The Current Design Raven is a real sea kayak, and a beautiful, lightweight, piece of fiberglass craftsmanship made for sea kayaking connoisseurs. If you are a serious sea kayaker, looking to share the love of sea kayaking with your kids, in the 6 to 13 years old range, depending on their size and comfort with water, this is the perfect boat. Yes, this kayak requires care, and is not meant to be thrown against rocks and dragged on the beach, this is not a plastic kayak. However, if you want to go on paddles with your daughter or son, give them a chance to effortlessly glide, with a boat that tracks well and yet is very easy to maneuver, this boat is a gem. Your kid will have no problem rolling this kayak if they learn to roll, and you can practice all sorts of rescue, including T-rescue, cowboys/cowgirl re-entry, re-entry and roll, etc. The kayak is very fast, my 12-year old daughter had no problem distancing me while I was cruising in my Nordkapp.
If you just want to hang by the beach while your kids mess around a few feet away from shore, or if you are running a kids program where boats will be harshly handled, this is not a boat I'd recommend, much like I wouldn't recommend taking your most beloved fiberglass kayak to rock garden.
The two complaints I have with this boat is that there is a fair amount of space under deck behind the back-band, so when you do a t-rescue, it takes a bit of effort to completely empty the boat. Not a deal breaker, but wish Current Designs would re-design that part. The other complaint is the standard back-support is really not promoting practicing rescues and rolling. Easy to replace with a simple back-band if desired though.
This boat would be a good option also for a small female adult, looking for a superlight fiberglass boat.