Thursday, October 3, 2013

Beginnings of The Boat on the Street

I spent some time riding around this morning looking at the boats on the streets nearby, and wondering what sort of rules I need to establish for myself.

What is a BOAT ON THE STREET?
  • What isn't? Is there any ambiguity? 
  • What is "a boat"? Does a jet ski (personal watercraft) count? How about a Sabot?
  • What is "the street"? Driveways aren't streets. Are alleys streets? 
  • What does "on" really mean? Being on a trailer which is "on the street" should count
  • Does a boat trailer count - if no boat is present?
Classification of observations is a perpetual problem for observers. For example:
Here are boats, but no streets. They don't belong in my research.


While pondering, I happened to also be enjoying some relatively smooth streets.


Case Study One
I decided that this was a boat, but not a "boat on the street" because technically it was still attached to its tow vehicle.


Case Study Two
This truck is not attached to the trailer, and this would qualify as a boat on the street if, and only if, the huge boat was actually there.


Case Study Three
This one qualifies, AND the guy chose an odd parking place, right on a corner. He did put cones at either end of the boat for unwary motorists, thankfully.


Case Study Four
This one had yellow chalk markings on the rear tire and street - indicating to me that a neighborhood storm was brewing ... by law these can't remain in one place longer than 72 hours.


Case Study Five
This is a good-value photo - two for one as far as the "boats on the street" go. I also noticed that this street has had its pipes changed sometime in the recent past.


Speaking of that, suddenly the street around our park is quiet and relatively devoid of vehicles and debris. They are checking the pipes I think, because there is plenty of water around. And the digging proceeds on the new project a few blocks away:


Case Study Six
These two boats are in their owners' front yards. They are clearly visible FROM the street, but not ON the street.




Case Study Seven
I found a few more boats. These are the epitome of Boat On The Street.




Then saw one of my favorite sights, a Mustang Convertible.


So, feeling very satisfied with myself, I rode home.