I don't care how many satisfied customers you have had. This discussion is only about one little boy and neither of us knows why he finds your boat uncomfortable. He may have some physical problem like inner ear difficulties that cause his balance to be less than perfect. Whatever the problem is there is no reason to not give him a boat that suits his fancy and his abilities. SOFs are cheap to build so there is no reason to saddle him with an outrigger that was designed to aid a five year old.

: The sponsons don't mark him as anything. 19" isn't narrow for
: children due to the low CG of their small bodies. If a child is
: uncomfortable,
: sponsons become a useful training tool that has been used quite
: successfully. Most kids just get in these kayaks and go paddling
: with no sponsons, much to the surprise of their parents.

: Wide SOF's are awkward for a child as they aren't just too wide,
: they're also too tall. A small child paddling a wide, tall
: kayak,
: is like you paddling a rowboat. That's why I designed the Sea Pup
: and Sea Flea in the first place as there were simply few if
: any kayaks designed specifically for children based on their body
: size.

: I get much feedback from the many parents, over 100, who have built
: my child size kayaks, as well as the children themselves,
: and the response is overwhelmingly positive. Some even ask for
: narrower designs.

: Tom