How to be a Kayaking Gramma
I have four legged kids, but all my life I've taught kids art, how to ride a horse, and now, paddling. I learned with a very serious group of day touring and expedition kayakers. Many years ago I took a friend's niece paddling in a sit-on tandem on the Susquehanna River and other places. A kid can face many challenges in life, and kayaking is one of those skills that can help them see the possibilities.
I have accumulated a smol fleet of a 17+ft Perception Sea Lion (sit in sea kayak), 15' Wilderness Systems Cape Horn (sit in sea/touring kayak) and the trusty Shetland Pony of a 10' Lifetime Tahoma Sit-on (SOT)(the bright green one).
Both sea kayaks were designed for medium to large adult paddlers, but if you are over about 180, you find yourself squeezing yourself into the cockpit of the Cape Horn like an orca into a floatie ring. I am about this size, and also 66 and arthritic, so not as bendy. The fabulous Cape Horn is a bit of a stretch for me, and I modified the seat of the Sea Lion so I had more room to get in and out of the cockpit (removed a cushion I had duct taped onto the seat back, leaving it a loose cushion now). The SOT accommodates anyone in its weight range, it's extremely user friendly, more so than I thought. It claims a 275 lb weight limit. Weight limits are a starting point: if you are going farther, on rougher water, you should have much less weight than the limit. We may have added a few pounds more this day, but we were on very calm water on a lake in good weather with two other boats and adults to wrangle things. I have also stuffed the hold of the Tahoma with pool noodles, so even if it managed to leak (hatch, plug or inadvertent crack or hole) it would float.
Everyone was in PFDs. My boats. My rules. Safety first.
Which led us to the First Thing: outfitting everyone with the right PFD. The smallest kid ended up in two: a vest which fit well (and had a “hold down” strap) but did not have quite enough flotation. Put a horsecollar style on top (a hair too large, but fits snugly over the vest) and do the float test. Kid floats quite well and safely. The other kid fit well in a youth horse collar style, which keeps your head out of the water. Adults had various vests, as well as swimming skills. Any kid who complained about the vest is told: “wear it or don't go”. That said, be aware of some kids' sensory issues, you may have to have a T-shirt under, or adjust straps etc.
There is a reason people used to have kids early in life, kids require high energy wrangling, and us old folks don't have the bloody energy. If the kids are bright, curious, neurodiverse (ADD brainstyle, autism spectrum, or other differences) they may require a different approach to teaching or guiding. Parens are a huge help here, but sometimes gramma needs to just yell "jump off the boat!"
As long as it's safe.
We began along shore (so we could swim/tow any dumped boat or kid) and I had a tow line as well as dive fins on deck in case we had to swim after anyone. I use a paddle leash on open water (on other kinds of water, a leash may cause a tangle hazard) but did not give them any: all the paddles float (and we did a paddle float test at the beginning), and I did not want any inadvertent tangles. Easy enough to chase a paddle on a flat lake.
The original idea was; a parent on the SOT with one kid, other parent ashore with other kid. This rapidly evolved into one parent, two kids on the SOT, other parent in the Cape Horn. This worked for awhile, then chaos ensued, or boredom or something, and we ended up with all the girls in boats, and Dad and boy ashore. You will have sibling rivalry, moments of grumpiness, and kids pushing the limits of parental patience. It's... kids.
The smallest girl had the biggest boat: because of reasons. The 17+ ft Sea Lion.
This was a hilarious test of parenting and teaching skills, as we wrangled a 65 pound kid and a 55 pound boat. The paddle was far far longer than she was tall. But. She. Wanted. To. We were in utterly flat water, not far from shore, and I had shown her how far the boat can rock before losing primary stability. The worst that could happen is she falls out and floats and gets swim time (she'd already jumped in a few times). She struggled with how to hold the paddle (“roll it... the other way, now helicopter it, like this”) what direction the blades went, and how to place the blades in the water. But encouragement when she got it right helped. She paddled it HERSELF. (OK, we had to help turn it sometimes because the Sea Lion is long and hard to turn and she ran ashore a couple times). Experimentation and encouragement is more important here than perfect style or technique.
At one point, she achieved ramming speed and broadsided her mom in the Cape Horn and knocked her in.
Wherein we learned Use Of Bilge Pump and Spongebob.
Smol Brother had his chance to sit in the big boat with a paddle (because you gotta do everything your big sister does), and try. I had him in the shallows on a leash, me in thigh deep water holding leash. His mom's observation: if he learns how to paddle, he'll be GONE. Some kids will require leashes. Maybe until they are 30...
Big Sister paddled each of the boats. The SOT is easier to turn, but harder for a small kid to make go straight. It tracks very well with correct technique, but when one is learning and floundering a bit, it turns and yaws all over the place. It is also VERY wide and the paddle is VERY long so a lot clumsier than the long narrow sea kayaks. Similarly, my friend's Horrible Sit-In Ancient Rec Boat That Is Actually A Pointy Barrel With A Hole in the Middle has such a high deck its awful for an adult to paddle, much less a kid. The sea kayaks are long and narrow and allow a kid to reach the water easily with a shorter paddle.
Ultimately, we got everyone together (with a picnic break in between), and set out on all three boats around the lake. One parent and two kids arrayed across the SOT. It rode well, level, and out of the water, a kid on each pointy end balanced it nicely. It was also a lot easier to retrieve kids if they went overboard. They had stowed a booster seat on the stern (basically a cushion in a frame) but this proved less than useful: anything that raises a weight up, even four inches, unbalances the boat. It's best if everything is as low as possible.
Spiderman and Seahorse Cowboys: We gave them the opportunity to bail out a few times, pulling up to shallow edges and letting them jump off. I encouraged trying to climb back on each boat from the water. This created some Spiderman moments as Smol Boy sang the Spidey song while wall crawling along the edge of the Sea Lion. They tried the “ride the kayak like a pony” trick, sitting on the bow until they fell off. All of this clambering around taught them some physical skills, and lessened any potential fear.
And of course, we were always wearing PFDs.
Eventually, it appeared everyone had achieved a level of competence to paddle across the (not too large) span of open water to the osprey island. I could see geese, ospreys on the nest and other birds there, so a nice last voyage before we hauled out. At this point, kids were told in no uncertain terms to STAY ON THE BOAT. And we set out. Again, properly fitting and buoyant PFDs are VIP... the water was flat, we could get kids back in the boat easily, and they floated without panic. We went to the island, observed the “no boats beyond this point” buoys,
...saw lots of geese, osprey, gulls, cormorant, a tern, and black vultures (which love beaches for some reason)(and they do bathe).
We went around the island, took a dip, and headed back.
Hauling out proved a bit of a challenge: if you are taking friends out, they are usually very willing to help. The thing is, you are used to doing things without thinking, so you will need to tell them what to do and when, and what not to do. Pull the boats up at least halfway out of the water. When we are done the first thing we do is stow the boats. Bring up the boats, I will stow the gear, then help loading is useful. I have a method for getting long boats on a minivan roof: pull half the boat past the van, with the stern behind the van. Lift front half up onto roof, shove back end after. Too often helpful people will start lifting the back end before I get the front end up and this causes the entire boat to roll and buck me into the ground. So if you have techniques for boat handling, be sure to tell your newbies BEFORE. It might be as simple as “those bow lines need to go there, and those stern lines there, so I can tell the difference” or “roll them like this so they don't tangle”.
It is important for kids to have Nature Time, and learn new skills. Every naturalist I've known has read Richard Louv's “Last Child in the Woods”, a non fiction look into this generation's growing disconnect with the natural world and what to do about it.
Take your friends and their kids out on a boat. Get wet, get muddy (check for leeches). Go in safe conditions. Have safety gear. Let them try new things, let them explore. Turn over some rocks, find some shells.
On the way home, the high energy kids were sound asleep...
I have accumulated a smol fleet of a 17+ft Perception Sea Lion (sit in sea kayak), 15' Wilderness Systems Cape Horn (sit in sea/touring kayak) and the trusty Shetland Pony of a 10' Lifetime Tahoma Sit-on (SOT)(the bright green one).
Both sea kayaks were designed for medium to large adult paddlers, but if you are over about 180, you find yourself squeezing yourself into the cockpit of the Cape Horn like an orca into a floatie ring. I am about this size, and also 66 and arthritic, so not as bendy. The fabulous Cape Horn is a bit of a stretch for me, and I modified the seat of the Sea Lion so I had more room to get in and out of the cockpit (removed a cushion I had duct taped onto the seat back, leaving it a loose cushion now). The SOT accommodates anyone in its weight range, it's extremely user friendly, more so than I thought. It claims a 275 lb weight limit. Weight limits are a starting point: if you are going farther, on rougher water, you should have much less weight than the limit. We may have added a few pounds more this day, but we were on very calm water on a lake in good weather with two other boats and adults to wrangle things. I have also stuffed the hold of the Tahoma with pool noodles, so even if it managed to leak (hatch, plug or inadvertent crack or hole) it would float.
Everyone was in PFDs. My boats. My rules. Safety first.
Which led us to the First Thing: outfitting everyone with the right PFD. The smallest kid ended up in two: a vest which fit well (and had a “hold down” strap) but did not have quite enough flotation. Put a horsecollar style on top (a hair too large, but fits snugly over the vest) and do the float test. Kid floats quite well and safely. The other kid fit well in a youth horse collar style, which keeps your head out of the water. Adults had various vests, as well as swimming skills. Any kid who complained about the vest is told: “wear it or don't go”. That said, be aware of some kids' sensory issues, you may have to have a T-shirt under, or adjust straps etc.
There is a reason people used to have kids early in life, kids require high energy wrangling, and us old folks don't have the bloody energy. If the kids are bright, curious, neurodiverse (ADD brainstyle, autism spectrum, or other differences) they may require a different approach to teaching or guiding. Parens are a huge help here, but sometimes gramma needs to just yell "jump off the boat!"
As long as it's safe.
We began along shore (so we could swim/tow any dumped boat or kid) and I had a tow line as well as dive fins on deck in case we had to swim after anyone. I use a paddle leash on open water (on other kinds of water, a leash may cause a tangle hazard) but did not give them any: all the paddles float (and we did a paddle float test at the beginning), and I did not want any inadvertent tangles. Easy enough to chase a paddle on a flat lake.
The original idea was; a parent on the SOT with one kid, other parent ashore with other kid. This rapidly evolved into one parent, two kids on the SOT, other parent in the Cape Horn. This worked for awhile, then chaos ensued, or boredom or something, and we ended up with all the girls in boats, and Dad and boy ashore. You will have sibling rivalry, moments of grumpiness, and kids pushing the limits of parental patience. It's... kids.
The smallest girl had the biggest boat: because of reasons. The 17+ ft Sea Lion.
This was a hilarious test of parenting and teaching skills, as we wrangled a 65 pound kid and a 55 pound boat. The paddle was far far longer than she was tall. But. She. Wanted. To. We were in utterly flat water, not far from shore, and I had shown her how far the boat can rock before losing primary stability. The worst that could happen is she falls out and floats and gets swim time (she'd already jumped in a few times). She struggled with how to hold the paddle (“roll it... the other way, now helicopter it, like this”) what direction the blades went, and how to place the blades in the water. But encouragement when she got it right helped. She paddled it HERSELF. (OK, we had to help turn it sometimes because the Sea Lion is long and hard to turn and she ran ashore a couple times). Experimentation and encouragement is more important here than perfect style or technique.
At one point, she achieved ramming speed and broadsided her mom in the Cape Horn and knocked her in.
Wherein we learned Use Of Bilge Pump and Spongebob.
Smol Brother had his chance to sit in the big boat with a paddle (because you gotta do everything your big sister does), and try. I had him in the shallows on a leash, me in thigh deep water holding leash. His mom's observation: if he learns how to paddle, he'll be GONE. Some kids will require leashes. Maybe until they are 30...
Big Sister paddled each of the boats. The SOT is easier to turn, but harder for a small kid to make go straight. It tracks very well with correct technique, but when one is learning and floundering a bit, it turns and yaws all over the place. It is also VERY wide and the paddle is VERY long so a lot clumsier than the long narrow sea kayaks. Similarly, my friend's Horrible Sit-In Ancient Rec Boat That Is Actually A Pointy Barrel With A Hole in the Middle has such a high deck its awful for an adult to paddle, much less a kid. The sea kayaks are long and narrow and allow a kid to reach the water easily with a shorter paddle.
Ultimately, we got everyone together (with a picnic break in between), and set out on all three boats around the lake. One parent and two kids arrayed across the SOT. It rode well, level, and out of the water, a kid on each pointy end balanced it nicely. It was also a lot easier to retrieve kids if they went overboard. They had stowed a booster seat on the stern (basically a cushion in a frame) but this proved less than useful: anything that raises a weight up, even four inches, unbalances the boat. It's best if everything is as low as possible.
Spiderman and Seahorse Cowboys: We gave them the opportunity to bail out a few times, pulling up to shallow edges and letting them jump off. I encouraged trying to climb back on each boat from the water. This created some Spiderman moments as Smol Boy sang the Spidey song while wall crawling along the edge of the Sea Lion. They tried the “ride the kayak like a pony” trick, sitting on the bow until they fell off. All of this clambering around taught them some physical skills, and lessened any potential fear.
And of course, we were always wearing PFDs.
Eventually, it appeared everyone had achieved a level of competence to paddle across the (not too large) span of open water to the osprey island. I could see geese, ospreys on the nest and other birds there, so a nice last voyage before we hauled out. At this point, kids were told in no uncertain terms to STAY ON THE BOAT. And we set out. Again, properly fitting and buoyant PFDs are VIP... the water was flat, we could get kids back in the boat easily, and they floated without panic. We went to the island, observed the “no boats beyond this point” buoys,
...saw lots of geese, osprey, gulls, cormorant, a tern, and black vultures (which love beaches for some reason)(and they do bathe).
We went around the island, took a dip, and headed back.
Hauling out proved a bit of a challenge: if you are taking friends out, they are usually very willing to help. The thing is, you are used to doing things without thinking, so you will need to tell them what to do and when, and what not to do. Pull the boats up at least halfway out of the water. When we are done the first thing we do is stow the boats. Bring up the boats, I will stow the gear, then help loading is useful. I have a method for getting long boats on a minivan roof: pull half the boat past the van, with the stern behind the van. Lift front half up onto roof, shove back end after. Too often helpful people will start lifting the back end before I get the front end up and this causes the entire boat to roll and buck me into the ground. So if you have techniques for boat handling, be sure to tell your newbies BEFORE. It might be as simple as “those bow lines need to go there, and those stern lines there, so I can tell the difference” or “roll them like this so they don't tangle”.
It is important for kids to have Nature Time, and learn new skills. Every naturalist I've known has read Richard Louv's “Last Child in the Woods”, a non fiction look into this generation's growing disconnect with the natural world and what to do about it.
Take your friends and their kids out on a boat. Get wet, get muddy (check for leeches). Go in safe conditions. Have safety gear. Let them try new things, let them explore. Turn over some rocks, find some shells.
On the way home, the high energy kids were sound asleep...
