Boat U.S. - March 2008 - (Page 20)

Two-BiT BoaT Rides The Owl and the Pussy Cat went to sea in a beautiful peagreen boat. And for anyone who would like to send a little tyke on a fairy tale voyage in their wake, Damon Carson has just the boat for you. Carson, you see, specializes in restoring kiddie rides; you know, those little boats – or cars or horses or airplanes – that used to be tied up in front of drugstores, in supermarkets and at boardwalk arcades seemingly everywhere a few decades ago. Put a toddler at the helm and at the drop of a coin, the little ship would drop its lines for an undulating, 60-second magic voyage. Carson, who has squirreled away a warehouse full of these post-war icons in Denver, repairs and restores all kinds of coin-op rides and customizes them to the buyers’ tastes. Want a pea-green boat with owl and pussycat accents? He’ll do it. Or how about a little speedboat in a motif to match your own boat? He’ll pull a vintage model off the rack, restore the fiberglass hull and base, overhaul the mechanics, refurbish the coin-box controls and paint it to order as he did for Tami Loper who wanted one for the boathouse at her home on Wisconsin’s Lake Pewaukee. “I read an article about Damon Carson’s Kiddie Rides USA and people buying them for personal use,” Loper says. “Since Christmas was coming up, I decided to look into a ride for my son, Grady, and I was immediately drawn to the boats.” The Lopers had recently updated the boathouse for their pontoon boat and Malibu ski boat, and thought a nautical kiddie ride would be a perfect accessory that would give the kids something to do at the water’s edge. “It looks just like the rides we used to put Tami on in front of K-Mart when she was a little girl,” says Sue Zieche, her mother and Grady’s grandmother. “It looks like new and the only way you can tell it’s a restored ride is from the original steering wheel.” VIntage kiddie rides can be customized to fit a memory or a market, like this one, named for a restaurant owner’s boat. What’s Old is New Again “The Golden Age of the kiddie ride was probably in the late 1960s or early 1970s,” says Carson who bought Kiddie Rides USA three years ago. “They are no longer massproduced in this country because there’s so little demand; you just don’t see them out in front of the drugstores like you used to.” Kiddie Rides USA, which manufactured mini-amuse- 20 BoatU.S. Magazine March 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Boat U.S. - March 2008

Boat U.S. - March 2008 Contents Behind the Buoy BoatU.S. Reports Member Forum Cap'n Drew Sailing the Sidewalk Aviators Ahoy Docking and Duffing Waterfront Living: Charleston Waterfront Marketplace Grady Right 2nd Time Around DIY: Keeping the Water Out Hot Tips Boat Smart Ask Chuck Foundation Findings Tangled Line At Your Service Good Foundations BoatU.S. Exchange Behind the Boat Where Our Flags Fly

Boat U.S. - March 2008

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