I just finished a kayak for my 12-year-old son. I found that the standard seating in the kayak (an Osprey Standard) is to low for him. When he has the spray skirt and PFD on he can't roll the skirt into the combing because the bottom of the PFD is below the plane of the combing. My plan is to build a simple, removable seat for him to use. This weekend I am going to measure him for how high he will need to be (I expect it to be between 3 and 4 inches.) I will use half-inch plywood bonded in an inverted 'U' to raise him up. The seat will be bolted to the cheek plates of the kayak with stainless steal bolts and wing nuts. On top of the seat I will use the standard self-inflating pad that comes with the Osprey. This arrangement will be easy to remove and modify as he grows.

Don

> I'm currently in the final stages of building a Kidyak as a Christmas gift
> for my six year old nephew. (I couldn't justify building a third boat for
> myself, so I built one for the little guy.) The instructions don't say
> anything about a seat, so I'm stumped as to what kind of seat to build and
> where to place it. Any suggestions out there?