BWCA Just dad and 7 year old son Boundary Waters Group Forum: Canoeing with kids
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   Group Forum: Canoeing with kids
      Just dad and 7 year old son     

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Eagleson
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03/14/2015 06:12PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
I'd like to take my 7 year old son this year by myself. He's been up once before, but he really has no paddling experience. Any suggestions on a canoe or paddling method? Thought about taking my MN2 and paddling it from the bow turned around.
 
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caribouluvr
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03/16/2015 01:04PM  
Are you going very far or on any big lakes that would be tough to paddle?

My son has used the Bending Branches Twig paddle around that age and done well, but doesn't have a ton of stamina to paddle into big waves or anything.
 
Eagleson
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03/19/2015 04:52PM  
Caribouluvr, I haven't chosen a route yet, but I'll pick something with river travel and smaller lakes. What kind of canoe setup do you use if it's just you and your son?
 
03/19/2015 10:17PM  
I paddled my Champlain from about 2/3rd way midship with kids in bow & stern (so essentially as I would solo-ing) so that I didn't rely on their power or directional strokes. Just my two cents. Lots of ways to accomplish this.
 
03/21/2015 08:06AM  
I think you will be ok with that especially on smaller lakes and rivers. I've done a few trips with just one of my daughters and myself. With my older daughter at age 7 and my younger daughter at age 5 I rented a 16ft royalex Wenonah Adirondack and paddled it backwards. Last year I wanted to save some money and used our Souris River Quetico 18.5 with my older daughter at age 9 and just paddled from the stern. It went very well. In both cases I had all packs in the front half of the canoe and in the SR I even had a day pack in front of my daughter all the way in the bow. All 3 of those trips were on small water... Lizz, Cross Bay, and Baker entry points. When the canoes were loaded I felt like I had just as much control in the SR even though it is so much bigger. I did have some trouble controling the SR when it wasn't loaded and we were out fishing. The food barrel and my daughter were just not enough weight. This summer my younger daughter at age 7 gets to do her second trip and I'm going to take the SR Q 18.5. Here's a pic of my 9 YO last year with the front of the canoe loaded. I'm not positive but I think that the MN 11 is not as tall so it won't catch as much wind and I know it's narrower so it will be easier to paddle and control than my SR.

Have a great trip!! My daddy/daughter trips are very special and so will your Father/Son trip!!!!!!!!! That one on one time with our kids is priceless.
 
04/27/2015 02:41PM  
ducks is right that trimming is everything. Depending on how much gear you have and how much you weigh, you might not have enough to offset and keep the bow down for tracking. If you CAN paddle it backwards, that helps a bunch - I've even paddled my Q18.5 from the third seat in the middle when windy and lightly loaded. It was not fun, but doable.

Otherwise borrow a shorter boat, and know that you have options with placement for gear and paddling it backward or forward.
 
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