Hyla (Smith) Skudder

During the weeks of summer vacation at Silver Bay, in addition to enjoying swimming, ragtag, taking out the rowboat, and boat rides in Grandpa Parlin's powerful wooden ChrisCraft, the other water activity I really enjoyed was riding the Aquaplane. I don't know if the Aquaplane is still in the family boathouse, or if anyone in this country even does Aquaplaning any more, but as a more stable yet still fun alternative to water skiing, I was a fan. In doing a bit of research, it seems that the Aquaplane first came on the outdoor water sports scene around 1909, when small motor boats became powerful enough to tow riders (8mph was apparently the magic speed). And the sport remained popular for several decades even after water skiing was invented in 1922. Early news reports described Aquaplaning as being towed through the water at high speed on a flat board resembling a large door. Despite it's heaviness and bulky shape, the Aquaplane was still capable of producing some pretty stunning special effects in the hands of a strong and skilled rider!

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The undisputed king of the Aquaplane in the extended family was Uncle Blackie! (In fact I'm pretty sure that he even built the Aquaplane that was in use when my cousins and I were growing up). He was very strong, and had a superb sense of balance. The boat that towed us all was Grandpa Parlin's big wooden ChrisCraft with it's huge and powerful inboard motor that was capable of very high speeds - a thing that Uncle Blackie very much enjoyed! I unfortunately don't have any good photos of Uncle Blackie riding on the Aquaplane, but this illustrated cover from the May 1914 edition of Outing Magazine gives a pretty good representation of how we young up-and-coming Aquaplaners viewed Uncle Blackie.

 

Whenever an Aquaplaning session was announced, the prospective riders gathered at the edge of the big cement family dock, waiting for my Dad to back the ChrisCraft out of the boat house and pull up alongside the dock to pick them up. The rest of the relatives gathered on the dock to watch the spectacle. It was customary that at least once during each rider's turn, Dad would swing the boat around the raft and come roaring past at speed between the raft and the dock, giving the rider a chance to show off in front of the admiring audience.

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One of Uncle Blackie's signature tricks, that he would perform for the spectators on the dock, was to get the Aquaplane up out of the water until only the tip of one lower corner was still in the water. This caused a huge wall of spray to be thrown up from the underside of the board, almost completely hiding the rider from sight inside the spray. It was very dramatic! Eventually several of the cousins also mastered this trick as they got older. But no one could replicate Uncle Blackie's most famous trick. I never saw how he managed to get the props he used out onto the Aquaplane safely. But he would thrill us all as he was towed past the dock at top speed leaning back in a wooden chair on top of the Aquaplane and reading a newspaper! How was that even possible?! But one year my younger brother Nathan mastered an even more astounding feat - riding the Aquaplane upside down while in a headstand!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

​​Uncle Blackie was also a very good and patient teacher for all of us young novice Aquaplaners. Your very first ride would be a tandem ride with Uncle Blackie behind you on the board coaching you. But even before that there was instruction and practice on the dock, wearing your life jacket, and using a foam mat as a stand in for the Aquaplane. He showed you where to place your hands at the sides of the board as you would grip the ropes. Then how to carefully get to your knees, and then to slowly stand up and let go of the sides of the Aquaplane and hold just the two ropes, one in each hand. When you were comfortable with the dock practice it was time to try the real thing. Dad would have the boat positioned so that the Aquaplane was right near the dock. Uncle Blackie would swim out to the Aquaplane with us and help us get situated. Then the boat would start to pull ahead, and off we went. It was such a thrill to come zipping past the dock with all the waiting relatives cheering! Eventually when we were confident enough, we could ride the Aquaplane by ourselves.

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​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​In looking through some old photo albums I recently came across a photo of Uncle Blackie giving me my first on the dock Aquaplane practice lesson. And a second photo, unfortunately slightly blurry, of me riding  tandem with Uncle Blackie on my first Aquaplane ride, making my first triumphant swoop past the family dock! What fun!​

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As all of us cousins got older, water skiing eventually over took the Aquaplane in popularity. But for me, the Aquaplane was my favorite ride! Here are a few other photos of me and various cousins riding the Aquaplane.

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