What's the crazest thing you ever:

[BHOFM]

Did with a boat?

I have two:

In the 70's I bought a 10' aluminum boat at Wal-Mart,
about $50, and put an old 35hp Scott on it! It took two
cement blocks in the bow to keep the transom above
water! It would hit 50mph! After a couple of summers
all the rivets came loose and it leaked so bad you could
not bail fast enough!

In the mid 80's I built a 12' Sneakbox and put the rig
from our Tangerine18 on it! It would blow the wind surfers
away! Yes, we got wet a lot! It had a 100lb dagger board!

For those that don't know the Tangerine:

[TeddyDiver]

Crossed "choppy" fjord in a full storm with 17' open outboard boat. That same storm blowed the icosaedrical cover of the Vardø radar to Barents sea.. Was a bit too busy to be afraid or smth

[safewalrus]

motorised contraceptive (rubber dinghy to youse lot) 40 horsepower on back, some 20 plus knots in heavy weather (about a force 7) at night!

[Trevlyns]

The missus and I turtled our International Fireball in Durban bay and the mast lodged in the bottom. Some navy guys in a long boat had to rescue us

[safewalrus]

whos Navy? Not the south African Fishing Fleet? as it was once described to me as, by a member of that service funnily enough!

[Jimbo1490]

Sailed from Miami to Bimini and 'back' in one (windy) day on a Prindle 19 catamaran (VERY FAST reaching both ways). Back is in quotes since we missed our target (Biscayne Bay) by about 35 miles on our way back winding up in Ft Lauderdale instead. The strong SE winds meant that sailing back to Rickenbacker would have required close hauled sailing the whole way (and probably a few tacks ); impossible in those seas!

Seems Totally crazy now with 44 year old eyes but an exciting adventure for a 26 year old. Thank god I made it to 27 We never capsize the whole day thanks to the one point-of-sail each way, but we were absolutely exhausted when we hit the beach just above Dania. No float plan so nobody would even have known to come looking

Jimbo

[BHOFM]

Thanks for the input!

In the late 40's my Dad built 8' racing Hydros! They were
spruce framed, 1/8" ply bottoms, and the decks were Doped
fabric, like an airplane and they went over 60mph!

They had no helmets and not all wore life jackets! You knelled
on the floor and held on to a big barn door handle with one
hand and steered with the other! And they went 60mph!

I don't know how much they weighted, but we hauled four
on top our 48 Plymouth coupe! The engines had motorcycle
carburetors and big megaphone exhausts! And they smelled
like,,,,,, Castor oil!!

[safewalrus]

But I bet they were fun - then! Still will be to young uns, but us old buggers get er.............sensible? 'bout these things! Sad ain't it!

[BHOFM]

Originally Posted by safewalrus

But I bet they were fun - then! Still will be to young uns, but us old buggers get er.............sensible? 'bout these things! Sad ain't it!

A lot of these young men had just returned from a terrible
war, and racing these little boats caused no fear among
them! A lot of great race drivers and pilots came from this
time! As well as after the First World War!

Just after the Second World war, a B-24 in route from
New Jersey to Oklahoma landed at Drake Field, Fayetteville
Arkansas with the pretense of engine problems! Piloted by
Paul Condra, of the 11 crewmen on board, 9 of their familys
lived within ten miles of the airport! Farmers worked all night
to extend the runway 600' so they could takeoff the next
morning!

The plane had just returned from 2 years in Europe!

Paul received a reprimand for his action, Really scared him
with that!!!!

[safewalrus]

Oh yes, forgot about the heros (been happening for more than two hundred years in some parts of the world - still is!).

Yeah, right

[Knut Sand]

Think I'll have some problem with this.... Haven't been too nice to boats, always....

I'll limit it;

First crazy thing in a boat....

The boat:
12' Pram, 3 hp Evindude "egg" engine 360° turn (180° is reverse).

The situation leading to this:
I live in Norway, my parents had recently taken me to a short vacation in Denmark, Denmark had (have still?) far better hot dogs than we have here, like hotdog Nirvana or something.

Geography:
Norway/ Denmark is separated by an ocean, known as Skagerak, dictance approx 60 nautical miles minimum.

Tank:
10 ltrs, Pretty full, also, a normally heavenlike situation for a kid like me.

Weather:
Warm (ehh; Norwegian) summer, flat water.

Goal:
I suddenly wanted hot dogs, the red Danish ones....

Age:
I was 6-7 years old....

I started, kept speed even further down to keep the consumption down...
No compass... had the sun...

But a litte part of the brain were operatable, half tank, Norway was still slightly visible on (some part of) the horizon, couldn't see Denmark, turned.

Just as I was going back, I was busted, a neighbor (fishing), discovered the pram, "wot!?, a tiny pram dis far out???" (Norway was still just a tiny strip of land) of course he checked, he discovered me... "Your're going home? Eh? Right?" I confirmed, "pls don't tell" (Daddy gonna take the pram away.. (freely translated from the Beach boys)).

I got empty, had to row a loong stretch home, didn't know that he kept an eye on me, he also thought it was a good stretch, but that i needed the lesson.

Many years later, he told my father...

As a "grown up" I landed a boat in Denmark, first thing to do was to buy a hot dog...

Still around...

[safewalrus]

Like those Danish Hot dogs too Knut - but hey not that much!! (the German ones are better!!) good job it didn't blow up - that stretch of water can get kinda nasty!! Typical Norwegian - brave, very brave, but bloody stupid!! that's why we Brits like you guys!

[masalai]

Heard?

On the news today - - What will the world be like without bees? pollination of flowers to make them progress to the fruiting stage and that includes grains, nuts, all manner of reproduction relying on pollination.... First noticed in USA?

Is this the first plague of the end times?

[safewalrus]

It could bee, mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[xsboats]

I built a sidewheeler from a 14 jonboat powered by a 3cyl. 2stroke Kawasaki 500. On the seatrial , I lost my nerve at about 45 knots,throttled back, and was immediately swamped and sank by my own wake. Thank God it was in the days before video cameras.