: My 8 year old daughter is having a great deal of fun "helping" me
: finish a Spring Run. And, being a good Dad, I'm contemplating whether to
: try my hand at building a smaller kayak for her once the Spring Run is
: finished.

: Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be much out there as far as plans for
: cedar strip kayaks for smaller paddlers -- so far I've found: * Nick has
: plans for a Little Auk on this website - but at 28" beam I'm
: wondering if this would be too wide for a younger kid.
: * Pygmy has stich and glue kayaks in smaller sizes
: * Glen-L has a Kidiyak, but it almost seems as if it is meant for a very
: small child.
: * [gasp] get a cheap plastic rotomolded kayak at Costco or the like.

: Can anyone share what they might have done for kayaks for their kids?

: At this point, my thinking is running more toward getting a Pygmy kit -- I'm
: a bit hesitant to spend the hundred + hours doing a stripper, only to have
: her outgrow it in a few years (or have to cringe if she drags it over
: barnacle beds). While I hesitate to blaspheme and mention a cheap plastic
: boat on this forum, it would have the benefits of being relatively
: inexpensive, and likely able to take the abuse that kids tend to dish out
: on their stuff. The boat would be used in a protected bay in the South
: Puget Sound area with very flat water.

: And, my thanks to all of you for letting me lurk and read your posts -- I've
: learned quite a bit, and am truly enjoying building my Spring Run.

: Dave McCone

I am currently working on my third kayak for my kids. The first two were the Mill Creek 13 ( a CLC design) and a shortened version of the Guillemot from Nick's book. This winter I am building the Grebe ( Squeedunk Kayaks design).

Remember that you are building the boat for a child. They like to bang them around and drag them up on the beach. Because of this, S&G plywood boats are best for kids in my experience. Also, if you build a boat stable enough so they can climb back in easily they will feel more comfortable too.

The Mill Creek designs have big cockpits which the kids like but if I did another one for a child I would try to take an inch or so off the sheer so they didn't bang the rail every time they paddle.

Be careful if you shorten a stripper design. What works as a hull shape for a 180 lb adult may not track at all with only a 95 lb child in it. If the Little Auk is "28 wide to carry a 180 lb adult when you only put a child in it it will probably sit too high in the water to track.

Pygmy has smaller designs but I think they only sell kits for the smaller ones. CLC has a 14 ft version of their Chesapeke you can get as plans or a kit.

The Grebe that I am working on now is only "22 wide and will be harder to get back into in the water. ( kids really enjoy climbing in and out of boats) but the shape looks like it will paddle better than the other two designs.

Don't build her something she can "grow into." She will want something different in a couple of years anyway and as they say, you can't build just one! good luck , addison