Putting the bricks to a boat, to really push her hard in heavy weather, was an expression used by ocean racers in the 50’ and 60’s when describing pushing a boat to its ultimate. The expression comes from geologist who were exploring for oil in the Mideast desert areas. The geologist did not go out into the desert with land rovers and trucks they assembled camel caravans and rode camels. They always wanted nine day camels not the standard six day camel.
A geologist arrived late, the caravan he was to join had left a few days before. He convinced the operator of the camel depot that he was an experienced camel driver. He said he wanted a nine day camel, not one of the standard six day camels as he was chasing the caravan he had missed. The owner of the camel depot checked his herd pulled out what he assured the geologist was an nine day camel.
The geologist loaded and watered the camel then departed.
A few weeks later a very sunburned emaciated and extremely angry geologist was brought in by a group of wandering Bedouins. He immediately started berating he owner of the camel depot as a thief, and a fraud. He told him the nine day camel died at the end of seven days. The geologist only survived as he was smart enough to cut into a vein of the camel and drain its blood before it died. The geologist said he would have died if the Bedouins had not come along and rescued him.
The camel depot owner assured the geologist that he rented him a nine day camel. But he said “ when you were watering the camel did you brick em?”
The geologist ask what he meant by bricking em?
The camel depot owner said “as the camel is just finishing drinking water when his mouth is in the water, you sneak up behind him with two bricks, you slam the two brick together on the camels balls, the camel take a huge gulp of water and the six day camel bcomes a nine day camel. Be careful, if you get your fingers between the bricks it hurts”