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2-foot wireless antenna that resembled a potato gun

Why not just call it what it is - a Pringle's can?

... Either that or leech off neighboring boat's unsecured WiFi.

Ha ! Gives a whole new meaning to pirating on the open seas. You see a sail in the distance and notice it's following you. A quick look in the telescope/binoculars and you see them pointing a pringle can at you.
Crap, those pirates are still following us. Can't you lose them ?

If the Internet went down, Pringles would make a killing selling their crisps cans to be used as amplifiers for municipal WiFi such as in the Wireless Leiden project.
(Disclaimer: I've never used a wireless network in my life so YMMV, but I went to a lecture about Wireless Leiden once)

Here are a couple links. The second link shows a test resulting in a wifi signal (although poor) going 1.2 miles.

Coffee Can antenna
Cantenna test

Yup. You can often get Dish network dishes from Freecycle, and worse comes to worse, I've seen them at yard sales for as little as $5 or so. Throw DD-WRT on a pair of Linksys routers, get the dishes and then follow these or similar instructions and there you go. The whole deal will cost you under $200.

Home made antennas!
http://www.binarywolf.com/249/pringles_cantenna.ht m