The Ship
Steve drew this diagram himself and put it on the first version of this website. Every number below comes from it, or from the Journal Gazette's visit to the boat launch at Shoaff Park in the spring of 1985.
Specifications
| Length | 20 feet, 1 inch |
|---|---|
| Beam | 3 feet |
| Displacement | 600 lbs, full load |
| Speed | 6 mph and better |
| Thrust | 40 lbs |
| Run time | 10 hours and better |
| Range | 30 miles and better |
| Hull | Quarter-inch plywood, painted battleship gray, with sealed bulkheads |
| Hull number | 512 |
| Drive motor | 350-watt, 12-volt blower motor out of a Chrysler |
| Batteries | Four: one 12V for high speed, two 6V for low speed, one 12V for controls, lights, CB and tape player |
| Controls | A box with four switches: on/off, high and low speed, forward and reverse, left and right rudder |
| Armament | Three cable-controlled main turrets (two forward, one aft) and six fixed medium guns |
| Aircraft | Two Kingfisher reconnaissance planes, carved from pine two-by-fours |
| Fitted out with | Horn, CB radio, tape player with speakers inside a gun, fore and aft spotlights, red and green running lights, rear-view and side mirrors, clock, compass, and a carpeted seat |
| Auxiliary power | One paddle |
| Built | Three months, start to launch, in the summer of 1984, with additions each year |
| Transport | By car top. The hull rides on the roof, everything else inside. |
Getting in
The bridge and turret section slides forward on the deck. The captain drops down into the hull, pulls the superstructure back over himself, and from the outside the ship simply sails. Sealed bulkheads mean she can take a hit in the side and stay up, which matters more than it sounds: Steve maintained he was fighting submarines out there, while allowing that the enemy was more often a man-eating carp.
Getting there
She comes apart. The hull goes up on the roof of the car, the superstructure and guns ride inside, and about twenty-five minutes at either end covers the whole business. That is how a twenty-foot warship reached ninety-some launches across northeast Indiana without ever owning a trailer.
