"Rick" wrote in message
ink.net...
...stuff deleted

Here's the story: I want a kayak for light touring; occasional
weekenders and maybe the rare week long trip, but mostly for cruising
around in. I have a daughter who is 7 and not ready for her own boat
(in my opinion and hers) so I was planning on a tandem. That way I can
paddle it alone with some ballast (so I hear) and she can hop in once in
a while too. I would then also have a boat I can take other people out
in so we woudn't have to rent one. So far the logic seems sound right?
The problem is, I'm a novice paddler and know next to nothing about it
at this point. I've gone out a few times in rented boats and know I
really enjoy it, but I need experience and training. So I demo'd some
boats, liked the tandem I was looking at a lot, on calm water, and
posted here. Following are some of the exchanges I had with Brian,
specifically with regards to paddling with children and alone.



I (generally) agree with Brian. The man knows of what he speaks. I own two
old sea lions (which are getting long in the tooth at the same time the
wallet is getting lean - bad combination). When James is older, he will
certainly be paddling one of these. For now, however, he isn't ready for
paddling on his own.

I purchased a Necky Cruiser II (open cockpit boat) this summer so that I
could take him out on the water and allow him to become familiar with
paddling. Sit-on-tops tend to have annoying handling characteristics, but
do
have advantages in that it is easier to maintain contact with each other
and
there are fewer safety concerns than with the large (or dual) cockpit
boats.
I can drop James off on shore whenever he wishes and still paddle the
barge
alone. I've done this is rough and windy conditions and though it was
tiring, it was quite doable. For fun, I overloaded the boat in shallow
water
and practiced paddling in windy (20+ MPH) winds. Though I had to brace
often, the boat was surprisingly responsive, possibly because only my head
was above water (grin), and the wind couldn't reach the hull.

Kidding aside, an inexpensive open cockpit tandem may be a decent choice
here. They aren't my favorite breed of boat, but for introducing the young
to paddling, they can have advantages.

I'll speak up and agree with this assessment. I used a 13.5 foot open
cockpit tandem kayak to introduce my kids to boating and paddling with a
kayak paddle on small lagoons, lakes and slow rivers. After a couple years
in the tandem, at around age 7 or 8, they graduated to their own single
kayaks that were designed specifically for kids. I was amazed at how much
they picked up while sitting in the tandem. My son was doing stern rudder
strokes, sweep strokes and even trying to scull stroke sideways on the very
first day in his own boat. I never really gave him a "lesson", he just
picked it up through observation. Both now paddle regularly on Lake
Michigan.

I hated paddling the tandem solo. I had a second boat just for the days I
went out alone and that was what my wife used when the whole family went
out. Having no love for the tandem, I sold it the very day that my son's
single was purchased. It had served its purpose.

Cheers!

DV

See the kids post tandem on Lake Michigan:
http://www.brickgarage.com/HayleyLuke.jpg