: Always wonderful when a parent wants to build a kid sized kayak.

: Couple of possible considerations:
: --most people seemed confused about children's ages and the
: calendar.
: A child is 9, 10, 11 and 12 (cute) for about three weeks each. They
: are then 13, 14 and 15 for about 8 years. (Don't worry, by the
: time they are 21, it'll all average out to 12 months per
: year--depending of course upon factors such as pregnancy(ies),
: arrest(s) and bail/fines/lawyers.)

: Building a kayak to size for a 9-12 year old will be outgrown
: before you log back on and ask about methods to restore scuffs
: and nicks. Building a kid sized kayak will initiate an inch a
: month spurt more effectively than human growth hormone.

: What everybody (OK, guys) wants the third day they go out in their
: new kayak is a longer faster kayak (pray you don't see any
: outriggers, we've lost a few kayakers to these 'cheat' boats.
: (If you're faster than me in my kayak and you are not half my
: age -- you must be cheating.) A 15' kayak is great until you
: want to paddle more than about 4 miles, or 2 miles with friends
: who are in 17' kayaks.

: My parents got me a 24 inch wheel bicycle I could barely manage on.
: I lowered the seat, after a couple of years I had to buy a
: longer seat post. I wore it out. 20 inch bicycles like 12'
: kayaks sure are cute and last forever because no one rides them
: more than a dozen times. (Thank you in advance everyone who
: replies to tell me how often their kids enjoyed their 12 footer.
: I stand corrected. How about those of you with 12-15' kayaks
: that aren't being used loan or rent them to the others wanting
: to make short kid'yaks?)

: The only non-snarky suggestion is to make sure your child works on
: the kayak. What we build is ours. Buy-in, take ownership, etc...
: is all true.

: Better still might be a set of simple instructions on how to make a
: basic kayak out of scrap using almost no tools that kids could
: 'discover' and do all by themselves or with a friend.

As a father preparing to do this with two girls this entry did get my attention. One thing I noticed is that many folks who tackled a kid friendly SOF were already accomplished sea kayakers. They can train and supervise their kids in the skills and techniques and more importantly can handle the dunkings and tricky situations. I value their knowledge and experience and admire the free sharing. In the end I can't shake the intuitive feeling that any kayak under 24 maybe 22 inches is too narrow for my mission. Some of these boats have waterlines around 17". Also if the boat tips I want my girls falling out with no need to deal with a small round cockpit opening. Falling out of a canoe is a wonderful lesson in keeping the big hole up.

May I ask for a link to or a quick tutorial on stretching a design. There seems to be a hole in available designs, call it kids rec kayaks. One thing I have come to appreciate is that the height of the deck is an important consideration. One guy, I think Dave Gentry, described it as paddling with the coaming in one's armpit.

If I took a design and multiplied or subtracted the offsets for the frames, frame spacing and such by 10 to 15% will this work for a fun knock about boat?