Thanks for the info, I need it for reference to insure my wife that it is okay to take the little-one out. I have taken her in a raft down some Class II stuff and she loved it, so its time for the canoe!
I just need to find a good canoe, I am assuming something a little larger than my Detonator. Any suggestions?
Ditto to what Scott B. and PAC passed along. My wife and I had our, then, 2 1/2 year-old daughter out on the flatwater of our local river and at the mouth of a river to the Chesapeake Bay. That was done in May when the weather was very nice and the water was not too cold to stand in. Who was it that had his toddler (18 minth-old?) son on the North Branch Potomac with us this past spring? Was that Pete? His son was REALLY into it, having his own paddle and everything!
You can use any boat for taking little ones out. For solo open canoes, just plop them in the space between you and the air bag. In larger canoes, place their favorite lawn/porch/beach chair in it and prepare to balance a lot as they run from side to side and lean over the gunwales to trail their little hands in the water.
Great stuff. Safety first, then have LOTS of fun!
KNeal
C-boats Moderator
"Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing-absolutely nothing-half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats."
Here is a brief timeline so far for my son Xander and our experiences so far.
- Started dunking him in the swimming pool at 5 months old.
- Put him in the life jacket around 8 months old and worked on floating in the pool.
- at 1 year old we paddled around the pool in the canoe at roll sessions.
- at 18 months we ran the first half of the North Branch Potomac - Bloominton run with the C-boat Armada.
- 2 more short class II White water runs in the summer and a few short flat water paddles.
Now whenever he sees a boat he climbs in and wants to go. At the takeout for the Lower Gauley he took my boat and paddle and was actually able to move the boat around a bit on his own. I have specifically outfitted a Mohawk Shaman with a small saddle directly in front of mine for him to sit on, and I have a padded thwart right in front of him so he can hold on. The goal is to have him in his own c-1/oc-1 at 5 years old.
So far here are the difficulties I have had:
1: He always seems to want to get out of the boat to play in the water during the rapids.
2: He tries to paddle on the same side as me.
3: It is very difficult to do a cross bow stroke with him sitting right in front of me.
I love to see all kindsa kids out on the water, it'll give my son and daughter somebody to play w/.
Incidentally, little girl's first ww trip, 10 mos. old, wuz younger than her brother on his first trip.
Also, me being the selfish type, unable to get away from my own ww fix, I bypassd the flatwater primer stuff and took the kids on whitewater first time in the boat. The boy, Loop run, the girl Middle Yough.
My goal is to not hang them up w/ my own limits, but make it fun, and the river a place for them to make their own discoveries regarding ability and possibility.
