Paddling with a kid: Tandem kayak? Canoe?

My wife and I currently have basic individual kayaks which we use for day trip flatwater paddling on local lakes, ponds, and a small river. One is a Costco-special Equinox that’s wide, stable, and has a cockpit sized to fit the average Costco shopper. We have a 4 year old, and for the past two years we’ve been taking him out by sitting him on my lap in the large cockpit of that kayak and we paddle together.

We’re thinking of adding/changing this setup for two reasons:

1. Dual paddling in one cockpit is becoming less comfortable as my son gets bigger.
2. We’re moving and so our paddling locations will change from mostly smaller lakes to a much larger lake and a larger flatwater river, so distances will be notably longer and there are camping options.

So what are people’s thoughts on tandem kayaks vs. canoes? I was thinking with the tandem that I could pack some stuff in the second cockpit along with my son and that it would be generally faster to paddle. I imagine it would also be easier to load up on the van, but I haven’t loaded many canoes.

With the canoe, you can pack even more stuff (toss in a cooler), and me, my wife, son, and maybe even dog could potentially be all in the same boat, but I imagine it would be slower going. A square stern canoe is seems like an interesting option in case I wanted to put a little electric trolling motor on it for some assistance to cover even more ground.

Any flatwater paddlers with small kids have advice? Experience?

Paging @matt_outandabout

We bought a good isup, our near 5 year old loves it.
it is a bigger challenge than a kayak as he keeps moving around so it tests your balance. But for ease of use and the fact he can move about and look into the water without unbalancing the craft it works well.
We did end up buying a pretty good sup though to accommodate the extra weight and for better stability

You need a canoe. It ticks all of your boxes whereas any kayak option will include compromise. Canoe is perfect for your needs

I don’t own a canoe but have done a little, but it would seem to tick a lot of boxes. I would try and go some where that hires canoes and give it a try that way you can see if the reality matches your image. Tandem kayaks are normally big and stable but they are also less easy to transport.

I’m nowhere near M_OAB’s level of expertise, so if he says otherwise then go with him, but having paddled a canoe and a tandem kayak with a primary school aged child up front I’d go with the canoe for what you are suggesting. I wouldn’t go for a square tail unless you mostly plan to motor – you can add motors to canoe stern boats, but they should paddle better the rest of the time.

I (an experienced white water paddler) bought a canoe for exactly what you describe, I got a good deal on a used Novacraft Prospector 16 and it has been ideal for the job. Great fun with the kids on canals, lochs and easy rivers.
You are right about the loading though, the main reason I don’t use it more is that it such a pain in the ass loading it on and off the van. I live about 500m from a canal and even moving it that distance is a effort.
Canoeing is also surprisingly different to kayaking so it may be worth taking some coaching to learn a good J stroke etc especially for when paddling it fully laden.
Finally I find myself feeling a little more exposed in a canoe over kayaks, again, especially when laden. I’ve had a couple of near misses where the boat have swamped due to catching an edge or unbalanced passengers. There was a video doing the rounds last year of some guys on Loch Ness having a nightmare which was very sobering especially when kids are involved.

I got a good deal on a used Novacraft Prospector 16, and it has been ideal for the job

I know of a very well looked after Novacraft Prospector for sale in central Scotland. If you are interested and based in Scotland then drop me a PM for more details.

A canoe would meet your needs. Kayaks generally have full decks, while canoes are open, so kayaks are good where the water would otherwise spill over the edge into the canoe, ie, white water and big waves, neither of which you’re planning. A canoe has a lot more flexibility about where you can put stuff, so you can use it on your own or with family while still keeping it properly ‘trimmed’ (level in the water, end to end). Provided you buy one that’s suited to your use, not a heavyweight polythene one designed to be bashed about in rocky rivers, it won’t be difficult to load onto a roof rack. I suggest a fibreglass composite, see http://apachecanoes.com/ but in any case check the weight before you buy. I wouldn’t go for a square stern, there aren’t many about but mainly because it reduces flexibility in use. Canoes have fixed seats, and while most canoes are symmetrical in hull shape, the seat arrangement isn’t, so if you find the seats are in the wrong place for the people and luggage that day, turn it round and go ‘backwards’.

There’s a bit of learning in how to use a single bladed paddle and keep the boat going straight, and it wouldn’t hurt to join a club or get some coaching to help with that, but you can use a double bladed paddle if you like. The only rule is to enjoy it.

I have slightly considerably more than n+1 canoes and kayaks.

I would say canoe. (I own 2 canoes and 5 kayaks!)

Something 16-17ft long. Prospector style are plentiful but are more for river work (it’s not that they won’t work but other designs might offer better tracking and speed on flat water).

Watch some of Ray Goodwins stuff on YouTube! Use your common sense, in wind even flat lakes can become choppy and dangerous.

Oh and you can get brackets which can hold a wee motor on the side of a canoe if you want to go that way. Spoils the fun of paddling if you ask me but each to their own. (I use a little sail for some downwind assistance!)

Thanks for all the advice. Sounds like standard canoe is the way to go as it sounds like it will fit better with what we want and a motor isn’t a priority. I was mostly considering it as our park service basically sold out on our nearest put in to outfitters so we’d have to start farther downstream than would be ideal, but I do like paddling, so maybe the longer upstream trip will just wait until the kid is big enough to help.

It’s all been said – for what you describe, a canoe is the best comprise.

The only downside of a canoe can be bulk/weight, particularly when lugging onto a vehicle.

I’m missing my paddling this year, very much looking forward to a Spey decent in September if we’re allowed… I’ll take the 17’er, then I’m over 2m from the bow paddler 😆

My opinion isn’t going to be any different from the above, but yep – canoe, definitely.
We also have a paddle board and the kids love that as well – it’s great for playing and we can take it anywhere, but if you have the space and the means for transportation the canoe will be hard to beat. We can fit the whole family in with all our stuff for a day and an overnight in it but you can still paddle it on your own when you want/need to.

Now i’m just sulking about not paddling about on the river.

I really like inflatables- I toured the length of the Shannon in Eire with an Advanced Elements Expedition Kayak. I think Gummotex/AE make sort of hybrid kayaks/canoes too – many of them are self-bailing and they’re unsinkable (so long as they’ve got air!).

You lose a bit of performance naturally, but they’re extremely buoyant, stable and reassuring. The fact they fold down makes transporting them infinitely easier. It allows you to use public transport, so you can drive to the top of a river and get a bus/train back.

My AE kayak weighs 17kg – it has the same performance as a rigid SOT, but it’s obviously not as fast as a sea Kayak. I’ve found it very good for lakes/rivers and coastal stuff. When I crossed Loch Ree in Ireland, I had F6/7 winds and 1 meter swells but it handled it really well.

Inflatables are interesting. I see that there are some folding canoes from Pakboat and Bergans that might fit the bill. I’ll look more into them too.

The bergans ally looks awesome.
for sure it must be less comfortable to paddle due to the frame all around, but if it fits in the house it looks great