Believe me I've been trying to think of a way to get a small child out there and tow he/she around but for a while I think I'll be stuck surf fishing the harbor with the kid in the backpack.

Learning to swim is top priority. None of this "Drown in a lake trying to save your child who can't swim - then have your family sue the city and force them to wreck the beauty of the lake with a fence all because your a $%^&*# idiot that doesn't have the sense enough to stay away from the water when you can't swim" stuff. Sorry - just blowing off some steam :)