Thursday, July 26th, 2018
One for the record books?
Amphicar owners want to set mark at festival
By William Kincaid
CELINA - Scores of Amphicar drivers from across the country - and a few from overseas - aim to set a Guinness World Record for having the most Amphicars in a single location at this weekend's Lake Festival.
Jim Golomb, president of the International Amphicar Owners' Club, told the newspaper he's anticipating 77 Amphicars and nearly 250 members to be in Celina over the next few days for a two-fold celebration - the 50th anniversary of the last Amphicar to make its way off the assembly line and the 2018 Lake Festival's theme of "Amphifun for Everyone."
"We don't come for a long time, just for a good time," Golomb said, noting IAOC has hosted its main annual gathering at the Celina Lake Festival for nearly two decades.
In addition to the traditional splash-in at the hot water hole at Lakeshore Park at 7:45 p.m. Friday, several other Amphicar-related events are scheduled, starting this morning.
Amphicar drivers, set up outside the Celina Eagles No. 1291, are offering rides to the public in exchange for donations, which will all go to CALL Ministries' food pantry. Public rides will be given from 9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. today, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday and 9-11 a.m. Saturday.
"The real thrill of it is when you go down the boat ramp the first time," Golomb said about a first-time ride in an Amphicar.
Club members also will be seen on Grand Lake on Friday and Saturday partaking in many games, such as Water-Royal Flush Poker, Scrabble and Bobbing for Booze, and exploring the 13,500-acre body of water. They'll serve as the grand marshals of the parade at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
Grand Lake is an ideal meet-up for club members because of its size, affording plenty of space for the Amphicars to drive across.
"Another thing that's absolutely fantastic is the people," Golomb said, pointing to the local merchants, Eagles and American Legion members and residents who accommodate and make the members feel welcomed every year.
Amphicar enthusiast Mike Bayman of Urbana earlier this year said the Amphicar - the only civilian amphibious passenger automobile ever to be mass-produced - was manufactured by Hanns Trippel in West Germany from 1961-1968.
Only 3,878 were manufactured, with 3,046 of those exported to the United States, according to an OhioTraveler.com news release. Fewer than 600 seaworthy Amphicars are believed to survive.
According to the news release, Amphicars,
• have a top seed of 7 mph in the water and 70 mph on land.
• are moved in the water by twin nylon propellers. A special two-part land-and-water transmission built by Hermes - makers of the Porsche transmission - allows the wheels and propellers to be operated either independently or simultaneously.
• possess a four-speed-plus-reverse unit similar to those found in the old Volkswagen Beetles for land transmission and a two-speed featuring single forward and reverse gears for water transmission. In the water, the front wheels act as rudders.
• are convertibles and were originally offered in only four colors: Beach White, Regatta Red, Lagoon Blue and Fjord Green (aqua).
