He clearly was having fun, which came as no surprise to his wife, Erin Swenson.

“To be honest, nothing really surprises me with Rick,” she said. “He just kind of has a sense of adventure.”

Swenson, who has been raising giant pumpkins for several years, started growing his pumpkin boat in March. Bred for bigness, the Howard Dill’s Atlantic Giant variety can reach weights of more than 2,000 pounds.

For the past five years, he has carved gargantuan jack-o-lanterns for a Halloween event at the Chahinkapa Zoo in Wahpeton, N.D.

“It’s been fun,” Swenson said.

Giant pumpkins are flat on the bottom, so Swenson turned the flat side up and carved out a small opening to sit. The pumpkin rode low in the water and looked like a giant bagel. Swenson also adorned the pumpkin with bright orange LED lights, adding some pomp to his departure.

One-upping a friend

Swenson said the inspiration for his historic pumpkin-paddling voyage came after a friend who grows the giant squash cut an opening in a pumpkin and had both grandparents stand inside.

“I always thought that was really cool,” he said.