Well, here's a photo taken back in college and the two columns it spawned this past winter...

Thomas Edison once referred to his unsuccessful experiments as valuable discoveries of ways that don�t work.

Of course, his learning experiences didn�t involve being neck-deep in an ice cold river.

I�ve experimented with homemade boats my entire life. I�ve used everything from wire fencing to garbage bags � and usually a lot of duct tape.

I don�t use cardboard much these days (though my cardboard boat team placed second in competition at UNC a few years back).



ANYWAY, I�M honing a design right now. I got the concept from an Army survival manual a few years back and have developed it since.

You just mix a tarp, a few sticks and some rope. You could use shoelaces in a pinch.

This little trick has worked fine for me a half dozen times before, paddling in circles showing off my stunt in calm lakes. But I want my idea to evolve into a more practical craft, usable for longer voyages while camping.

So I put on my synthetic clothing, which will warm me even when wet, donned some old Army duds to absorb any cuts and scratches along the way, put my camera in a plastic bag, slung the tarp under my arm and walked to the First Broad River.



GATHERING THE sticks and constructing the boat took only a few minutes. Launching downstream I was surprised how quickly the current carried me. The craft turned easily but making way across the flow was hard.

Paddling with my hands didn�t cut it in a fast-moving river and I got stuck on a log after a few hundred yards. When the bow went up the stern went under, water came in and I went down.

I made my way to shore, put on another layer of clothing and dragged out my little boat. It was structurally fine. But it was filled with water and so was I.

I rolled up my tarp and made my way back home, a shivering muddy mess. It was beginning to sleet.

Along the way I ran into the editor�s wife. Way to make a good impression, John, looking like a cross between a hobo and an evacuee from Dunkirk.



OVERALL, I�LL take inspiration from Edison and say that I didn�t fail - I learned a lot.

I need to use more sticks, and maybe leaves, to improve my buoyancy. I also need to be able to control the boat better in a current.

So I�m prepping for a rematch, ready for another experiment and further learning experience.

It took Edison more than a thousand learning experiences before he got a working light bulb.

That�s a lot of time in very cold water.