Dave,

I built a Pygmy Osprey Double last year and can't say enough good about it. It's a great boat that handles well and is easy to build. It gets lots of good comments too.

I have a seven year old daughter that often comes paddling with me -- the boat is light enough that I can manage getting it from the car to the water by myself by picking it up by the two coamings (I've carried it about 200 yds with no problem). This year I'll be building a set of wheels for it though as they do make it much easier.

My daughter tends to paddle for about five strokes and then sits the next 500 or so strokes out, so I end up paddling 'solo' for the most part and it's never been a problem. The Pygmy double cruises along without much effort (and it is fast with two good paddlers). I don't mind doing most of the paddling with my daughter and look at it as a good workout -- another year and I'll push her to paddle more but for now I'm glad that she's enjoying being on the water.

The Pygmy double is also very stable -- I've stood up in the cockpit without much effort and my kids jump in and out of it in the summer with ease (as is claimed on the Pygmy website). You can store a lot of gear in it for camping and as Frank Eberdt mentions, we also store gear between the two cockpits when going on overnight trips.

I've decided to build a Pygmy triple this year as my wife and I are planning on taking all three of our kids to the Bowron Lakes in a couple more years.

Hope this helps.

Dan
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: I am planning on building an S & G Double for to use with my daughter (5
: years old), and also for my wife (novice paddler) and daughter when I am
: in my Guillemont. I don't have the time I used to, and want to get it in
: the water for spring, and so I will be building my first S & G from a
: kit.

: I am looking at the Pygmy and CLC Chesapeak doubles (I think the new sport
: tandem by CLC is too narrow for our uses, and don't think it will hold
: enough gear for camping, although I would prefer it for my personal use.)

: Interested in hearing views on these boats, and any others that may fit my
: needs (Double, novice paddler, available in a kit).

: Thanks