Thanks
We don’t have much to offer in terms of whitewater where I live. Do you always have to kneel in a c-1 or can you just sit in one? I’m learning alot.
Brian
You have to kneel
You really can’t sit in one. You paddle C1 wearing a sprayskirt, like a kayaker. If you wanted to sit, you would have to pop the skirt, extricate your legs from the cockpit, and stretch them out on the deck, not a very stable position.
No I wouldn’t
– Last Updated: Apr-23-09 11:48 AM EST –
Whitewater boats (kayak or canoe) in general are sit'n'spins. Put a kid in a sit'n'spin with a single blade and they will likely get pretty frustrated. Whitewater canoes generally have high sides to keep out the water. And they are often to wide for a small kid. Unless my kid really wanted to paddle whitewater canoe I would not consider putting them in one. I'd expect them to get quite frustrated in a boat that wouldn't go where they wanted and was hard to get the paddle in the water. If I had a small kid who really wanted to paddle whitewater canoe I'd get them a Splash. http://cboats.net/c_db/list.php?type=3&alpha=S&boat_id=269&name=Splash
When my kids got bored riding in mom and dads canoe I picked up a couple of rec kayaks (WS Picolo and a Necky Gannet) and some reasonably light weight double bladed paddles (Werner Little Dippers). That seemed to make them happy. OTOH my youngest seemed to enjoy messing around on the pond in my Slasher C1.
http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/1236442296063026580fWEtKe
Sadly I'm not aware of any kid sized solo touring canoes.
Tommy
Picked up the kid kayak
I thought I had lost out on the 2 craigslist boats because the gentleman said the Necky was sold but didn’t say anything about the Acadia scout so I assumed it was sold as well. The next day the acadia scout ad was still up. Hmmmm…a couple of more emails and I picked the boat up last night. The boat is in great shape and came with a werner sprite paddle. The person selling the boat had 4 kayaks of various sizes and 2 dagger canoes that didn’t look like they had a scratch on them.
I showed the boat to my kids and my youngest and 3rd oldest sons fit great in the boat. My daughter fit but really was too big for it and she really wanted a canoe.
The quest continues to find a kid canoe.
Brian
Pirogues make good first boats
My three boys had pirogues to start. An eight footer takes a couple week ends to build and is a sit and spin unless you use a kayak paddle. An 11 or 12 footer builds just as fast and paddles like a dream.
You can make them from scratch but I’d get the Uncle John’s pirogue kit for them. It will save you some time.
I screwed and glued and used tape and polyester resin for the construction. Each one can cost less than $100. Your children can do most of the sanding and all the painting. And they will last longer than your children will need them (Children grow up Fast).
Maybe something like this??
http://www.mohawkcanoes.com/kidscanoes.htm
The Solo 13 is still 29" at the gunwales, so its a pretty big boat for a kids 7/9. Interesting that Mohawk suggests rigging it as a tandem.
Did a lot of canoeing with my daughter starting when she was 9. At that age, she didn’t have the attention span or the stamina to do much solo paddling - half-hour to 45 minutes and she was done. Anything more than that and we’d paddle tandem. I moved the bow seat forward so she could get the paddle out over the gunwale, and lowered the seat so she could knee more comfortably. She actually became a pretty good bow paddler. By the time she was 10 she could handle my Yellowstone, but it was a big boat for her.
http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2388689350075003331tfrcaf
Didn’t have much choice - bought her a kayak that she takes on short trips. She’s now 13, and might be able to paddle the Yellowstone this year - we’ll see. I wish there was a better option for kids that want to canoe, and their parents who don’t want them going over to the dark side.
tried the kids kayak
We took the acadia scout to the pool last night. My daughter was the most fluid with the boat but she is almost too big for it already. She is a large 7 yr old. Which boat is a step up from the scout with similar width?
My son Kyle, 9, was just clumsy with the boat and the paddle. He could reenter the boat with out fliiping it which I thought was impressive. My 4 year old just enjoyed sitting in it and being pushed back and forth in the pool.
Brian
Dollars
– Last Updated: May-02-09 11:02 AM EST –
If someone does not mind spending some money, check out the Wave Witch line. The Witchlet is an ideal size for a kid. The Horizon or the Classic would probably work also and give a longer use time.
http://www.huntjohnsendesigns.com/index.htm#wavewitch
I have a Horizon and it is not a slow boat but it is wet. The Witchlet is about the same size as the Cobra Wave which was a knock off of the Witchlet. Of course the Waves only cost me $700 delivered for a pair.
Other possibilities are the Current Designs Raven, Breeze and Kestrel,.