It ALL depends on the driver.... Its not the boat that would put a child in danger. Its the Operator.

Like Everybody has said, don't let the driver be an idiot and you'll be just fine. I had my son in our twin engine Baja when he was 2months old. Had my nephew in our top gun last summer when he was 4months old. Last weekend had my son who is 6yrs old his, two of his friends who are 12 and 6 and there little sister who is 3yrs old all on the Top Gun . Lake was smooth and I ran it up to 80mph for them once so they would be happy, lol!

Kids love them! Make sure the captain is responsible and enjoy!! :)

I have a rockcrawling Jeep as well. Full cage, etc. My son started going with us at 6 or 7 months old. I have a picture of him at 9 months old in Clayton Oklahoma where he's in his infant seat, it's strapped in, then he's in the 5-point harness. I drop down a rather unexpected waterfall (was trying to take the easy lines), we're straight up and down, tail of the Jeep in the air, so I quickly look back to see if he's freaking out.........he's suspended in the air, arms and legs dangling from the 5-point harness--ASLEEP. Had to get a Picture! It is in his room, he loves it!

http://lstwo.com/images/42065734266394115282.jpg

He was really driving. No wake zone idling buy at 5 he loved every second.

Lol

Hate to say it but go fast boats are generally safer than center consoles or other fishing boats...why? in most perfermance boats the gunnels (walls) are much taller than your run of the mill pleasure boat. Because of that the chance of falling out goes way down. Mix that with safe driving and I see no issues.

Better not let his mom see this post

My older daughter was about 8 weeks old when she went for her first boat ride. We had her strapped into her car seat and sat it down in the footwell of the cuddy, out of the sun. As soon as the motor fired up she went right to sleep. Seems like they like the rumble of a big block! As far as rough water and speed, just use some common sense. If it got choppy out, I would just slow down a little bit and lower the tabs. By the time they are strong enough to hold their head up on their own, they are pretty much fine in almost any conditions.

Addressing the OP directly, if going out on a large body of water like Lake Michigan, I would suggest paying attention to the marine weather forecast, and it might not be a bad idea to have some type of weather radar at your disposal to keep an eye out for storms blowing up. I have not had the pleasure of navigating the big lakes, but from what I gather talking to those that do, you could start out with perfectly flat water one morning and have a storm blow up and find yourself in five footers in very short order. Once again, a little common sense and a backup plan (like knowing where safe harbor is nearby) goes a long way.

You should check out the new 29 Active Thunder with walk-thru and twin O/B's. You have tons of passenger room, all the conveniences, And the safety of the patented DDC Hull, along with high freeboard and amazing performance