This DIY-er found a boat he liked in the PopSci archives. Then he built it.
Tom Riti of Port Royal, Virginia, built a pontoon boat from the Popular Science archives ... and then sent us his results! (Tom Riti/)Tom Riti wanted a new pedal boat. The retired TV-production teacher and his wife, Lori, had just moved from Florida to Virginia, and were looking for a craft to explore the surrounding bay and back channels with.So, like most folks in his position, Riti started shopping around online. But rather than heading right to the Cabela’s website, Riti, who calls himself a “DIY-er with an itch,” landed in the Popular Science Google Book archives. There, in the August 1948 issue, he found the instructions for a “Bicycle Boat Built For Two.” The design wasn’t perfect—he wanted a motorized vessel, not a pedal-assisted one, and he needed it to be heavy-duty enough to withstand ocean waters and winter temperatures. But Riti felt like he’d found a diamond in...