It seems that a number of American fanboat owners are running their cars out of gas, and using their propellor-powered floating machines in tow to come to the rescue. Here’s one gentleman actually using a fanboat to power a pickup truck down the highway.
A recent tip from a reader brought to my attention this wacky video of an airboat, or fanboat, pushing an out-of-gas truck on the highway:
Posted by YouTube channel ViralHog, the clip’s description tells the story of what happened on Oct. 7 in Wildwood, Florida:
“My husband, son and I had gone to the Guy Harvey Resort ‘Camp Mack’ in Lake Kissimmee. While driving home, my husband was trying to make it to Wildwood, FL to get diesel fuel. Well, we didn’t make it so my son jumped in our Airboat and crunk her up and pushed us off I-75 to the gas station.”
What’s strange is that this kind of thing doesn’t seem uncommon. A quick google search turns up this similar video:
And this one:
And there’s even a thread on a Florida-based forum Southern Airboat titled “Who’s run out of gas and pushed their truck with the boat?” with a number of folks responding that they have exactly the same thing!
It’s wacky, but it seems like a lot of fun, though I bet it’s challenging keeping the boat’s thrust vector between the truck’s two front wheels to prevent a fishtail. Letting off the power in turns should solve that, but still, I’d be hesitant to try this on a busy highway like the one in the top video.
Though, who knows, it might actually be safer than remaining stranded on the shoulder of a busy road. In which case, I applaud the ingenuity.
h/t: Andrew Liszewski!