I'm really enjoying this. How about you other guys' hobbies?

I didn't mention earlier my summertime passion. Fast boats. When I was a lad I satisfied my need for speed with cars. Now, I do it with boats. I have a restored '87 Allison with a 2.5L Merc V-6 two-stroke making 260 hp on it. I run it on the Savannah River near me (2 miles to a landing) and on Clarks Hill Lake occasionally. It's a 90+ mph boat with me in it by myself. There is no speed limit on the public waters of GA, so I can satisfy my current need for speed without breaking the law, unlike how I did it as a teenager. Allisons are vee-bottoms that have a small flat pad in the rear of the bottom, extending forward from the transom. At speed they ride on that little narrow pad, with air packing under the nose creating lift, and stability (if it's set up properly).

Killing some time on a sandbar in 2023. 1987 21 ft. Allison XTB.

[Linked Image from jpgbox.com]

Here's what a vee-bottom looks like stretched out and "on the pad".

[Linked Image from jpgbox.com]

We get a lot of fun out of the boats, but we don't run them wide open but every now and then. My son's STV (Summerford Tunnel Vee) has the same size 260 Merc on it but runs 118 mph easily,

May God bless America and those who defend her.