Child size kayak/canoe

Scrolling through the interweb I couldn't find a decent manufacturer of kayak or canoe in kids size.
Obviously a 9-10ft or 3meters boat can be paddled by kids especially over 10-12yo but in the 5-8yo range lets say there's only Chinese plastic, mostly sit on tops or inflatable. Some plywood DIY plans but that's kinda it.
Why is that? Because you can use a 6-7 footer only for a couple of years and then it's outgrown? I doubt it since there are electric mini plastic cars for toddlers that cost a couple hundred and it fits as well for a couple years.

 

Rewind XS https://www.dagger.com/us/kayaks/rewind-xs


Dagger makes great boats.

-Will

 

If you search for

child size kayaks

or

child kayak

at Google, you will find many other types.

But first you need to decide whether you want a whitewater boat (and if so what type - e.g., a boat that is designed to play in easy water, a boat that is designed to take dangerous routes down fast rapids, something very lightweight, etc.), or sea kayak, or a rec boat, or racing boat, or sit-on-top boat, etc. Also, "child" is not specific enough in size and weight

I see many used ones at craigslist.org. Or you can search for

used child kayak

Beyond that I can't help.

 

I have seen child sized kayaks on craigs list. Mostly they did not indicate child sized, just inexplicably cheaper.
In addition to the kids outgrowing them, the problem is kids favor stability, which leads to wider less efficient hulls, which compounds the effort they need to keep up with adults.
There are cheap crummy little SOTs. They are inefficient but don't interfere mechanically with the stroke of a small body. The solution to keeping the family together is going down stream, down current, down wind. Most of what kids want in getting their own boat is control, go toward that, then toward that, then...
It probably isn't worth it to get too clever and efficient with a longer narrower craft unless the child specifically wants performance and is comfortable with reduced stability.

 

Most kayak instructors provide a suitable kayak and gear (though you may still need suitable clothing - they might only provide a paddling jacket to keep most of the water out) for at least the first few lessons. Perhaps it makes sense to get a few lessons before you buy? I started without lessons, but once I had them, I found they helped a lot.

BTW, winter weather would be very challenging to start in, unless the user is confined to indoor swimming pool rolling sessions.

It is true that most beginners prefer stability, we haven't been told anything about the child - e.g., age, athleticism.

I've seen athletic kids (e.g., gymnasts, dancers) get into a kayak for the first time, and succeed on their first roll attempt (coached by an expert). Rolling can be quite hard with a "stable" boat, and virtually impossible with a SOT (there are SOT straps for experts).

If the parent/guardian intends to take them into whitewater, or surf, or significant waves, a reliable roll is a very good idea pretty early.

There is nothing special about a kayak for kids. But boat models are usually given an operator weight range by the manufacturer - ideally you want to be near the middle of that range. And you want to fit fairly snugly, but not uncomfortably. E.g., that nice looking boat that Will Gilmore linked to says "PADDLER WEIGHT: 65 - 120 LBS. / 29 - 54 KG" in the "specifications". So maybe most suitable for people in the 85-100 lb range?

I assume the o.p. knows that the child needs more than a kayak. For starters, proper size paddle, helmet (if using in whitewater or surf), hat with visor (if no visor built into helmet), life jacket (PFD), suitable warm-when-wet clothing, whistle, sunglasses, water bottle, etc. Also a spray skirt (especially if in whitewater, surf or any large waves) - once the paddler has demonstrated they can do a wet exit, including with a spray skirt. Plus, instruction and guidance. And, for sea kayaking, if out of easy swim distance from shore, a water pump and a paddle leash. I'm sure I left a few things off that list. Then again, given the o.p.'s username, maybe the o.p. could make a composite boat themselves, and may be an experienced kayaker, so doesn't need to be told these things.

 

It sounds like the OP is looking for a boat for a very young child. 5-8 year olds are some where around 55 pounds give or take a wide range of around 15 pounds.

The biggest problem with a boat like the Dagger, that I linked to, and that I have seen in young kids, especially those who aren't sure they want to be in a boat by themselves, is tracking. The Dagger is a high end boat designed to introduce a child to white water. It will be very hard to keep going in a straight line. I would suggest a basic Perception and a tether. I don't think anyone would subject their eight year old or younger to any type of paddling except small, calm, still lake paddling. Wet exciting is a must know. And, leash that paddle to the boat.

 

For 5-8 year old kids, I’d recommended training them in a stable two place kayak with the instructor onboard.
Some posters above are leaning towards white water boats, possibly not what a kid should do for starters!

 

For whitewater kayaks Jackson make kids kayaks Kids Fun 1-1.5 https://jacksonkayak.com/kids-fun-1-1-5/ Generally for young children you want something for messing about in rather than covering distance as that is what they enjoy, here most of them have the cheap sit on tops. I think the desire for stable kayaks is driven by parents as the kids are very stable due to their low center of gravity and light weight compared to the boat, and wide boats are harder for them to paddle due to hitting the paddle on the kayak.

 

Speaking of the Jacksons, when Eric Jackson and company were teaching whitewater kayaking in the Washington D.C. area, and I was their (not so great) student, we met his family. Son Dane Jackson was five and was already in love with kayaking. Eric said daughter Emily Jackson was more cautious. But both of those children went on to become world class whitewater kayakers, so it must not have been traumatic for them. They mostly grew up on the road travelling with the competitive whitewater boating community. Emily wrote online that she had been kayaking for as long as she could remember.

But yes, most parents would choose to keep their young kids away from whitewater. I once met a kid who worked for a parent's whitewater outfitter in the Youghiogheny River area. He said the other area parents, who had heard of drownings there, wouldn't let their kids boat or raft.

Part of the issue is that the whitewater community tends to push people to try more and more dangerous things, somewhat like the downhill ski and snowboard communities, skaterboarders and rock climbers. Whereas the flatwater community is more into enjoying the scenery. The open water sea kayaking community has both elements - I could easily imagine a kid being attracted to the more dangerous aspects.

 

I raced whitewater slalom in high school. My high school had a big focus on outdoor sports. When I started, there was a big upset because an experienced whitewater race and alum had just drowned while training on a small lake, no whitewater. No one could imagine how that might have happened.

My guess, he was tired at the end of his workout, sank his paddle wrong and went over.

Hanging upside down in the cockpit of a slalom boat can panic anyone. Tired, with a mouth full of water? Luck as well as skill may be necessary under those conditions.

 

I find it hard to imagine that an experienced whitewater slalom racer would panic from just hanging upside down in flatwater. Any whitewater kayaker I have known, who was experienced enough to race, would have had no problem rolling, or at the very least, pulling off the spray skirt, and wet exiting, and swimming with the boat to shore. They would not have panicked, because learning not to panic is one of the most important skills you learn in any adventure sport, one that most adventure sport athletes learn early. You can usually think your way out of trouble - though of course there are exceptions. But underwater in a reasonably fit slalom kayak in flatwater isn't one of those exceptions.

I think there must have been other complicating factors.

EDIT: I probably shouldn't have said that. I don't know the boater or the situation. Perhaps I could have said that there might have been other complicating factors, like weather, lack of preparation, injuries, wildlife, bacteria, allergies. But without further knowledge, I can't say panicking is unlikely.

 

That's was the general consensus. No one could figure out the why.

 

I've seen a lot of very skilled people go out on the water alone without much preparation, confident they won't get into trouble. E.g., even if the water is cold, they assume they won't go over and don't need to dress for immersion. Or they leave their PFD home. Or they don't bother with flotation bags, or they leak, and the boat fills with water, perhaps because of a leak, and they have no way home.

Or they could have had that "gasp reflex" that some people have when they immerse in cold water.

Someone could also lose their paddle, and have no back-up, or get an injury that prevents them from using the paddle. Or they could have a heart attack, or other medical emergency, like an allergy to something in the water, or to an insect sting.

They might leave their water bottle home, and be unable to continue without it.

They can even get lost - I've gotten lost in a reservoir that had a lot of little inlets that cross each other.

I once ran into trouble where the wave height of waves breaking on the shore, during an unexpected storm, was exactly in resonance to the pitching frequency of my boat. I could not control it, and had enormous trouble returning to my starting point. The waves weren't very high, 2.5 - 3', but the boat pitched so much that the front kept catching the breaking waves and wind, and they kept turning it away from where I needed to go. I actually had to wait until the waves got larger, to return, and still ended up with a portage. While I'm not super-skilled, I've been kayaking for a long time, and did not panic. (I could have let the waves push me in to shore, and carried the boat back, or swam back. But I didn't think of that in time.)

So often there are lots of possible complicating factors.

When people analyze drownings of boaters, they tend to assume it must be because of a small number of things - no PFD, insufficient clothing. But things can be a lot more complicated. Especially when we go out alone.

I bet many experienced boaters have run into problems on the water that they had trouble dealing without help, but don't fit the most common criteria.

A lot of the appeal of outdoor sports is learning to figure out how to deal with unexpected problems, without panicking. Self sufficiency is fun, but there are always risks. That's part of the fun, for some of us. Anyone who did whitewater slalom at a competitive level probably enjoyed taking risks too.