: Native kayak builders often carved little protective figures somewhere on the
: woodwork of their kayak frames for good luck and to ward off evil spirits.

One reference I found said that a smiling male's face was lashed to a rib on the right side of the cockpit, and a frowning female on the left, to protect the user from water spirits. The photo is the smiling male from my first boat.

My female relatives said it's because the male got to go paddle and hunt, while the female had to sit at home and chew blubber and scrape sealskins. Makes some sense..the Inuit women led an inglamorous life!

Other builders carved a thin line along the gunwale and painted it bright red. This line was the kayak's spirit line. I think there is a manufacturer called "spirit line" kayaks.

I think there was also a superstition about not thinking about your kayak while having sex. I think the danger would not be the thinking, but in telling your spouse that you were thinking about kayaking and not her!

Shawn