The County Fair cannot be said to be on the cutting edge of technology, but it IS doubtless on the cutting edge of deep-fried food-like things and amusements than can be neatly transported and/or assembled by people who cannot fathom how to keep one’s teeth into an adult lifespan. That being understood, I wanna know where to get one of these things. And I wouldn’t be paying no four dollars to bumble around in a kiddie pool, neither. I’m thinking some kind of learning curve that leads to whitewater.
Alibaba of course, also aliexpress.com, dhgate.com, etc.:
http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/inflatable-water-wheel.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alibaba_Group
I should probably warn you, once your money goes overseas, you will never see it again, so make sure you do your research. Google map the address of the factory to make sure there’s a factory there (they don’t have factories in Hong Kong). Check to see what other products they make to see if they’re well diversified. Inflatable water wheels have to be a niche market, so they should offer other inflatables as well. Be prepared to have 3% of the total added by your bank as a money exchange fee. It can also take as long as 3 months for your package to arrive if it needs to be freighted over.
I have a 14’x44′ koipond in my back yard, that looks like the PERFECT accessory to enjoy it!
Conversely, if you don’t want to pay the money, like to do things yourself, and don’t mind the smell of dirty rubber – you could get a pair of big truck inner tubes and some canvas or tarp material, a few lengths of PVC tubing for structural strength, and a coil of nylon rope. Alternatively, partially inflate some large air rafts and tie those to the large truck inner tubes.
Those things need paddles or something for actual propulsion, don’t they? You could probably steer by leaning. It could work. Maybe use it to walk across Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis (or either of several lakes, we have lots.)