In a fit of fatherly love I made a kayak for my daughter Ellen for Christmas in 2006. I started the day after Thanksgiving and finished up on Christmas Eve. I draped a curtain across part of the basement and told the girls they could not go in there because I was doing "stinky and dusty stuff" for my friend Brad. They listened to me. This is not a regular occurrence. The kayak is a pretty straightforward build -- the hull is only four panels stitched together. I didn't put any time consuming hatches on the deck -- these can be added later if desired. The dragonfly decal is a stencil she has in her room -- that way she knows the kayak is hers. I was reminded again of why I had made a semi-serious vow not to do another stitch and glue kayak -- way too much sanding. I must have forgot. Anyway, we were awakened at about 6:15 AM on Christmas morning by shrieking coming from downstairs. It was Ellen. She reports that she was afraid to go into the living room where the kayak was waiting because she thought it was Santa passed out on the couch (okay, she doesn't know about passing out, she really said he was sleeping). The shrieking happened when she realized it was not Santa.

canoe out of the way

stitched

mini-transom

stitches close up

dragonfly decal

Santa's helper

Santa asleep?

Ellen

ready to launch

ready to launch

forth to the lake

launch

getting hang of paddle

tethered

Alice tries