Hi Shawn,

You could do a Wacky Lassie (Google that) by sticking foam noodles cut in half down each side, perhaps just above waterline. Think I've seen foam noodle 'trainer wheels' on a kids kayak somewhere on the net, short sections of noodle (12-18'') on a short cross bar (24"?) bungeed a foot behind the cockpit. These seem shameful for a pretty cedar strip craft. Maybe hide them just below the waterline, kind of a sponson hull? If they work, fibreglass over them?

I've put an outrigger on a tippy canoe: awesome stability, ie stand up, walk around nonchantly, dive off, climb back in effortlessly! but is it really a kayak then? Or embrace the outrigger idea: add leeboard, sail rig, rudder.. you'll be chasing your son all day in your Chesapeake, catching him only if he capsizes! What kid wouldn't enjoy that?

  Dave P
 

My $0.02:

Build a Wood Duck 10.  Your 50-pound boy might be 60lbs by the time the boat's in the water, and 70lbs a year after that.  It's a big investment in time for something he'll grow out of, whereas he can use the Wood Duck 10 for years and years---and so can everyone else in the family including you! 

Wood Duck 10:  http://www.clcboats.com/shop/boats/new/CLC-WOODDUCK-10.html

Redfish Kayaks has a design specifically tailored to kid sized paddlers.  Check it out at:

http://www.redfishkayak.com/parr.htm 

What if you took the pretty kayak you have now and modified the shape by adding cedar to the sides to improve stability. In effect just thickening the water line enough to stabilize and still keeping the wood motif going. In effect nicely carved wooden noodles actually attached to the boat. If it was carefully shaped you could maintain attractive curves. Since there is not much flex it would  not flake off. You could epoxy it and varnish the patch in the same way as you finished the rest and no one would see the addition as a patch. Figure out the shape in foam first then copy it in a wood patch. You could laminate it so that the patch blends in or you could make a contrast so it looks like decoration / highlight. Since your boat has no weight problem adding a bit to solve a problem would not be an issue.

Christine 

The easiest way to add stability to a kayak with too much buoyancy is to add some sandbags behind the seat in the cockpit. You probably won't need too much weight down that low to stabilize it. The reason for putting the weight in the cockpit is to keep ithe weight close to the center of gravity and to keep the ends light so they will rise on a wave. Keep in mind that unconstrained, the sandbags can move, so if for example, your son is learning the eskimo roll or just how far he can lean without the boat capsizing, the sandbags will rotate as the boat rolls. You will need to find some way to constrain them. I have used a floatation cushion on end jammed between the sandbags and the underside of the rear deck with some success. For flat water paddling you can get by with just placing them in the bottom. You ususally won't lean far enough for them to move much.

I built a Yost Sea flea for my 8 and 12 year old sons. They have a great time in it. They have no prolbem keeping up with our 17lts. I do put foam out riggers on when we take them out fishing.

http://yostwerks.com/SeaFlea4.html

Shawn,

Post a picture so we can get a better idea of the problem and how to solve it. Also, keep in mind that "failures" teach engineers & designers much more than successes do and don't give up on designing your own if that's what you really want to do. Just be prepared for the fact that it could take a while (and a bunch of money) to get it right. In the meantime, if you want to go quicker & cheaper, there's John's advice on the WD10.

Good luck,

Laszlo

Didn't work, Shawn. That's the address of the pictures on your own computer. Those of us in the real world can't log into your computer, so we can't see the pictures.

Laszlo