Today the Tennessee TWRA police brought in a cabin cruiser that was powered by two weed wackers. Yes, two weed wackers.
I guess he was arrested for operating a boat under the influence. The cop told me he actually tried to get away at 1 mph. They had to chase him down and board the boat while underway.
Welcome to summer on the Tennessee river.
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If he’d a used Dee Walt whackers, they’d a never caught him. 
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Sorry, I know it is off the machining subject.
But, we do have a lot of aspiring engineers here on the forum.
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I mean… I would think that you would want to keep things discrete if yer ridin dirty… Weed whackers on a cabin cruiser you say? 
Was Ricky, Julian and Bubbles operating the vessel?
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He should have trimmed it up lol.
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Bet you and the bird had a field day with that one. I can picture the the two of you, you smoking a cigar just having having a good ole time!
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So would this still be considered a moving violation?? 
Here in BC a man was arrested a few days ago for canoeing while impaired. I was never aware it was illegal to canoe and drink at the same time but it is.
" The Criminal Code of Canada stipulates that it’s an offence to operate or assist in operating a “conveyance” while a person is impaired by alcohol or drugs. The code defines a conveyance as “a motor vehicle, a vessel, an aircraft or railway equipment.” In other words, steering or operating a boat, or helping to steer or operate a boat, while drunk, is a crime."
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I think I disagree with that law applying to a canoe. I’m pretty pro law enforcement, but sometimes,… let Darwin be right.
I don’t see how that creates any danger to the public. Himself, sure. But so does running a cutoff wheel without the guard. If we say he is endangering any rescue workers for when he drowns, then mountain climbing and a host of other activities under the influence should be illegal.
Looks like fee collection to me. Kind of like a police officer writing a ticket for expired license plate. You pay that annual fee for road maintenance. Why are the police used for taxation?
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My personal opinion is the only acceptable place to drink is in one’s own home on their own couch. I even have issues with restaurants serving alcohol.
I had a discussion with a neighbor once because he liked to get out in the mountains on his four wheeler a tad more than waisted. He didn’t like the idea I had when I said it’s the sober people losing out when they have to put their selves in danger to drag your hind end out.
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Nobody thinks about the high cost of rescue or recovery. In the wilds it’s even more costly and, as you point out, dangerous to the rescuers. This is why canoeing while intoxicated should be prosecuted. The cost of a drowning stupid man is too high.
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As a former white water boater before blowing my back out, we used to pack a few brews between the backbands and air bags for “safety meetings” at key spots on the river. Most of us were swift water rescue trained as it applies to recreational whitewater boating, so despite the brew we maintained a responsiblity and didn’t take it too far.
That said, we have class III-IV white water going right through downtown, and a bunch of drunken yahoo’s come out of the woodwork when it get’s warm, and with all sorts of unorthodox vessels (canoe without airbags, air mattresses, etc). The river rescue team stays in standby mode on warm days, but sometimes a rec boater will pick a distressed swimmer up if stars align and their “there” when ut happens. If river rescue has to snatch you up, they have to deploy, and that chit-ain’t-cheap. They are also increasing their personal risk everytime that they have to deploy. They would rather these accidents be prevented, and alcohol is more times than not a factor in distressed swimmer situations.
One thing to note is that a distressed swimmer will kill/drown both you and them by trying to claw on top of you and your little 6’ kayak (if a rec boater and not bonafied rescue team operating proper vessel). Another thing to note is that a canoe filled with water weighs as much as a volkswagon beetle and can be extremely dangerous in moving water if you find yourself between said canoe and a downstream rock/boulder. Pins are a thing that any experienced boater is at least familiar with and exercises preventive measures if they find themselves swimming with said boat. Most of the drunktards never consider this.
People generally do dumb stuff. “Then” laws are made…
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People generally do dumb stuff. “Then” laws are made…
Another way to look at that is if people used common sense. How many law could be taken off the books.
The same applies for hunting and fishing regulations. Sober or not a lot of laws are not necessary if people were taught how to use common sense.
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The corollary to that is that laws aren’t made for people with Common Sense.
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Oh, 100% right there with you on that line of thought. If I can teach my children only one thing, it will be logic/reason (common sense). Action, reaction, consequences… Just noting how things “are”, as “should be” is not “now”.
Unfortunately neither the fantasy world of Hollywood, nor the Internet Social Media Machine teach common sense, and this has polluted minds for years. The sad reality is that people spend more of their time consuming this content than growth content, yet they complain about their personal situation / life rank. Oh it’s a mad mad world…
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Just an update. The rest of the story is…
He had bashed into several docked boats at another marina across the river. From what I was told he had a restraining order not to trespass at that marina due to prior incidents. So they just didn’t board his boat for no reason. They had asked him to stop several times. This guy must be a real piece of work… Well TWRA towed the boat to our marina for safe keeping.
So it is only a matter of time till he shows up here to get his boat. Sure hope he bring some 50:1 premix to wack his way out of here.
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We need a YouTube Walk around video showcasing this amazing craft.
That when you do the follow up video of how he imagined and executed his design.
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Hopefully its gone without any drama by Monday morning when I get there… But if it is still there, it will be documented by Eugene the Blue Heron and myself. 
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I run a Milwaukee m18 on mine.
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I’m really hoping the boat is still there in the morning! Looking forward to meeting Eugene!
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