Kids!

[Mike Robinson]

So yesterday I decide to try out another prop I have kicking around the garage on the new Evinrude 150 and ask my 4 year old if he wants to come for a ride. He says, "yea !", so off we go.

I back down the ramp to the water, ready the boat and put the kid in his lifejacket and in the boat then slowly back down to where I can back the boat off the trailer.

As I 'm climbing in the boat the kid looks up at me and says, "Want me to start her up for ya?" This is from a 4 year old!

It made me realize that before I know it, he'll be doing it all!

 

[LadyFish]

Re: Kids!

HAHAHAHA He's ready to take over the helm.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Kids!

he has watched, and probably could do it.

 

[lncoop]

Re: Kids!

Outstanding. That's really what it's all about. I was cleaning up the party barge last night and my seven year old daughter was itching to help, so I told her to climb on up and grab a towel. Not only did we get 'er clean, but we had a great time doing it. Boats are awesome. The only thing that makes them more so is the addition of a youngster.

 

[Tig]

Re: Kids!

Teach him to wear the tether, so he knows how to stop the engine too.
My son gave me a scare once.

 

[FBPirate95]

Re: Kids!

Yeah they can say the darndest....My 9 year old got me pretty good the other day. My project boat is stripped, and I was standing in it looking towards the bow picturing what work needs to be done and what I was going to do next. He comes out and asked me what I was doing and could he help. I told him nah I really wasn't doing anything.

His response: "So you're just standing there imagining you're driving the boat?"

He was being serious. I had to laugh.

 

[FBPirate95]

Re: Kids!

he has watched, and probably could do it.

I'd bet the rent on he know's how to do it. If you're trusting enough of him, help him do it one day and make him SWEAR he'd never do it without you. It'll help kill the curiosity and give him one heck of a memory with dad.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Kids!

Took my nephew-in-law out with his moron father in my old boat when he was six years old. He caught some sunnies and we got ready to head back in. I asked him if he wanted to drive the boat. "YEAH!" he said.

His idiot father said, "You're too stupid to drive a boat." He does that a lot to the poor kid. Makes me madder than heck. He verbally abuses my wife's sister, too.

So, I plopped the kid on my lap. Showed him how to start the outboard, set it on idle, then shift into forward. Off we went, at displacement speed. He had a little trouble keeping the boat going straight, so I pointed at a landmark on the far shoreline and said, "Keep it going towards that water tower." He caught on right away.

Once he got the hang of steering, I asked him if he wanted to go faster. "SURE!" So I told him to push the throttle handle forward. The old trihull jumped onto plane and we were heading across the lake at its full 25 mph top speed. I talked him through a few easy turns, then let him drive right to the entrance of the cove where the ramp was, then I throttled down and took over. "Good job!" I told him.

The smile on his face looked like it was the most fun he'd ever had. Since I could have taken over in a fraction of a second, it was safe and there was no traffic on the lake.

Poor kid doesn't get a lot of praise or much of a chance to do anything. He's 12 now, and is doing poorly in school. His dad is the problem.

 

[FBPirate95]

Re: Kids!

Good for you CA. I wouldn't have gotten in trouble for telling his dad and say "No its you that's too stupid to drive".

 

[lncoop]

Re: Kids!

Nothing makes me angrier than mistreatment of a child. There is a special punishment reserved for those who engage in it.

 

[WizeOne]

Re: Kids!

Nothing makes me angrier than mistreatment of a child. There is a special punishment reserved for those who engage in it.

Yeah, so it is written but some of them need a good thumpin in the here and now!

 

[lncoop]

Re: Kids!

Clearly you are called WizeOne for a reason. I say thump away!

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Kids!

Children are like sponges soaking up all the information around them. Encourage them as much as you can.