Jeff,
Was that a burl hanging off that limb... same you couldn't have harvested it...
And I thought the fungi growing on that tree was neat... I have some of that growing on a box elder log Ihad in my wood pile.
I'm not that much of a boat person... I think they're great to watch, but tend to prefer to keep my feet on dry land as much as possible. I used to own a power boat, but was glad the day I moved off and left it behind.