Honey, I shrunk the boat! With all due credit to Jackson Kayak for its kid-sized Fun1 line, now that he has a child of his own who else but longtime boat designer Corran Addison would design an even smaller kayak for his kid? Read on for a step-by-step photo sequence of the glorified foamie getting built…
“I needed a kayak for my 18-month-old to start paddling,” says Addison, whose new Soul Waterman company specializes in boat and sup designs of all walks. “He’s already figured out the basic idea of taking strokes, but even the Jackson Fun1 is much too big. So I just made this.”
Built for his son Kailix (sounds like Helix), the diminutive creation measures a paltry 4’2″ long by 16″ wide and just 7.5″ tall, with a whopping and 12 gallons of volume. Its weight, says Addison, ranges between 11 lbs. to 17 lbs., depending on what people want for strength.
“I hand-shaped it the old fashioned way in one day,” he says. “It’s more of a river runner than a playboat; kids that age aren’t really playing, they want confidence.”
Of that, Kailix can rest assured that his gene pool bears plenty, with Addison known for being a cutting edge kayaker with countless first descents and boat designs to his credit, before he ventured into the world of sup design. His sup exploits, especially on river waves, are equally impressive, all now being passed down to his progeny, who is getting as early a start on the water as even world champs Dane and Emily Jackson did in their Fun 1s.