Remember that you will be a grandpa someday also - probably the best reward of spending time with your son on a project like this now is that he is likely to come back to you with his son for help on this type of work - I'd imagine that you'll be just as excited as your dad.

Best wishes on the kidyak - if you don't mind hanging onto my email address, let me know how it turns out. I've got two boys (18 months and newborn) and am considering the kidyak for a project they can help with down the road.

> The other responses are right on target. My son was 6 last year when I
> built my first stitch and glue. Whereas I would lose track of time and end
> up working in the boatyard (garage) until 1 am, a few 15 - 20 minute
> stints of pushing wires through holes and a little hand sanding was all he
> was up for. I didn't push it, except to make sure each task could be done
> in a couple of minutes, and that he had to finish any task he started. He
> loved showing off what ‘we’ had done.

> Well, in his 1st grade reading class he had to write a book, complete with
> illustrations. The subject was a secret to parents until the books were
> read in front of the class and parents at the end of the year. When he
> stood up and read "Me and My Dad's Kayak," my eyes welled up in
> a decidedly unmanly fashion. Excerpt: "I have my own paddle, and we
> never tip over."

> He doesn't fit in mine with me anymore, so this year we're building
> Glen-L's Kidyak, and it's even more fun.

> And don't forget grandpa, if possible. We went to my dad's to cut the
> panels (he has the good saws), and my mom said afterward that she hadn't
> seen him so excited in quite a while.