12'
Length
20"
Width (in)
26
Weight (lb)
$1,199
MSRP

Raven Description

A serious kayak for paddle crazy kids. Savvy children will love the responsiveness of this performance-oriented kayak. The Raven is a sleek 20" wide for easy paddling, with a hard chine for excellent stability and predictable feel when edging to carve a turn. It is fully outfitted with front and rear hatches and two composite bulkheads. The Raven comes with adjustable foot braces, a padded seat and seat back, as well as a padded interior deck for your thighs. The only true performance kayak built just for kids.

Raven Specs and Features

  • Structure: Rigid / Hard Shell
  • Cockpit Type: Sit Inside
  • Seating Configuration: Solo
  • Ideal Paddler Size: Smaller Adult/Child
  • Skill Level: Beginner
  • Ideal Paddler Size: Smaller Adult/Child
  • Skill Level: Beginner

Current Designs Kayaks
Raven Reviews

Read reviews for the Raven by Current Designs Kayaks as submitted by your fellow paddlers. All of the reviews are created and written by paddlers like you, so be sure to submit your own review and be part of the community!

Embed these reviews on your site

5

The Current Design Raven is…

Submitted by: gbkayak on 10/18/2021

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.

1

Yes, this sure is a nice…

Submitted by: paddler1428029 on 4/22/2021

Yes, this sure is a nice little kayak for paddle crazy kids, as is advertised, but typical of Current Designs in general, this boat will never hold up to the rigors of use from a 10 year old. Let me list the issues I've had with my fleet of 12 Ravens: 1) The combing/seat is one piece that has been dropped into the hull of the boat. Unfortunately, the space between the bottom of the seat and the bottom of the boat is the perfect place for pebbles to collect. Sit in the seat a few times and what happens? The pebbles get pushed through the thin fiberglass/gel coat. Out of 12 boats, I had to fix 10 of them. This would have been a really simple fix in the factory. 2) the entire seat/combing pulled right off the hull in 6 boats necessitating re-fixing with a combination of cold cure and glass bubbles. Seems to be holding. 3) Two separate foot tracks have pulled straight through the wall of the boats. Yes, kids put pressure on the pedals, but the layup is so thin that it can't withstand what a kid can do. These fixes required reaming out the holes, laying up glass to patch the holes, and then re-drilling to set the bolts. Thanks CD. 4) One boat split along the ribbon that joins the hull and deck, right at the cockpit. I haven't fixed this yet, but will try more cold cure along with a glass patch on the inside. If this doesn't hold the boat is unusable. 5) Endless spider cracks in the glass resulting in gel coat flaking followed by patching.

Conclusion, don't buy this boat. Get something plastic for kids.

5

I bought my 8 year old…

Submitted by: guest-paddler on 8/3/2007
I bought my 8 year old grandson a CD Raven after watching him struggle with a Carlina 12 for the last year or two. The difference was immediate and dramatic. We did a 2-1/2 mile paddle without difficulty or requests for a tow, and when we got back to the dock, he got out, hoisted the boat onto his shoulder (it weighs 25#), and carried it up the ramp by himself.

I could criticize a couple of things...the deck could be a little lower, and why is there a decal of a falcon on a boat that's called the Raven? but this boat is such a great leap forward for kids kayaks that I'd give it an 11 or 12 if I could. In short, it's a real kayak, made with excellent materials, well finished, with well arranged deck straps, a hatch for storage and handling to match it's good looks.

As a bonus, I happen to be just a little over the weight limit, and suspect it'll make a fine little rolling trainer, but I haven't had a chance to try in out. In any case, Current Designs deserves a round of applause for having the good sense to build this boat, and in a just world, they deserve to sell a lot of them. I just hope my grandson outgrows it before his brother notices how lame the Carolina is, otherwise I'll soon have 2 Ravens.

Similar Kayaks for You: