hi patrick,

i don't suspect that the issue is so much 'strength' for weight trade-off with young paddlers as much as it will be around extra protection for abrasion and impacts that paddlers who don't want to baby their boats may want to include in their build to get a little more wear time before needing to do a repair/refinish the boat..

the small nature of the duckling and its payload leaves you with a boat that is inherently 'strong' and 'sturdy".

that said, i would recommend rub-strips on the keel.  simplest is dynel cloth. www.clcboats.com/shop/products/boat.../kayak-rubstrip-kit.html  but some folks who are being a bit more artful use brass.

another area that tends to get beaten up is the deck due to paddle strikes. but this is a kids boat so they tend to not be able to wheel a paddle with the same force as an adult.   keeping sheers well rounded is helpful as it blunts any impact.  you could potentially take your deck/hull to 6 oz and make sure you do a nice fill coat to buy you some extra time before deck strikes require you to need to refinish the boat.  but again, this is not really about strength as much as buying you time before you need to do a more comprehensive re-finish.

i would also make sure you use a good quality varnish and throw an extra coat or two...again will buy you more time before needing to refinish.

my last idea would be to let the kids start with a wood paddle.  the edges are less sharp and likely to scratch up the boat.

best,

howard

I would keep it lightweight. Put plenty of extra layers on the stem and stern though. The only damage  I've repaired on my daughters' Wood Duckling were from hitting hard things at ramming speed.