Nebraska man squashes pumpkin boating world record with 38-mile voyage

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – A Syracuse man’s record-breaking journey on the Missouri River took him from Bellevue to Nebraska City, but not in a boat.

Duane Hansen celebrated his 60th birthday last week by doing the unthinkable.  He created a boat using an 846-pound pumpkin and used it to travel 38 miles down the Missouri River.

And the City of Bellevue, Nebraska Facebook page documented the whole trip.

Hansen would attempt to break the 25.5-mile pumpkin boating record, which was set back in 2018 by Rick Swenson.

He came up with the idea when visiting Ohio and seeing another person attempt the journey.

So on Thursday, Hansen went down to the mayor’s office in Bellevue so he could have an official witness to his efforts.

Around 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, he set sail for Nebraska City at the Bellevue Public Boat Docks.

Hansen’s wife, family and friends were on-hand to assist and document the lengthy voyage.

By 2:52 p.m., he had already surpassed Swenson’s record of 25.5 miles, but still had about 12 more miles to his final destination.

Almost 11 hours after Hansen first left Bellevue, he and his makeshift pumpkin boat finally arrived in Nebraska City.