andy
http://www.campmor.com/crazy-creek-crazy-legs-beach-chair.shtml



I used to take my young daughters out (one at a time) on the river or lake in my Mad River Traveler using one of these and it worked well. The aluminum frame can scratch up the inside bottom of your hull, but you could probably pad it with some foam pipe insulation. I was never ambitious enough.



My chair disappeared in a move years ago. I think my wife secretly gave it away. I wish I had it back.

#3

Fore or aft?
A couple of those square orange flotation cushions, one on the floor and one propped against a thwart might work. That’s what we always used in our tandem when the kids were small.

#4

I bet a milk crate would work
Kids don’t need back support. All they want to do is to see.



Are you putting the kid in back of you? They move around a lot and you should consider seating the grandkid just in front of you. Ergo less is better to allow you somewhere to put your feet.

#5

And sometimes their PFD provides
enough padding for them to be able to comfortably lean back against a thwart. I’d think that in a Sumersong, you’d want to keep a kid’s CG as low as possible.

#6

Thanks
I’ll keep it simple and yes I’d want her in front of me. We ordered a PFD for her last night…this one!



http://www.austinkayak.com/products/1169/Stohlquist-Nemo-Child-Life-Jacket-PFD.html



Andy

#7

paddle
You know she needs a paddle too. It’s never too early to learn how to cross draw. Good for your balance too.

#8

kid in solo boat
We used a piece of plywood about 8" by 12 with an 8" piece of 2x4 nailed edgewise under each end of the plywood to make a little bench. for the 2 and 3 year old kids it went between my knees. For older kids, ready to stay awake. We used a similar sized seat with 2 foot 1x4s nailed edgways to the ends of the seat with the long ends extending out the back. in solo boats i added two thwarts about 12" apart and tied the seat with the side rails up, to the underside of the thwarts with 4 lengths of parachute cord. This creates a lowered seat with side walls. It can be installed near the end if you move your seat back to give the little one easy access to the water. I set mine up with 3 seats .

#9

and also
The bottom of the boat canoe chairs with backs have worked well for the 3 to 5 crowd that falls asleep about nap time.