 The skiff was made of wood, painted to look like metal, and had to  be weighted with sandbags to look heavy in the water. When towing it  to the cannibals island, the crew took the sandbags out to make  their job easier, and they forgot to put them back in. When filming  the scene where Ned and Conseil get in the boat to row away from the  cannibals, Kirk Douglas (I) (qv) expected the boat to be low in  the water. He didnt lower the oars far enough to catch the water,  and when he started to row, he fell on his back. Director  Richard Fleischer (qv) thought the shot was so funny he left it in  the film. When Ned starts to row, he clearly tips back, and his legs  shoot up in the air.