Ripples Through Time - 162

I'm reading every Aquaman solo adventure in publication order. After I read each story I will post the cover/splash page and a few thoughts on the story.

Adventure #239 (August 1957) - The Voyage of the Good Ship Aquaman

Captain Wakely builds a rescue ship which he names "Aquaman", but the ship can't seem to rescue anyone.

Glove Color: Green.

Regular Supporting Cast: Topo. Aquaman has started to ride Topo standing up on Topo's tentacles.

Quotefile: Captain Wakely, "I spent every cent I own to fit this ship with electronic devices to save lives as sea. I only hope I do as good a job as my friend, Aquaman!"

Finny Friends Report: Aquaman rides Topo. Aquaman calls a bunch of whales to create a runway for the plane to get back into the air. He has a swordfish and octopus to rescue victims of a collision, but it's the electric eels that give him the hint to fix the problem. He has two octopus steal Captain Wakely's Aquaman figurehead off his ship.

Wakely's figurehead is an important part of the story. It's a carving of Aquaman hand-carved from a large piece of rock Wakely found on a deserted island. I'm a little confused why he'd make a figurehead out of stone... aren't they usually carved from wood so as to be light? Maybe it was a very lightweight volcanic rock or something.

Wakely's failures: his portable runway shatters with the plane on it. The electronic flame-thrower blasts everything but the iceberg. His giant scoops, designed to get people out of the water, fall apart. Luckily, Aquaman is around for every disaster on this first run of the ship, and is able to help out where Wakely's ship fails.

Have you read this story? What do you think?