C-Forum

I like the look of that welded SL Edge.....how does the unmodified L'edge perform for the lightweight adult paddler? - would it be best to look for a smaller more lightweight canoe?

Hi,

I am looking for a friend of mine. Do any of you have an idea where you can purchase one? It does not have to be used. Thanks!

-Alexis

Wayne- your putting your daughter in a canoe instead of kayak.
Are you OK?

John

I am interested in the challenges of a kids WW boat also. I have an almost 4 year old who wants her own boat already (she is not getting one for a while yet). Soooo, here is my plea, if anyone has experience with getting kids into their own boats and what those boats were please chime in.

What boats might make good kids boats, what boats could be cut down for a kids boat and what boats would be great if they were just a bit (or a lot) smaller. If necessary I'll start from scratch and build her a stripper (I did say BUILD her a stripper and yes, the boat kind ).


Any thoughts would be appreciated.

My daughter had been experimenting with an Old Town Pack on still / mild water. One of my rationalizations for buying the Spanish Fly was that it would be stable / small enough for the kids - amongh the rationalizations for keeping the Zephyr is that it is lighter - for the kids, of course

Smurfwarrior wrote:Its a kids version( but a little different) of the Bulldog, and I've had one of those. Get it, its the only kids whitewater canoe out there.

Getting back to the original question. . .

The Bulldog is reasonably light, but the strength of the composite build is impressive. It's probably worth assuming the little version is equally well-built.

Rick

Has anyone tried converting a kayak to an OC1 for kids? Any idea what designs might work? With the low weight, I assume it would ride high enough to stay dry when open. Would seem like an inexpensive option. Thoughts?

I know of 3 families that bought a Splash and loved it -- their kids progressed well, and the boat took a lot of abuse. I can't find the photos, but one of the parents used to paddle it in the 'glass' class of our fall slalom race. I've tried paddling it (~170lbs) and it floats, but is quite unstable at that weight.

I think this boat is so small, so light, that it allows the kids to progress better than sticking them into a 30-40lb boat -- the gunwhales aren't too high, it is easy to carry, easy to pivot, etc.

MKC - a local canoe/kayak school, has a Splash for its kids program.

Without having seen Kaz's cut-down inferno, I'd say it would be between these 2 choices.

I'm hoping one of the families who have a Splash will pipe up, because I'm sure you will hear nothing but praises.

For a boat that is technically full-sized, and not that hard to come by, I am a big fan of the Bell Prodigy for smaller paddlers. I know two women, one shorter than 5 feet, who like them because they are narrow enough to be easy to reach across, and pretty light for a Royalex boat. They aren't the most maneuverable boat, but they are pretty forgiving for people still working on their skills. It's a shame Bell didn't offer them with wood gunwales, now THAT would be a light boat.

BTW, has anyone ever seen a Prodigy with a bit of extra width in the front thwart (but not the grab handle)? Seems like it might improve the maneuverability, while not losing too much speed.

Shep

Shep wrote:For a boat that is technically full-sized, and not that hard to come by, I am a big fan of the Bell Prodigy for smaller paddlers. I know two women, one shorter than 5 feet, who like them because they are narrow enough to be easy to reach across, and pretty light for a Royalex boat. They aren't the most maneuverable boat, but they are pretty forgiving for people still working on their skills. It's a shame Bell didn't offer them with wood gunwales, now THAT would be a light boat.

BTW, has anyone ever seen a Prodigy with a bit of extra width in the front thwart (but not the grab handle)? Seems like it might improve the maneuverability, while not losing too much speed.

Shep

That's ok for someone 5ft, but not a good boat in my opinion for a tween or kid.

BTW - I have a Prodigy with wood gunwhales for sale. I modified the thwarts a bit over the years to change the characteristics. It doesn't change as much as an Ocoee, but you can still tweak things to your liking.

mangy mutt wrote:I like the look of that welded SL Edge.....how does the unmodified L'edge perform for the lightweight adult paddler? - would it be best to look for a smaller more lightweight canoe?

you mean the regular L'Edge as it is?
Me personally I think the L'Edge is designed for bigger, strong male paddlers who also have a good technique and are 180 lbs or more.
I'm 123 lbs, my technique and strength are not too bad. I didn't like the L'Edge. I tested it on a class 4 run. I could make it work to any line I wanted, but I found it very slow, extremely immobile and heavy

Other friends who are also smaller paddlers reported the same

insolence wrote:

mangy mutt wrote:I like the look of that welded SL Edge.....how does the unmodified L'edge perform for the lightweight adult paddler? - would it be best to look for a smaller more lightweight canoe?

you mean the regular L'Edge as it is?
Me personally I think the L'Edge is designed for bigger, strong male paddlers who also have a good technique and are 180 lbs or more.
I'm 123 lbs, my technique and strength are not too bad. I didn't like the L'Edge. I tested it on a class 4 run. I could make it work to any line I wanted, but I found it very slow, extremely immobile and heavy

Other friends who are also smaller paddlers reported the same

Interesting. I absolutely love my L'Edge, and I'm a scrawny, lightweight guy...think McLovin.

insolence wrote:

mangy mutt wrote:I like the look of that welded SL Edge.....how does the unmodified L'edge perform for the lightweight adult paddler? - would it be best to look for a smaller more lightweight canoe?

you mean the regular L'Edge as it is?
Me personally I think the L'Edge is designed for bigger, strong male paddlers who also have a good technique and are 180 lbs or more.
I'm 123 lbs, my technique and strength are not too bad. I didn't like the L'Edge. I tested it on a class 4 run. I could make it work to any line I wanted, but I found it very slow, extremely immobile and heavy

Other friends who are also smaller paddlers reported the same

What do you normally paddle? Maybe a slalom boat at 1/3 the weight?

I'm a slalom paddlere and yes, there is a light and agile boat, but this is not what I compare to the L'Edge. I'm speaking OC's here only

I mean, a Prelude, Ocoee, Viper, Mowhak Rodeo etc. does feel good to me. So does my not so lightweight Creek C1, loaded with 11lbs of camera gear plus safety equipment

I don't say the L'Edge is not a good boat. It's just my personal opinion - coming from my own experience and from what my friends say - that it seems not to be designed for smaller paddlers

It would be tough to argue that the L'edge doesn't feel a little heavy in the water compared to most boats. It doesn't mean it's bad.