And then there are the accidents that happen off the water! My dad had just finished building a new Dabchick for the daughter of a family friend, and it was to be launched at a regatta. The Dabchick is a 12ft car topable scow. Unfortunately, the boat was strapped to the roof racks only. At something like 120km/hr, the pressure was too much and the Dabchick and attached roof racks parted company with the car. Apparently it flew quite well, and mercifully it landed in the paddock they were driving past and not into oncoming traffic.

Needless to say, it sustained quite severe damage to its transom which hit the ground first. But being a wooden boat, my dad was able to repair it overnight and it made the start line for the first race. Later on the repair was disguised with a cartoon character scene painted on the transom and deck, and the boat went on to record a pretty impressive racing record. The cartoon was always a talking point for the boat and when people gathered to look at it, we would just wink at one another. So Mick is right, with a timber boat, alls well that ends well and the dings and repairs all add to its character.

The other thing we learned from this is the tremendous pressures that can develop from the wind deflected off the car windscreen onto the boat's hull. After that, whenever we car-topped a boat, a strap went around the hull secured to each B pillar.