During the Easter holidays Mrs B, the Beamlet and I spent a couple of days on the Hebridean Island of Tiree where Mrs B's folks conveniently have a cottage.

Their cottage is a stone's throw, literally, from the waters edge and we are planning to head back there in the summer time.

A couple of years ago we did a bit of sea kayaking whilst visiting Vancouver Island and Tiree would seem like another great place for this activity.

We want to get the Beamlet in involved in this activity, either this summer or on subsequent trips so I am thinking that a "sit on" canoe rather than a "sit in" katak will allow us to achieve this.

Something like this:

Ocean Kayak Malibu Two XL

I'm not planning an uber exped from the mainland to Tiree, just pootling about in the sandy bays close to shore.

Anyone have any top tips on what to look out for when buying a kayak to meet the above requirements?

Ta in advance.

Buoyancy is always a good thing, make sure it has plenty…

Forgot to mention – The Beamlet will be 18 months old this summer. Too young for canoe antics?

double closed cockpit, little one sits in the centre storage bin
I wouldn't go for an open boat, just because your bum will be cold and wet all day = botrot

Where are you? Brookbank CAnoes in perth (stores in Englansd as well) will hire y something for a not too unreasonable rate. I was told about £1o0 for an Old Town Diswcvery for a week, including BAs and paddles
. Inassume they'll do sit on's as well It might be worth hiring rather than buying.
Click for Brrookbank
You also might want to have a look at the
Ppaddlers.net review section to gat some ereviews.

Thinking about it as long as Beamlet doesn't freak out when cold water hits them, they have a drysuit to stop them getting cold ('cos I guess they will, and fast if they get wet) and a lifejacket that will keep them floating head up I can't think of any reason not too.

Might seem a bit excessive with the dry suit but I know if I dropped into the water from a boat I knew was falling over it would give me a shock, if I didn't know I might be a bit surprised. If you did have a wobble and drop in, quite possible with waves near shore? Then the last thing you need to be worrying about is actually rescuing Beamlet instead of just recovering them.

Sounds like a fantastic idea though, is transporting and moving a rigid kayak not a problem, there seem to be lots of decent looking inflatable ones about.

In fact, something like this Sevylor KCC360 Hudson (whatever that all means) seems to fit the bill (if inflatable were the way you went).

Once its on the island it will remain there for future use by us and the rest of the extended family.

….and the rest of the extended family

In that case I’d be trying to find something pretty much bombproof!

Inflatables, bu their nature, are less rigid than, well, rigid, non-inflatable craft. This, like with bikes, has an impact on stability. It doesn't sound like you'll be doing any rough stuff, but even in a gentle swell, you want to feel safe, which I doubt you would in an inflatable.
Just IMHO

rudder kits are worth it on ones like those they can be hard work in any sort of current
Ocean Kayak Cabo's are good they have good hold which is great put a picknick and kit in
and are a bit quicker than the Malibu's too

Ocean kayak's are almost indestructible

An 18 month yr old in a drysuit? WTF?! I don't think so, but a wetsuit would be a good idea for sea & sun protection. You get a lot of reflection off the sea on a sunny day, a sea kayak is a great place to get a tan. I'm sure it goes without saying, but IMHO bouyancy aids are mandatory too in this situation.

Back to kayaks. A sit-on-top like the one you've shown Beamers is probably the best bet. I can't give you much advice on them, other than to make sure the seat supports & strapping are solid. The advantage of a sit-on-top is that it won't sink, even if you capsize.

Make sure you do capsize drills before taking the family anywhere. In the event of a capsize (unlikely but very possible), you need to be able to quickly right it and have a system for getting everybody back on it. Should be pretty easy with a SoT.

double closed cockpit, little one sits in the centre storage bin

This is for the future, not for learning in or occasionally pootling around the bay. Proper closed kayaks are expensive (1000's)and much harder to deal with in an emergency.

My wife is expecting our first child any day now, can't wait to plonk them in a kayak!

Don't say that! I was having a great time looking overSevylor's European site. Some funky looking stuff on there. Makes sense though to go rigid if it is staying put. The sit on idea would certainly mean it shouldn't sink but I guess, more likely to go over in the first place? I guess it depends on the least experienced potential user?

Burts- thought a drysuit as a wetsuit will be cold when it fills up with water? (have no idea if such a thing existed, just struck me as an idea) oh, and my wife is 10 days off our first at the moment, seems to be a rash of it on here at the moment 🙂

In my experience sit-ons are built wider for more stability with less serious leisure use in mind.

Second getting an open boat (canoe) from me. Sounds like it will suit your need alot better.
S(h)it on tops are cold wet places if there is even a small amount of wind, swell or both. An open boat keeps you and family alot warmer and drier if there is any chop and it's alot easier to take stuff along with you.
You could always add a small sitontop to the fleet later on when your small person wants abit of independance.

As burt says if you get into it and want to go anywhere securely and in a straight line it needs to be one of these below. There is a centre storage hold that could be fitted out for a youngster. It has bulk heads, bouyancy and great stability and will do 5mph all day with little effort. you might have to sell a car though!

A canadian open canoe in the uk is a disaster waiting to happen. Any wind will make progress hard work. How do you get it upright after a capsize? How do you empty it?

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_u-DMg4-XIfs/S8I59VDB3BI/AAAAAAAAAO4/kLEspcO8xJo/s1600/IMG_1005-721732.jpg

But if you are beginners you should not be going out in conditions any worse than my second pic. If you are getting wet you are beyond what a beginner should be out in. So a good tracking, double sit on top is fine, a sea kayak better. I would dismiss the canadian open boat unless you are Ray mears or you put an engine on it.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_u-DMg4-XIfs/S8I5-aWM6_I/AAAAAAAAAPI/gnVmiiu1J8Y/s1600/IMG_1010-725222.jpg

To throw a spanner in the works how about pedalling? Hobie are bringing out a great pedalling tandem this year. Expensive but could fit maw paw and the wean easily. Effcient paddling takes time to learn, pedalling is much easier! My boat is dry and can keep up with the double speed machine in the other pic. I can make good progress upwind when all other kayakers are heading downwind! and it sails too.

Anyway Get some training from BCU, capsize in a pool and go and practice capsize at a beach. Ive been afloat since I was ?tiny and went solo kayak at 8

Tracker1972 – Its a good idea, you're right that drysuits are typically warmer than wetsuits. However, I doubt if it would work for someone so young. Drysuits need tight latex seals around neck and limbs to keep the water out and toddler probably wouldn't have the neck strength for it. I've had new drysuits that have given me difficulty breathing for the first few outings! Without the seal, the drysuit is at best a tight fitting waterproof (difficut to swim in) and at best would just fill up with water and drag you to the bottom.

I'd recommend a Canadian canoe for calmer river use, but the sea is a fickle thing and a Canadian is not the right tool for that job if you're a beginner. Although you might not intend to go swimming, if you're just starting out on the sea you've really got to expect it at some point and plan accordingly. Whether thats full survival gear or a pair of speedo's depends on the weather, sea temp and how well you can swim!

And now for some nice sea kayaking photos:

Ah, drysuits do look a little tight around the neck, yea, I guess breathing should come before staying warm. Nice pictures by the way, that first one evokes some thoughts of waterborne camping adventures.

A canadian is not ideal for the sea, sit on tops are horrible, when I was in NZ we hired a closed cockpit double sea kayak, which being designed for novice use was nearly as wide as my open boat, with huge primary stability.
If I was in your boat(see what I did there) id be considering something like that. Or a Klepper.

That first photo was just a quick outing, but the last 2 photos are from a multi-day trip in BC. Small bivvy & sleeping bag, stove, change of clothes and then fill the rest of the boat up with wine bags and beer. :o)

drysuits do look a little tight around the neck

Yep. But they can always be improved with a little duct tape.

I'm an experienced kayaker and I'm a more than a bit concerned by some of the 'advice' and ideas in this thread.

'Canadian' canoes require specialist handling techniques, and they are not really suitable for use on the sea. Properly handled though, on inland water, they are a great way to get young kids out on the water. But they can be very, very difficult to recover should they capsize, pin or broach in even the slowest of moving water.

'Outfiting' a central hatch in a sea kayak for a small child is a frankly frightening thing to consider. Imagine capsizing in a tidal current and not being able to swim back to the boat to free your child. Don't do it, don't even think about doing it. Even if the tide was running at a very modest 3-4 Knots you would become separated from your boat very quickly.

I've never seen a drysuit for an 18 month old child so I'd be surprised if it's an option. A wetsuit is only designed to keep a person warm when they're wet, they have limited thermal properties when they're dry.

The water is a very dangerous place. Several kayakers have died this week alone. Get some training. More importantly than anything, join a local canoe club. Get some advice from well trained, experienced paddlers and don't go out on your own until you are confident that you know what you're doing.

One of the great dangers with kayaking is that inexperienced people can't spot the hazards, because they don't know what they are. All you see is a sunny day and some pretty water. You need to understand tides, wind and weather at the very least.

If you're just, as you say, messing about in good weather and rock-hopping very close to the shore in sheltered bays then a three-person sit-on-top would be ideal. Stable, easy to paddle and very bouyant, and importantly you're less likely to get trapped in it when you capsize (unless you're using thigh straps).

A bouyancy aid is simply a given, don't even think about getting in a boat without one.

Kayaking is an amazing sport, that can take you to places you wouldn't even imagine. It can be incredibly rewarding, for all the family. But it's really not something you can just walk into a shop, buy the stuff and go out and play. Seriously.

Just do it right and enjoy. You won't regret it.

Drop me a PM if I can be of assistance.

Some of my sea kayaking photos

Thanks all for your advice, especially Driller. Your advice sits perfectly with what we are trying to achieve, i.e this type of thing:

Although with trunks replaced with wetsuits I would imagine.