The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1927-09-22
LAUNCHING is
HUGE FIZZI.E
New Boat Catches Fire
on First Trip - Boys
Postpone Voyagle


trim grey boat belonging to Frank
Maupin and Burns Brown was UNI
loaded from the big two ton truck
of the telephone company and slid
into the water. An enthusiastic
cheer broke from the assembled
throng as the powerful motor OF
the new craft was started and re-
sponded with powerful roar like
that of an airplane. The two pro-
prietors DOTTED their hats and
smiled for the movie camera, as
Bert Plowman christened the new
craft "Aimee,'' breaking a bottle
of 81 percent pure milk from the
Hill dairy on the prov.
You guessed right. The above
paragraph isn't strictly accurate.
That's just the way the proprie-
tors of the boat would have liked
it to be. The way the launching
was actually accomplished is as
follows:
Sunday morning, while stray
Cling bunch of small boys lined
the curb and grinned, Burns and
Frank loaded their boat into the
truck mentioned above and hauled
it to the rivers edge. With much
effort and useless conversation the
boat was finally loosened and slid
into the water. The one tramp who
had been sleeping on the river
bank was the gallery. The two local
boating enthusiasts and their me-
chanic, Pete Broughton, manned
the craft and attempted to start
the motor.
The motor didn't start-that is
Immediately. The owners objected
but the motor replied that it had
been a Ford all it's life and didn't
propose to change it's nationality
this late in the game. True to life
it did start finally but refused to
hit on more than three cylinders
at once.
After the beautiful grey and red
craft, which possesses the charm
ing stream lines and graceful curv-
es of bath tub, had plowed thru
the water for about thirty feet and
the navigators had for the fifth
time tried to get the motor to be-
have in self respecting manner,
something happened.
Something happened which was
not according to Hoyle, the book
OF etiquette, international law. or
anything else. The motor backfred.
The motor backfred, like all good
motors will. but the tragic thing
was that the fellow who put the
motor together had forgotten to
put in certain essential part of
the carburetor and the explosion
ignited the gas.
The crew, knowing that GER
tain disaster stared them in the
face, knew not what to do. Seeing
that the gas tank was going to
blow up and send them all to
new climate with dispatch, they
jumped overheard and swan to
shore leaving the boat to look out
for itself.
No. No they didn't do that
they just merely wanted to. 1t
looked at first as tho the boat was
going to blow up, but the crew,
after debating the catastrophe for
a few moments and finding them
selves still very much alive. began
to look around for something to
remedy the situation. There wasn't
any check in the gas line so it was
difficult to put the fire out. It
kept burning until the sailors had
almost emptied the Columbia pour
ing water on it. Another party that
was out boating on the river came
along and threw a handful of sand
on the burning motor and the fire
went out Immediately.
"Aimee" was then showed ashore
and made fast. Next Sunday the
motor will be overhauled and the
craft given another tryout. In the
meantime it's owners are busy
reading up on philosophy and the
ology in order to be prepared for
any surprises the boat may have
In store for them.