These canoes are excellent fun for all ages. The high sides and coaming gives younger children confidence, with the coaming acting as a splash guard when hitting rougher waters. It is flat bottomed making it very stable in all waters but best suited to rivers and lakes. However many people use this canoe for coastal fishing. The large cokpit area gives ample space for moving around while on the water. The slat seats are slightly raised and people with back problems find these very comfortable, as they are able to adjust the backrest to the ideal position for them. The shape of the backrest gives support to the middle/lower back, another comfort factor for anyone suffering from back pain. The canoes have the same type of water tight hatches back and front as the kayaks we build, allowing dry storage for camping trips, and also buoyancy reducing the need for buoyancy bags. These canoes are very relaxing craft, and when camping the seats can be removed easily and used as picnic seats, while allowing you to sleep inside the canoe. We are able to build this craft from Core-cell making it ulta light weight, but this composite is not recommended if you are going to use the canoe a lot on very rocky waters.