What's that cool looking egg shaped orange thing in the junkyard? I'd love to have that and do something with it.

-- Richard Manahan (rjcyclesk8@hotmail.com), January 11, 2001

Answers

Its the escape pod from an offshore oil platform. It had some interesting stuff in it, but it was hard to get to.

-- Jeff - The NERDS (dp@the-nerds.org), January 11, 2001.

I have a lot of experience with boats, and ocasionally capatain sport fishing boats. I looked at that thing, and knew what it was. I sure wouldn't want to be inside that thing in twelve ft seas. I wonder what the motor and drive system was for? That thing would be very slow and almost impossible to steer in the water. You are right though, it is an intresting item. We got the guage for the cannon from inside it. It had tanks of breathing air inside, as if it were supposed to submerge in case the water was covered with burning oil perhaps. I don't know the details, but it would make a great conversation piece for your front yard. "Look Ethyl! The ailens have landed in the Manhattan's yard!"

-- Waddy Thompson (cthomp3851@aol.com), January 11, 2001.

Funny thing, that lifeboat. I swear that on the boat challenge that aired last night one of the hosts referred to it as a "submersible." I was thinking, "not on purpose, it isn't."

Since its stuffing box has been nipped, I suppose it really is a submersible now.

-- Rick

-- Rick Tyler (rick@raf.com), January 11, 2001.

We took the drive shaft and stuffing box out for our boat. We hacked up the fiberglass pretty good. Kind of a shame to mess up that cool thing, but that's war... Alex Metal Medic We sure had fun!!

-- Alex Metal Medic (alex@gilanet.com), January 11, 2001.