Homemade rowboat

I mentioned that our dad built a boat. There was an old rowboat behind the house on Pacific Ave, left behind by the previous resident. It may not have been seaworthy anymore, but our dad took it into the garage and cloned it with fiberglass. I was baffled watching him with all this fabric, mom was the one who spent time in fabric shops. (She sewed all my clothes) He draped it over the old boat, then I think he painted glass onto the the fabric to make fiberglass... Ok it wasn't glass he used, but when this compound dried it hardened the fabric. I don't know how many layers of material he used, but one day we were ready to move the new boat out of the basement. A tight fit, but he was able to squeeze it out the door. Could it be he had to remove the door frame? Don't remember, I do remember feeling relieved that “we” got it out of the basement.
We made good use of that boat at the Weyerhauser place. That really was idyllic. I don't know if it was there that I learned to row, seems like I've always known how to do that. There is stuff that we learn as kids in the western world, like riding a bike, rowing a boat, or paddling a canoe, riding a horse, driving a car, and it's not a big deal. But I know people who've never had a chance to learn any of those things. Of course there's a lot I can't do – can't walk a tightrope, can't play the piano, can't even touch type! But some people can even row a boat and eat an apple at the same time! (He bought an electric outboard motor the day after I took this picture.)

From How to fish with an otter