# Has a land vehicle ever skimmed across water? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 2, 2009, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-land-vehicle-ever-skimmed-across-water/505038 "2009-08-02T06:39:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![snailboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/97f17d/32.png) [@snailboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snailboy)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-land-vehicle-ever-skimmed-across-water/505038/1 "2009-08-02T06:39:19Z")
I don’t mean hydroplaned a short distance. Has any wheeled vehicle managed to perform a sustained skid across water from spinning the tires fast enough? I’m thinking a rail car (basically a dune buggy with a top fuel dragster engine) might be able to. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-land-vehicle-ever-skimmed-across-water/505038/2 "2009-08-02T06:59:54Z")
Yes. They had a race on Top Gear a few years back between a snowmobile and a buggy over water. Straight line only. ---
**Author:** ![Scruff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Scruff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruff)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-land-vehicle-ever-skimmed-across-water/505038/3 "2009-08-02T07:33:02Z")
Here’s a youtube clip of water drag snowmobiles in Quebec. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANnOMWvGz7k](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANnOMWvGz7k) ---
**Author:** ![Westrogothia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@Westrogothia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Westrogothia)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-land-vehicle-ever-skimmed-across-water/505038/4 "2009-08-02T08:51:58Z")
And heres the topgear buggy. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/4oeJjzdlTuI/maxresdefault.jpg "Richard Hammond's Iceland Buggy Trip | Top Gear") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oeJjzdlTuI) ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-land-vehicle-ever-skimmed-across-water/505038/5 "2009-08-02T10:14:57Z")
I’d like to expand the discussion slightly - by proving [anyone can walk on custard!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN2D5y-AxIY&NR=1) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8491ac/32.png) [@Fake\_Tales\_of\_San\_Francisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fake_Tales_of_San_Francisco)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-land-vehicle-ever-skimmed-across-water/505038/6 "2009-08-02T13:23:32Z")
> [@glee](#): > > I’d like to expand the discussion slightly - by proving [anyone can walk on custard!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN2D5y-AxIY&NR=1) 😃 It’s not commercially available custard though, the custard in that video isn’t edible. I really wouldn’t try this at home. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-land-vehicle-ever-skimmed-across-water/505038/7 "2009-08-02T13:55:42Z")
Would it be possible for a human to _run_ across water for any distance, like Dash in the Incredibles and that Oriental dude in Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins? ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-land-vehicle-ever-skimmed-across-water/505038/8 "2009-08-02T14:14:53Z")
Mud bog racers do this. High horsepower engines in vehicles with huge paddle tires. If done right the vehicles skim across the top of the mud without sinking. ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-land-vehicle-ever-skimmed-across-water/505038/9 "2009-08-02T15:47:35Z")
In Alaska, several months a year, we could go for 50-100 miles that way. The water was frozen. VBG. ---
**Author:** ![snailboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/97f17d/32.png) [@snailboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snailboy)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-land-vehicle-ever-skimmed-across-water/505038/10 "2009-08-02T16:12:15Z")
Those were some of the coolest videos I’ve ever seen. I figured it was possible with big paddle tires and a lot of power; I’d just never heard of it being done. I’ve seen videos of people walking on non-Newtonian fluids though. I made some at home last year. The stuff is pretty fascinating. And I remembered to discount hydroplaning but forgot ice. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-land-vehicle-ever-skimmed-across-water/505038/11 "2009-08-02T16:18:40Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > Would it be possible for a human to _run_ across water for any distance, like Dash in the Incredibles and that Oriental dude in Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins? The Jesus lizard can. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-land-vehicle-ever-skimmed-across-water/505038/12 "2009-08-02T18:32:35Z")
I knew a guy who used to take snowmobiles across open water, as in that video. (First time I’d actually seen it–I thought they needed more of a run to get up to speed, actually.) Basically, you have to be pushing enough water downwards/backwards with the tread to support the weight of the machine. ---
**Author:** ![Henrichek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5daacb/32.png) [@Henrichek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Henrichek)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2009, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-a-land-vehicle-ever-skimmed-across-water/505038/13 "2009-08-02T20:09:13Z")
This reminds me of a local guy who attempted to drive across the sea from Umeå, Sweden to Vaasa, Finland (a distance of about 100 km) on a snowmobile for a world record. He got about 10 km along the way when the engine failed and his snowmobile sank to the bottom of the sea. He claimed it was due to rainwater seeping into the engine from above. I suppose they should have sealed it better :). Here he is passing through Umeå on the river, heading out to sea. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/bqkinWDmGXw/hqdefault.jpg "Skoter Umeå Wasa") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqkinWDmGXw)