Boys and Boats

About a year ago Matthew and Peter came home from scouts and told me about a high adventure trip the Teachers group were planning.  I thought it sounded like a lot of fun.  They were building their boats from scratch.  Its a cross between a canoe and a kayak.  Its called a Canack or Kanak or something like that.  They got their instructions and over the past year they worked on their boats.  The cut and sanded the wood, glued and nailed, painted the frame, stretched the canvas, sealed and painted the canvas, installed seats and cup holders, and finally tested them to see if they were float worthy.  In August all of the boys, most of the fathers, leaders, and some adventure seekers, loaded up the boats and headed out.  They ended up floating 30 miles down the river over two days.  The caught raccoons at night and got sunburned during the day.  They ate good food and had a lot of fun.  I was so proud to see the end result.  There were times when we tired of working on boats all the time, but in the end, it was worth it.