You may remember the '51 AD sunk by the Coast Guard 5 or so years ago. Now they've built a "tribute" version. http://www.miamiherald.com/460/story/962017.html
Maybe Ken can find the pictures. I have a printout of the CNN/AP article in my cube showing two pictures of the original truck-boat at sea before the Coast Guard intercepted it, but I can no longer find the complete article on line. Some of the same team tried again in a '59 or '60 Buick 4 door flattop floater with similar results. Later some actually made it to US soil in a float-equipped powder blue 48 Merc station wagon and were granted asylum as are all (most?) Cubans who actually reach US soil. Here is the text from that article, dated 2003. MIAMI, Florida (AP) -- Cuban migrants fashioned a boat out of a 1951 Chevy pickup truck and "drove" it to within 40 miles (64 kilometers) of the United States before they were spotted, taken off and returned to the island, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday. The dozen migrants, some sheltered in the truck cab or under a yellow tarp covering the bed, were noticed last week by a U.S. Customs aircraft south of Key West, Coast Guard Petty Officer Ryan Doss said. A propeller attached to the drive shaft of the green vintage pickup was pushing it along at about 8 mph (13 kph), Doss said. The truck-raft was kept afloat by empty 55-gallon (208 liters) drums attached to the bottom as pontoons. Migrants have been founds on rafts or small boats made out of refrigerators, bathtubs, surfboards and inner tubes, but the truck was believed to be a first. "We haven't come across any vehicles like that before," Doss said. The truck was sunk as a hazard to ocean navigation. The Cubans were returned Sunday, Doss said. Under U.S. law, Cubans who reach U.S. shores are allowed to stay while those caught at sea are usually returned.
Them's the ones. Paul will probably chime in with something like "If it'd been a GMC it would have made it all the way to dry land."
Well , YEAH ! Jimmy's have both the " rustless frame" and the more powerful full pressure oiling , SEVEN main bearing engine don'tcha know !
Cuban TruckBoat Replica $100,000.00 to build it after they had the truck in hand ?! they must have had a Halliburton no-bid contract
Who? ME??? Actually... In my mind I see that iceberg that sunk the Titanic being dealt a dastardly blow by a mighty G and then it would just keep chugging right along. Of course, with its manly mug, it wouldn't need the dainty prow put on the front of it!
No parking I saw them coming to shore at South Beach in Miami Beach, but it is so hard to find a decent place to park found this link as well...shows pics of 3 vehicle attempts www.zmail4u.com/chevboat.htm I remember walking along Ft. Lauderdale beach very early one morning years ago and came across 2 homemade pontoon boats - ghost ships actually. It was pretty erie watching them lap up against the shore and they had shirts and jeans tied on the rails. Made you wonder if the passengers actually made it to shore in the night or, maybe they didn't. I remember well when this truck incident occurred. I thought it would be cool then to find out what happened to the truck and try to get it on the road. Now i find out the coast guard shot it up and sank it! This makes no sense to me - why could they not tow it onto land. Are they just that gun crazy to need an excuse to just shoot the hell out of something, anything, no matter what it is?
Loose lips sink ships They should have claimed to be from Mexico. Whats wrong with being from Cuba . Loose lips sink ships.
Notice that they all have a nice, matching paintjob and the blue one seems to have nice chrome on it. At least they do it in style.
Cuban Boat Cars Gotta love the '48 Dodge Taxi . To answer your question about what's wrong with being Cuban ? nothing unless it's a " Murialita " ~ I used to have one working here at the shop , she'd ***k anything and anybody right here in the shop or anywhere else then complained constantly about anything and everything , never took responsability for her actions ~ I think maybe she was one of the one castro let out of the Looney-Bin / Jail for the Murial boatlift . Most Cubans I have met , miss thier homeland terribly but are eternally grateful to be in the U.S. of A. and work harder than a young mule .
Too bad some wealthy lover of our older GM trucks could not have got the original Chev. truck back from the sea and somehow saved it for the real thing ! Maybe it was too blown up ? Sad .........
Marine Salvage Truth be told , once any vehicle has been dipped into salt water , it's toast Kinda goes to show just how much these poor people wanted to escape thier " Worker's Paradise " and get to the U.S.A. as they were willing to discard the ONE THING they could depend on to feed the family : a well tended 50 year old Chevrolet farm truck ~ consider that the next time you're griping about the coffee or how your new car won't start .
"Are they just that gun crazy to need an excuse to just shoot the hell out of something, anything, no matter what it is?" I remember some years ago someone thought a great way to stop drug smuglers was to get the Marines involved in patroling the waters off the Gulf Coast. The Marines caught a boat full of dope and killed everyone on board. That is what they do. They are trained to kill people and break stuff and they are very good at it. The potically correct turds, after having their usual strokes, sent the Marines back to their barracks. If that were our policy toward drug smuglers today no doubt we would have fewer of them.
