00:00You have a boat, you have a car, and you have a convertible. So it's all three in one.
00:14Mark Ray from Atlanta, Georgia, always loved boats. But it was only after his wife set
00:19him a challenge that he decided to create a boat car.
00:22The boat car started about three years ago. My wife had breast cancer and after her surgery
00:27I was taking care of her. And she came in the bedroom and said to me,
00:31why don't you build a boat car? And I had no idea, what's a boat car?
00:34So I looked at it, I researched it, and she said, I bet you can't do it.
00:38And in a year I built it and I won the bet. And I kept the boat car.
00:44Mark was given a recovered 18.5 Sea Ray Bowrider boat for free,
00:49which was stripped of its motor, outdrive and interior.
00:53He bought a GMC Jimmy, which was cut apart, and the boat was installed on top.
00:58It was then down to Mark to add the finishing touches, and he couldn't resist the nautical theme.
01:04People ask me frequently, how do you get in my boat car?
01:07I go, you get in the back of the ladder. They go, but where's the door?
01:10I go, this is a boat, it's not a car. So we've been asked that so many times,
01:15I ended up putting on door handles. These are fake door handles.
01:19You climb up the ladder, and you're in. I even have a handy dandy propeller.
01:24It doesn't do much, but it sure does look good. Fishing rod holders.
01:30And of course, Scully, he looks out for everybody getting in and out of the boat.
01:34The boat car is fitted with the Jimmy's original engine, to give it some oomph from the open road.
01:40This is the expanded metal where air comes through to keep the engine cool into the radiator.
01:45This is my engine area, and I have it covered with diamond plate.
01:49The boat car does move along pretty fast. It's got a 4.3 V6.
01:53Won't burn rubber, but it does run good.
01:56To make it street legal, the vehicle had to be fitted with head and tail lights,
02:00indicators, a horn, seat belts and mirrors.
02:04Practicality, it's fun, but it's not real practical.
02:08Mark's creation has won trophies and plaques at car shows.
02:11But it also stops traffic when he takes it for a spin on the school run.
02:16People are crazy. I'm driving and all of a sudden I hear the cars honking and people waving.
02:22My daughter and I have seen people videotape and run right off into the shoulder.
02:26It always puts a smile on someone's face.
02:28It's a very novel idea. I'd have to take it for a spin to see how it really floats.
02:32It's awesome. It's an eye-catcher for sure.
02:35What'd you drive it?
02:36Oh, in a heartbeat.
02:37And it also floats Mark's family's boat.
02:40It's brought a lot of comic relief to my mom's cancer treatments and everything.
02:44People look at the boat car and go crazy, and she laughs about it.
02:51Mark spent $10,000 and one year building the boat car.
02:55He's been offered $30,000 for it, but he's determined to keep his pride and joy in the family.
03:01I'm not trading it, and I'm not selling it.
03:03I had one guy offer me jewelry, and I told him to keep your jewelry.
03:06I'm keeping the boat car.
03:07It's going to be passed down to the kids.
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