Potato Protection

[Mule]

I have resserected this thread to discuss the brain far+ I had to use a potato gun to discourage wake throwing power boats, and to start the coming wisdom of extrapliation of my mental invention.

Take a potato gun, tie the potato to a length, (50',25' ??) Narrow gill netting and when you see the offending habitual wake throwing boat approching shoot it off having the potato strech the monofiliment line in front of the coming pest. Walla!! The pest comes to a stop as the mono twist around the prop, shaft and so on...any thoughts?

[Canibul]

I have made maybe a half dozen potato cannons over the years. All of them, so far, from PVC. I did a lot of experimenting with various fuels.

You know you have the mix right when the 'crack' noise tells you that it's got some serious velocity. And blue flame comes out the muzzle for six or seven feet at night.

Lately, I have been thinking of a stainless version that uses propane....could use Crisco lubricated paper towels for sabots around the potatoes.

[Starbuck]

It hurt too, I loved that toy.

Does anyone need any additional evidence to support the proposition that boys are naturally different than girls?

I had a lot of fun as a kid, and I have a few scars to prove it.

[FSMike]

Originally Posted by Little Otter

Is it legal to have a potato gun mounted on your boat?

Who cares?

[senormechanico]

I once knew a guy who lived in Walla Walla.
So many French people moved in there, they changed the name to
Voila! Voila!

barumpbump....

[Reckless]

I made one with the kids, it was about 6 feet long, PVC, we experimented with various projectiles and flamible liquids, brake fluid really gives great distance. Tatters or Tennis balls work best, oranges are pretty good if they peel holds together. We have had lots of fun shooting them out into the field. The kids (all over 13) took it one day when I wasn't home, shot the side of the pick up put a good dent in the side of the bed. It is an old beater, I thought it was pretty funny, but had to make on like I was mad, they were trying to shoot a bottle off the top of the truck? Kids.

[karlhead]

Waterballoon launchers are great for noisy neighbors 4 or 5 docks away. Just have to get the elevation right.

[Little Otter]

Hey Mule it sounds good to me, but my dad would say i had to untangle them to.

[Mule]

I had a 22 ft tritoon that we would anchor at the cove on Joe Poole Lake here in DFW, friends with ski boats would raft up and we would, drink beer, kids would be a constant stream jumping in and climbing aboard, women yacking and wineing. In the cove there could easily be 100 boats clustered up in groups all involved in similiar activities.

Then here comes the 18-24 foot cruiser pulling, more often than not, the product of the boat occupants loins, in a tube, thereby throwing a huge wake passing within 50 feet and weaving through the boats. Seemed like they waited until supper time, wok time or some other activity that a wake would negativity affect, to give everyone a chance to admire their lovely offspring in the towed tube. Funny it was not the teenagers skiing or boarding, but adults that shoud know better. So activities were disrupted and then the potential damage of the properly fendered boats rafted up should also be considered.

I really wanted to do what I described, with I/O or outboard, not only would the mono stop the boat, it would likely cut up the seals, so not only would the boat come to a stop but around a grand worth of repairs come later when the lower unit oil became milkey. Seems a fair, though expensive, lesson in common courtesy, don't you think?

The women would not hear of it, damn it, and in my old age I have more wisdom in picking my battles.

[sarafina]

heh. people used to drive up a one way stretch of our street the wrong way... until we got out the water cannons from the camp gear and began hosing down the idjits as they passed by.

But these potato guns sound even MORE fun...

[David M]

You people are hard core. The worse I ever did were water balloon launchers and BB guns.

[Grasshopper]

My brother and I shot the mailman's window out with a homemade slingshot... From 75 yards!!! Our radioflyer had long since rusted out and we used the wheels to create a howitzer sized slingshot with strips of inner-tube. Boy we got in serious trouble. We had to drag it out of the swamp where we had it camoflaged and dismantle it in front of Mom and the Mailman. Years later I came to be close friends with Harry (the mailman), he said that when we drug that howitzer out of the swamp, his jaw dropped. It killed him to watch us dismantle such a wonderful weapon but we had a lesson to learn. He and his wife are still close friends and I'm their sons age. It's not that you can make life long friends by shooting at them, I'm just saying...

[Boomp]

In case a government should turn tyrannical, the right of the people to keep and bare potatoe guns shall not be infringed upon...what means tyrannical?

[bstreep]

A Funnelator is fun too. Take a metal funnel, attach surgical tubing to the sides, as a large slingshot. The fun part is the ammo: lit, glowing charcoal briquettes.

[sabray]

Usually used to launch t shirts at sporting events it was designed after something called a burito gun. Thats scary flying burritos. this was built from scraps/remnants lying around the parts dictated some of the design.