Sam, a “real paddler” in his canoe; dragging his “toy” kayak.
A picture is worth a thousand words !
BOB
The pot is sticking… Time to restir. Not all kayaks are propelled by double blades. King Island Kayaks are paddled single blade… And I know many people who carry a single on the deck for their spare.
@Newbie91 said:
Hi,
We want to choose a water sports for my daughter, she is 8 years old. I want to learn exact differences between a canoe and kayak. Thanks.
As much fun as this has been, I’d like to more directly address the original question. She’s quite young to be picking anything that will stick with her for life. I like that you’re starting her off early with an outdoor activity, but variety is the key at this point rather than specialization. Get her into as many different kinds of boats and other activities that you reasonably can. Eventually she’s going to decide what she likes to do. It may even end up she doesn’t like being on the water at all - which would be unfortunate, but entirely possible.
My dad started me off with backcountry canoe trips as a pre-teen. I really enjoyed it, but got away from it through my teens and early adulthood. Somewhere in that time I had tried renting a kayak for the day and it wasn’t a great experience. I know now that the boat was a poor fit and I had not idea how to properly paddle it. One day I decided I wanted to get back into it and purchased a used canoe. It took me on many trips before I realized I wanted to try getting into kayaking. I started this phase with a borrowed 10’ recreational boat but quickly graduated to a 17’ fiberglass sea kayak. Now I have a fleet of 3 for various paddling conditions and experiences.
The point to all of this is that throughout my life I’ve been in both canoes and kayaks. For my own reasons I’ve decided that kayaks are a better choice right now but there are some trips where I’d still rent or borrow a canoe. It doesn’t need to be one or the other, and the more varied a person’s experiences the more valuable they are.
@Newbie91 said:
Hi,
We want to choose a water sports for my daughter, she is 8 years old. I want to learn exact differences between a canoe and kayak. Thanks.
Technically, a kayak can be seen as a (kind of) canoe: most striking example of this is when a paddler turns a whitewater kayak into a decked whitewater canoe by taking out the seat and paddling it kneeled with a single blade paddle.
But a canoe is not a kayak, just like a boat is not a canoe.
When a canoe will be called a kayak depends on interpretation or is arbitrarily determined in competition sport rules. In general though a kayak is a more or less decked canoe meant to be paddled with a double-bladed paddle from a low seated position.
Dirk Barends
Seriously…
In most locations, small kayaks will probably be more readily available for test paddling.
The learning curve for canoes is much steeper for most young beginners than small, recreational kayaks. That learning curve for canoes typically decreases with quality instruction.
Small, recreational kayaks are less expensive than most canoes.
Some canoes are suitable for a test paddle by young beginners.
If available, let her try one…
Pictured is a small (11’7") Blackhawk Shadow I’ve let youngsters test paddle.
Good luck,
BOB
The focus here has been on solo paddling, but one thing for the original poster to consider, and I bet he has, is that an 8-year-old isn’t going to be all that great a solo paddler anyway. Kids that age do well as passengers/part-time paddlers in their parent’s canoe, and the same ought to be true of a tandem kayak.
Seems like her first water sport should be SWIMMING, followed by a small used kayak for ease of learning, then graduating asap to Bob’s little Shadow.
One way to tell a canoe from a kayak is to load it on a car. If it’s right side up it’s a kayak.
@TomL said:
Seems like her first water sport should be SWIMMING, followed by a small used kayak for ease of learning, then graduating asap to Bob’s little Shadow.One way to tell a canoe from a kayak is to load it on a car. If it’s right side up it’s a kayak.
I carry my SOT right side down.
@string said:
I carry my SOT right side down.
Seems smart. That way if it rains it doesn’t turn into a birdbath. Always copy the canoe guys when you can.
B)
I am with some above - this thread is fun but it has moved way off the original need. The OPer has a young person and wants to get them into a water sport. This be great.
Where I see a problem is the parent trying to choose the water sport for an 8 year old. At that age all you need to do is get them into a boat that’ll work for the water around you and then let them have fun with appropriate safety measures.
What that boat will be is based on the water the kid is likely to be on, both for getting them on the water and being able to find good deals on used boats. If you are near the shore of an ocean, the best boat will likely be a kayak. If you are talkng inland small ponds and quiet streams, perhaps a canoe.
If you are talking whitewater being nearest, IMO the parent gets out of the equation entirely and sends the kid to a place that has a coaching program for young people.
@Guideboatguy said:
The focus here has been on solo paddling, but one thing for the original poster to consider, and I bet he has, is that an 8-year-old isn’t going to be all that great a solo paddler anyway. Kids that age do well as passengers/part-time paddlers in their parent’s canoe, and the same ought to be true of a tandem kayak.
Much depends on the kid. I have been fortunate to have a daughter who loves paddling - canoes - kayaks - doesn’t matter too much. She was a better & stronger paddler at 6 some adults that I’ve had in a canoe. At 9 she was a darn good kayak paddler. On the other hand, it wasn’t her older sister’s thing. No big deal. The opportunity was provided and after a couple of trips (that went pretty well) we could see that it wasn’t really her thing so we didn’t push it.
At six running bow on the little Muskegeon 1st week in April:
And at nine in her kayak Friday after Thanksgiving on the Red Cedar:
My daughter went through a similar evolution - started in the bow of a canoe, moved to her own kayak, and then in her early teens decided she would rather hang out with her friends. Nothing wrong with that.
An 8-year old doesn’t have the strength to do much in the way of solo paddling, and tends to lose interest pretty quickly on long trips. I’d start off with a tandem boat that you can paddle together - canoe or kayak - it doesn’t matter. Have fun.
I disagree, Both my kids by age 8 were competent bow paddlers in Algonquin and on the Allagash. That was in tandem.
My grandson at age 5 was soloing his own wood canvas canoe ( appropriately sized…we had access to a ten foot 22 inch beam wood canvas canoe) with a double blade ( also appropriately sized)… He started as a passenger at age 1 but by three was quickly bored with that and wanted to paddle… And he wanted his own boat.
He did quite well. We had a safety line on his boat but one windy day he kept right up with us for the two mile paddle back home… I think the adults were more pooped than he was.
Then came hockey…
I have seen some very competent solo canoe paddlers of a young age. One was very skilled at age 9 so that he won the National FreeStyle Championship
Another little four year old took her own boat out( with a group) and single bladed for five miles on calm water. It all depends on the kid
Start them in whatever you have on hand.
But I too was struck by the phrase “we want to choose a water sport for her”
Kids don’t work like that. Let her choose and if it doesn’t work out that’s fine. You can’t force them to like something
My thought for an eight year old is two boats, a tandem canoe to paddle with dad, and a child size sit-on-top to paddle alone. The child S-O-Ts cost very little, and the kid can swim off it and easily get back on in sheltered water. Please insist on PFD, and supervise.
@Newbie91 said:
Hi,
We want to choose a water sports for my daughter, ……
What water sport do the parents do?
@Newbie91 said:
Hi,
We want to choose a water sports for my daughter, she is 8 years old.
No time for such silliness. First you must choose a husband for her. Then you can start thinking of choosing a hobby.
@Allan Olesen said:
@Newbie91 said:
Hi,
We want to choose a water sports for my daughter, she is 8 years old.No time for such silliness. First you must choose a husband for her. Then you can start thinking of choosing a hobby.
What???
I suspect that 'tis a comment on chosing at all for the kid.