Re: junk boat
I used to live on a 40 acre farm, eight miles out of town, in south central Michigan. I got a "burn permit" from the county for "agricultural and yard waste" (it was good for a year). I hauled the boat (a 16' glass Tidecraft) back to my "brush pile," chained it to a nearby tree, and simply drove the trailer out from under it. I then used my truck to drag the boat on top of the brush pile, and heaped a whole bunch more branches on top of it.
I waited until December, when we had about three inches of snow on the ground, and right before dusk, I touched 'er off. Holy cow, the last time I saw that much black smoke was when an asphalt truck burned! It wasn't long before neighbors for miles around started making reports of a house fire, and at least one documented call regarding a possible plane crash. I kept trying to throw more brush on it, to try to get it to burn faster before the fire department showed up, but it was so hot, I felt like a geologist trying to collect a fresh lava sample! Trees were blackened (nearby ones actually burning) and all the snow was melted for nearly a 200-foot diameter. Fortunately, it got dark quickly, and the pillar of dense, black smoke could no longer be seen.
Luckily, the township supervisor was my neighbor, and he came over on his 4-wheeler and quipped, "Geez, Paul, havin' a bonfire, and you didn't even invite us?!" (That saved me a ticket for burning "unapproved items.") So, moral of the story, whatever you do, DON'T try to get away with burning it! This really happened, and every time I run into my old neighbor, he doesn't hesitate to bring it up!
Master Chief P.J. Anderson, USN, Retired
Lansing, MI
