Simply pop it off your car, throw it in the water, and play Lewis and Clark on your local lake. “Quack, quack!”Ĭanoes have a major advantage over inflatable kayaks and rafts: you don’t need to inflate them. “I want to go chicken,” he said, pointing to the inflatable kayak. How much do kids like duckies? On a five-day raft trip down the San Juan, young Henry, 3, summed up his sentiment succinctly. Your kids can even get involved in the deflating process, sitting on the tubes and giggling at the errant fart sounds emanating from the valves. When you’re through, simply deflate and roll for easy storage back home-which you most definitely need, now that your garage is littered with mounds of kid gear. All this creates a versatile craft that gives your kids a more intimate connection with the water than a raft, yet are more stable than a traditional kayak or even a canoe. They are wide enough to make them stable, narrow enough to be maneuverable, and just fast enough to get you back to shore for snack time. They also bounce off things rather than go thunk.īut their best attribute comes in how they handle. They’re made of rubber or PVC, just like most indestructible toys. In the first place, they’re not fragile like that heirloom canoe. Nomenclature aside, they’re perfect for introducing your young’uns to paddling. The nickname alone should make your kids start putting their swimsuits on. You bob around on the water propelled by web-like paddles, conjuring images of the rubber duckies floating with Ernie in a bathtub. I’m not sure who gave them the merganser moniker, but it’s an apt analogy. Inflatable kayaks, or duckies, are the perfect family craft for mellow river use. If that’s not enough to stop your kids from squabbling, perhaps it’s time for Dr. Either way, realize that paddling with your kids is a way to come together on a medium that’s responsible for all life itself-which means it’s bound to help your family life as well. Unsure? Take an outfitted trip first and then play Huck Finn later. They have the gear and skills to ensure your indoctrination doesn’t become an indunktrination. For those unfamiliar with the discipline, it’s best to go with an outfitter. Even inner-tubing a slow-moving creek instills the magic of water.Ĭraft chosen, there are two ways to get your feet wet: on your own, or with an outfitter. In the Midwest and along the coasts, families break out canoes, sea kayaks and rec kayaks. In Colorado, we often take to waterways and lakes in rafts, canoes and inflatable kayaks. There are as many crafts to choose from as there are birthday presents at Toys R Us. Coast Guard-approved Type III life jackets are more comfortable than ever, and there’s no excuse not to wear one. Sear this into your skull like the pancakes you burn after distractedly cleaning up a glass of spilled milk. The number one rule when paddling with kids: make sure you and your child wear a properly fitted life jacket at all times on the water. Add water to your children’s upbringing and they’ll remember it when they’re well down the river of life on their own. Our Year of the Flatwater Trip evolved every year thereafter, and now we make paddling-be it on rivers, lakes or the ocean-an annual activity for our family. But when you’re making mud pies and skipping rocks, you’ll realize that there’s far more to a paddling trip than meets the grown-up eye.Īrmed with these experiences that October day on the Yampa, Brooke and I set off for our final voyage of the year, leaving the baby jogger and her stuffed camel at the takeout for shuttle. Diaper changes, pacifier cleaning, cry arbitration and crib packing will compete with everything else you need to do on such a trip. Paddling with kids is not without its pitfalls. Whether you go with an outfitter or on your own, it will float your spirits as much as your craft. On that trip we’d realized that-aside from the scorpions, rattlesnakes, cactus, fire ants, poison ivy, sunburn, cliffs and rapids-paddling with kids is one of the best things you can do as a family. She had learned the word a year and a half earlier when we took her as a 9-month-old on a three-day trip down the Colorado River’s Ruby/Horsethief Canyons. Throwing rocks in the river, my 2-year-old daughter blurted out 10 percent of her vocabulary: “I wanna go rafting.” 27, a little late for such a trip in the Rockies, but warm enough to pull our inflatable kayak out of its premature hibernation.
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