C-Forum

I have a 13 year old son who'd like to try C-1 canoeing. He's still pretty slight though getting taller. I have a daughter with a Dancer that she nver uses (I believe an XS). Has anyone ever done a Dancer conversion? I know there are better, newer boats for conversion, but hey, this one is already in the fold and not being used and seems like it may be a easy learning boat and a good recreational river runner.
Any advice or tips?

No.

Not enough primary stability (or secondary) in my opinion to be a good beginner Cboat.

I converted a New Wave Attitude once - was a GREAT beginner kayak....and an absolutely horrible C1.

I did a Dancer (the smaller size) conversion in the early '80s. Stability wasn't too bad for my 150 lb frame. The XS (if that's what you have) might be OK, although your son might flip quite a bit in the beginning. The bad part is the boat is likely to be pretty heavy.

I have a converted Bandit which is a similar design to the Dancer. Really good to learn to roll in because it's so round, I found it quite stable for me - I'm 145 lb. and took the boat on up to grade 3 water (could have done higher if it weren't for structural defects in the hull.) However, this is a club boat and I have noticed larger people struggling to even stay upright in the pool, and wouldn't recommend this boat for anyone larger. As your son is only 13 he'd probably be okay in it, but expect to buy a larger boat in a year or two as he grows. One thing it will do is teach him good technique - it's not the easiest boat to paddle straight initially, but responds well to edge control and smooth paddling.