What's your best "MacGyver it" boat, non-boat story?

[JimDirt]

About 25 years ago I had a 14' Mirro-craft with an old 15hp Evinrude. A 1959 Fast-twin I think it was. It had the old pressurized tank. Anyway a friend and I took it to the upper part of the Sacramento river with the intention of just basically floating down, and pulling out several miles downstream. I wasn't familiar with that section of river, and I knew there were some shallow sections, so that was why we did that. At one point I went to motor back up a section of river and the motor crapped out. I got it started again, and it would run for a minute or so, and die. This repeated several times, so we pulled over to the shore to check things out, and then I noticed that the seal on the inside of the gas cap was in bad shape. We walked around on the bank and found an old shoe. We cut out a new "gasket" and away we went.

 

[briangcc]

Way back when...you know when AMC made the Eagle, first 4x4 car?

My grandfather, GM fleet mechanic, had one and took it to CT. Well the engine mount failed. His solution? Find some of the tire scraps along side the interstate and lob it in there to keep the engine from rotating in the engine bay. Did that all the way back to NY.

 

[Mc Tool]

One night wife and I were driving over the Crown range ( highest main road in NZ ) and got waved down by some guy ( with an hysterical woman and screaming kids in the car ) broken down . Turns out the in tank fuel pump had crapped out ( easily found because he told me he had just fixed it ) anyhow , long story short , I drained fuel from the tank by disconnecting fuel line and gravity feed fuel into a plastic 2L milk container . Punched a hole in bottom of container and pushed a length of hose ( radiator overflow hose ) into container and attached other end to carb inlet ,sat the container on one windscreen wiper resting against screen so to gravity feed the carb and shut hood ( we call them bonnets ). We followed and had to stop and refill the milk container a couple of times but it got them into Wanaka .
that woman was something else tho ,didnt stop hollerin the whole time .

 

[JimDirt]

Those are good! ^^^ I got one similar. My buddy and I were out riding our dirt bikes. We had nearly identical bikes, except his had green hand guards and mine yellow. Anyway he used to carry one of those spark plug socket/ screwdriver combo things in the crossbar pad on his bike. I had mentioned a few times that I thought that was a bad idea. This day he had a wipeout and that tool punctured his fuel tank. We put the front wheel up on the embankment to keep the gas from pouring out and figure out a plan. His plan was to take my bike and ride to the trucks and go to his house and grab some 2 part quick set epoxy. That seemed like a feasible solution. So he takes off and I start calculating how long it should take him. We were about 8-10 miles from the trucks and his house was another 15 minutes from the trucks. I'm thinking that I can't sit there for 2 freaking hours! So I take the vent hose from the gas cap, hook it up to the tank, hold the tank in my lap, hook it up to carb, and away I went holding the tank and riding with one hand. LOL There was 2 hills that I knew I couldn't make it up with one hand. So I set that tank down, got up to the top, ran down the hill grabbed the tank and back up the hill. Repeat one more time. I get back to the truck and my bike is leaned against the bed on the passenger side. I got an idea! I take my bike and roll it down off the side of the road and park his bike where mine was. When I hear him driving in, I jump down into the bushes and get the video rolling. He comes bopping out if his truck, helmet on, a bag in his hands and walks over and as he reaches out to grab the handle bar, he stops and lets out a very audible HUH???? LOL I started laughing so hard that he heard me. We had a good laugh! We still laugh about that all these years later.
This is a still from the video. This is the moment when he realized sumpthin was up. LOL

 

[DeepCMark58A]

I worked for the MN DNR forestry for 25 years. I was a fire crew leader woodland fire got to be on a couple fires in the BWCAW in northern Minnesota. I have got to operate an outboard over the wilderness line many times, at one point I was 1 of less than 200 people that have run a chainsaw in the wilderness. Alpine lake fire as it was contained we could longer use the boat motors and we had miles of fire hose and pumps. We lashed two canoes together filled the canoes with hose and used our standard mark 3 wildfire pump with suction hoses on the intake and discharge and pretty much made it jet drive double canoe packet to the top with fire hose. The wilderness advisors did not approve, I slept in the wildness for two weeks with bugs eating MRE's sleeping on the ground. As soon as my crew shuttles in 20 miles of hose we are released to go drink beer, sorry not sorry write up that sternly worded warning. It was one of those legend stories that I pulled off.