Todd Sandstrum of Easton is waiting to hear from the Guinness Book of World Records for verification that he’s now the person to beat when it comes to pumpkin boating.

Sandstrum, 42, paddled a 1,240-pound pumpkin for 8 miles on the Taunton River on Sept. 3, starting at the Taunton Yacht Club in Dighton and arriving four hours and 13 minutes later at the USS Massachusetts in Fall River. He’d hollowed out the pumpkin and sat on the lip of the opening, using a kayak paddle to propel himself and the mega-gourd.

“The beginning 5 miles was pretty smooth, but then it got harder,’’ Sandstrum said of his journey, adding that he was “pretty sore’’ days later.

For the record, there is no existing standard for pumpkin paddling. Sandstrum said he had to ask Guinness to create a category, which it did and specified that he would have to go more than 3.5 miles without stopping. This was Sandstrum’s second attempt, after a failed effort in 2015.

Sandstrum, whose grandfather was a dairy farmer in Lakeville, said his motivation wasn’t breaking records but rather focusing attention on local agriculture. He’s an agricultural consultant and co-founder of the South Shore Great Pumpkin Challenge, which distributes free pumpkin seeds to schools and families and holds a giant pumpkin competition.

The paddled pumpkin — which came from Connecticut — is now on Sandstrum’s front yard, and he plans to compost it and, of course, save the seeds.

A portion will go back to the Connecticut farmer, and the rest will be distributed to youngsters, he said.

Johanna Seltz can be reached at seltzjohanna@gmail.com.