TOD:
Ever hear of a
Folbot?They are a kind of kayak, but can be taken apart and put back together. My Dad decided it would be fun to have one to take with us on our camping trips. The frame, which had to be put together in two parts first, was made of wood and aluminum piping. After the fore and aft halves were assembled, they were inserted and then joined inside the hull, which was made of a rubberized fabric. Ours was a steely blue color, with a sunshine yellow top.
The first time we put it together was in the livingroom of our home in Burbank, CA. Since the Folbot was a two-person rig, it stretched from the far end of the livingroom on into the dining room. Of course, since it was new everything was stiff, and putting it together was a bitch. Not to mention how stiff my Dad felt the next morning. After a few days, Mom complained that it was making housekeeping too difficult, so we took it apart again. At least we knew what we'd be doing on our next camping trip.
Back then, the fifth member of my family was our dog, Shortz, who had quite the personality. Shortz was a black and tan miniature Daschund, so named by my sister because everyone else in the family (save my mother) was tall. I didn't care for the name, myself, and would often call him Hugo or Henrick or Herbert, anything that started with an H, and he fully understood that I was referring to him.
Well, it didn't take long for Henrick to decide that he, too, wanted to get in the Folbot when we were out on a lake paddling around. At first, he was content just to put his front paws on the railing around the passenger section, and watch the world go by. After a while, however, he decided it would be fun to get up on the yellow top of the hull. It was strong enough to hold him. And it would be fun to look down at the water.
And, oops, he fell in!
So of course we had to fish him out of the water, and dry him off. And after he was dried off, he would watch the world go by...
And presently he would climb up on the top of the hull again...
He had a marvelous time riding in that boat, and swimming around it. We learned very quickly to take several towels with us whenever he would go riding.