Is that a real jet ski?

Our usual response to this question is “It used to be.”  This former Polaris was a sad shell when Chris bought it for $50 without an engine.  Chris had the idea that we needed a show piece for our show room.  Our show van was too big and the store seemed so empty without it.  Chris bought the ugly duckling and over about 6 months he, along with other employees, most notably Sam, stripped away all the evidence of Miami Vice and Don Johnson and fiber glassed, sanded, buffed, primed, debated, sanded, sanded… and sanded, custom painted, wired and installed a not so special jet ski into a conversation piece.

Instead of using it to attract the ladies, Chris has used it to snag a trip to Florida while I stayed behind and he toughed it out in Daytona Beach for Spring Break Nationals.  It’s been a guest of Boats Unlimited, a boat dealership here in Raleigh, sitting cute next to much larger crafts at the Boat Shows.  While here in Raleigh, it is a constant source of conversation and curiosity in our store.

“Why would you put tv’s on a jet ski?”  “Will this thing actually run?”  “Is all this waterproof?”  “How much do you want for this?”  To the latter, I usually say $20,000, knowing no one will buy it.  Everyone knows you rarely make money on custom, time and passion.

Although the comments and questions have all become predictable it reminds me of how different everyone’s perspective is.  It reminds me how differently people see things.  To Chris, our employees and other 12 volt people, it is a custom creation.  It’s that simple.  They appreciate it for what it is.  Something built because it could be.  They look at it and can see how it was built and acknowledge the clever or innovative things about it.  They don’t care that it will never see water and that it is missing an engine.  Others, who think a Jet Ski should only be a Jet Ski, think, “Why?”

Isn’t that how “Bass Offs” began?  Build an ugly box, in an ugly car, with the biggest subwoofers and “She-Zam”, you are a hero!  Or, you are Chris winning 3^rd place at Nopi Nationals with the ugliest Grand Prix you ever saw.   Ahh, memories.   It’s much like a 13 year old Chris, whose mother came home after work to find him and the disassembled dishwasher all over the kitchen floor.  He wanted to fix it, and he did.  This need to prove oneself, that something else can be done, hopefully better, causes those inner creative juices to flow; sometimes explode after someone says, “Hey Honey, watch this!”

Kidding aside, and there are many more things to kid about, isn’t that why music was put in a car to begin with; because it could be?  Sure, putting a radio in a car made more practical sense, but all things do and then something better comes along.  During the process of something better coming along are all the fantasy creations that then will be turned into more advanced yet practical items.   This kind of inventiveness, its source of “what about?” is what moves all of us along.  Some are pulling the wagon, some steering it, some sitting in the second row questioning everything

and others are simply sitting on the back of it content to just be part of the ride and listen to Pandora Radio on her Droid X.