Kevin Fitzke runs Fitzke Paddleboards out of a one-man workshop in Minnesota, each of his creations are handmade in very limited numbers – and as a result you’re very unlikely to bump into anyone else on shore with the same board.
The Bootlegger is named after the legendary Baby Bootlegger speedboat, a 1920s era racing boat that won both the 1924 and 1925 APBA Gold Cups. Kevin builds each Bootlegger paddleboard from Lloyds registered marine grade mahogany plywood using cold-molding building techniques for a water-tight seal.
Each paddleboard measures in at 12’6″ long, 28.5″ wide, and they weigh in at between 36 and 39 lbs – meaning they can be loaded and unloaded by one fit adult. Kevin uses a touring-style design that includes a small storage compartment for supplies, so you can pack a lunch and a few necessities.
Articles that Ben Branch has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
