We made it to Coffeeville, AL (95 miles today!)
It was a LONG day. We got off later than we hoped, then had to wait nearly 30 minutes for a lockmaster who was LAME (probably in the bathroom instead of manning his station.)
Then, we had a flip-flop weather day (it started off beautiful, but around 5:30, the RAINS came, and washed the spiders out!) It rained HARD -- slowed us down more.
Then, sunset (before our destination.) So, we had to motor the last few miles in the dark.
No dock space available upon our arrival, so we had to anchor-out upstream (as a tug went by, too.)
But, we are safe and secure.
Nite (battery beeping...)
Nick & Kell.
(Only 118 miles away from the Gulf now!)
Saturday, August 1, 2009
As the crow flies
As the crow flies, it’s 862 miles from the dock in Alton, IL (origin) to the dock at Clearwater Beach, FL (destination.)
By road, it’s about 1051 miles (according to Google Earth.)
By boat, it’s roughly 1350 miles.
Friday night (July 31st) was a big “halfway moment.”
We are in Demopolis, Alabama. Not more than a spec in the middle of nowhere, really. But, since the Tann-Tom Waterway (ditch) is 450 miles long, and this place is 216 miles from open water, it the closest marina to “halfway” down the ditch.
We have also traveled 697 miles from Alton/St. Louis thus far. Considering that our overall trip is an estimated 1350 miles, this represents the halfway marina for our overall trip as well.
We planned to travel 90 miles yesterday, today, and Sunday/Monday as well (hoping to arrive in Gulf Shores, AL to meet our friends Mark & Laura and their kids on Monday night or Tuesday morning.)
So, gotta get going...
Venture OUT!
By road, it’s about 1051 miles (according to Google Earth.)
By boat, it’s roughly 1350 miles.
Friday night (July 31st) was a big “halfway moment.”
We are in Demopolis, Alabama. Not more than a spec in the middle of nowhere, really. But, since the Tann-Tom Waterway (ditch) is 450 miles long, and this place is 216 miles from open water, it the closest marina to “halfway” down the ditch.
We have also traveled 697 miles from Alton/St. Louis thus far. Considering that our overall trip is an estimated 1350 miles, this represents the halfway marina for our overall trip as well.
We planned to travel 90 miles yesterday, today, and Sunday/Monday as well (hoping to arrive in Gulf Shores, AL to meet our friends Mark & Laura and their kids on Monday night or Tuesday morning.)
So, gotta get going...
Venture OUT!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Drowned Rats!
It rained (thunderstorms) pretty hard last night. This morning, it was still raining pretty steady when we got up and going. It wasn’t foggy, and we had 90 miles waiting for us, so we had to get a little wet…
We cast off at about 8 am, and the first lock was ready and waiting for us. Attached is a pic of some locking event, where you can see the water bubbling-up nearly three feet into the air as the water purges in/out of the lock.
As we entered the lock today, we were greeted by a surprising guest. There was a RAT running around on the bollard that we had planned to tie onto. As we approached, the rat jumped off the bollard into the water (about a three-foot drop) and swam behind it.
I offered to pass-up the bollard, and catch the next one (there are maybe eight or ten bollards per lock – one about every 50 feet or so, on both sides of the lock.) Kelly said she was okay with where we were at, after all, the rat had already jumped away to swim to safety and was no longer an “issue.”
The rains began to pour down on us HARDER now that we were in the locks. I told Kelly to go up to the flybridge and seek the shelter of the bimini top (there’s no use in BOTH of us sitting in the rain…)
Soon, the water level began to drop, and the rains fell more and more steady. As we dropped about 10 feet, our friend the RAT reappeared. He was now soaking wet, and clinging to a ledge in the bollard stall. I don’t know how he avoided getting crushed by the wheels of the bollard and such. Nevertheless, he survived, and was now soaking wet, panting rapidly, and clinging to a slippery/slimy wall. As the water fell further and further (30 feet in all,) the rat was now some two stories above us. If he slipped, he would fall right onto us or our decks.
But, I looked up at him like a wet rat myself – also trapped in this lock, in the rain – waiting for the gates to open and release us… Ironic – eh?
Since it rained HARD all night, and was still raining this morning, the dam (adjacent to the lock) was letting a LOT of water run out. Some of the water was being diverted into the exit area of the lock, too. I saw it ahead of time, but didn’t really pre-calculate the impact that it was about to have on our boat. As we motored out of the lock, the rushing water hit us on our starboard (right) bow (front.) Thus, it SHOVED the front of the boat to the left (towards the exit wall of the lock!) It was so fast, that as it spun and pointed our bow towards the wall, our stern was now exposed to the side-wash – and the water essentially SHOVED us now face-first towards the wall (in a HURRY!) I turned hard-right, but the rudders weren’t really helping (because we were being PUSHED from astern – and the rudders only REALLY work when the water is flowing bow to stern – not when the water if flowing from stern to bow.)
So, I shoved the port (left) motor into forward gear, and the starboard motor into reverse gear, and GOOSED both throttles pretty HARD!!! This caused us to spin quickly away from the wall, and I then pushed both shifters into forward gear – essentially speed-shifting them into fast-forward – FULL speed ahead/away from the wall. I then skid-steered our way out of the rushing water, and back into the “normal” water flow.
It was a pretty close call. I had contemplated letting Kelly drive during this canal – since it was raining so much. She needs a little more “stick time” maneuvering in tight situations. But, this would have been a rude awakening for her!!!
That was the “excitement” of the day. The remainder of the day was calm by comparison. Fortunately, the rains let-up by around noon, and we had only partly-cloudy skies thereafter – just enough clouds to keep the heat under control.
My sister says that many of the world’s sites/experiences are “wasted” on me. (e.g. I get to see/experience all kinds of cool stuff, and I never have a camera or others along to see/share/experience it.) e.g. I once saw a pair of water spouts (water tornadoes) dance only a few hundred yards away from me outside of our beachfront condo. It was an AWESOME site. I have seen tarpon jump completely out of the water – ditto for flying sea rays and man-o-wars. She says these experiences are “wasted” on me. (I take it as a tongue-in-cheek compliment – you have to know my sister to understand the compliment…) ;-)Anyway, today was a GINA kinda day. We saw another bald eagle perched in a tree (and got somewhat of a photo of it.) We also saw three different deer as they were trying to drink from the riverbank (ditto for three cattle trying to do the same.) Cypress Trees, bluffs, Spanish Moss, cat tails, owls, hawks, etc.
We are quickly becoming VERY bored with most of this. But, we ARE excited to start seeing signs of the REAL “South.” The Cypress Trees and Spanish Moss are like a welcome mat to us. I have been scanning the waters and banks for my first sighting of a gator. The guy at the gas dock says that they ARE here in this area. He saw a three-footer yesterday right in front of the fuel dock. He says the small bayou just upstream has dozens of them (but, it’s too shallow for us to venture into that area to see them…)
I’ll keep my eyes pealed – I’m sure I’ll see ‘em soon enough!
We only had two locks to deal with today. Both were ready and waiting for us, and called us by-name (again.) It’s kinda surprising, that they are even keeping track of us from day-to-day, shift-to-shift. As we exited the marina today, the lockmaster asked, “Is this the Venture Out?”
We saw less traffic on the water today than ever before. We only had ONE tug pass us going upstream. We saw MAYBE three bass boats. That’s about all. We were on the water for 10 hours, and only saw MAYBE five boats?!!!! Imagine driving your car on the streets, and only seeing a passing car once every two hours. But, it’s actually more sparse than that – because you usually only see them in packs/groups (e.g. near major towns/parks/boat ramps.) So, you will see two bass boats within a half-mile of each other – and then not see another boat for six hours or more!
At the marinas, people often ask us, “are you guys doing ‘the loop?’” I nearly puke through my nose at them now when they ask this question! I have NO DESIRE to do the whole loop. Heck, I lost “the desire” as we exited Kentucky Lake! I’m SICK of the ditch and river-running!!! I can’t WAIT to get to the clear waters of the Gulf. But, they are still 215 miles away – THREE FULL DAYS of boating for us!
I’m getting tempted to get Kelly’s shotgun out and start taking pot-shots at channel markers or something!
Our goal is to make 90 miles per day for the next three days as well.
Mechanical news: ALL GREAT for today! The motors are purring like kittens. Kelly’s even trying to name them. Transmissions and drive shafts are GREAT! Alternators are charging, windshield wipers are coming to life, and the radar unit is even breathing shallow breaths of life…
This ol’ boat has been sleeping for a LONG time. I can’t tell you how many things have SEEMED to be broken. But, simply taking them apart, and reassembling them – has been enough to free-up any cob webs and breath new life into them: freshwater pump, radar unit, wiper motor, depth gauge, etc.
We are at the docks again tonight. We were going to anchor-out, but the area that we spotted near the local park, appeared to be too shallow. We don’t have any maps that have accurate depths of this area. So, we chickened-out, and made our way to the docks instead.
They typically charge “transient boaters” on a per-foot basis. The nicer places charge you $1.25 per foot, and the cheaper places charge about 80 cents per foot. Some offer the AAA-equivalent discount for boaters (BoatUS discount.) Tonight, the guy only charged me for a 30-foot boat (a $15 savings when you consider taxes, too.)
Unfortunately, the rates don’t always equal the QUALITY of what you are about to receive. Underpowered or lacking electrical connections, bathrooms that look/feel like 1970s mobile homes, docks that are about to sink underfoot, etc. Sometimes, you DO get what you pay for – QUALITY! But, at other times, it’s just flat0out highway robbery, because they are the ONLY deep-water place for HUNDREDS of miles with electricity and freshwater.
Well, I gotta get to bed. Another LONG day is planned for tomorrow. Hopefully, we’ll start taking some more pics….
Nick & Kelly.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Things are getting better!
Today was a trouble-free day. We had to deal with four more locks today, but each of them was ready/waiting for us. In one instance, they made two other boats wait for US to arrive. They even proactively hailed me to ask for my ETA: “Venture Out, this is the Aberdeen Lock, do you have an ETA on your arrival? We have the dock filled and ready for you with a green light to enter upon your arrival. We have a pleasure craft waiting down below, but we’ll keep them waiting for you to lock-down.”
I told them my ETA was about 30 minutes (which would be sufficient time for them to drain the lock, take-in the awaiting sailboat below, and then re-fill the lock before our arrival.) But, they insisted on waiting for us.
What’s additionally impressive, is that they knew my boat/call-sign – MILES before my arrival (which means that the prior lockmaster noted our call-sign/boat, and called-ahead to the next lock to notify them that we were heading their way.) Somewhat unbeknownst to us, the lockmasters have been passing us from hand-to-hand all the way down the canal system.
I wish there were more photo ops, or that we had a better camera, or that we had our camera at-the-ready as things quickly passed by. We have seen a few King Fishers (birds.) We have seen a totem pole, and a few personally-made lighthouses. Speaking of houses, we have seen some pretty elaborate waterfront homes, as well as some shacks that were nearly falling into the river.
At one point, Kelly saw a sign that pointed downstream and read “Key West & Key Largo.” Today, I finally grabbed the camera quick enough to capture a photo of a standalone phone booth, on the riverbank, in the middle of nowhere.
That pretty much sums up this trip thus far: In the middle of nowhere, with no phone service when you want/need it, and perfect phone service when you don’t need it.
If anyone was ever tempted to take a LONG, slow boat trip like this, I would suggest that you do the following instead:
Buy yourself a little riding lawnmower, or a small diesel farm tractor. Then, just poke your way from coast-to-coast (or to wherever you wanna go.) You will see more, and meet more people than you would EVER see cruising a boat down “the ditch.”
Today, we cruised 10 solid hours. One boat passed us going downstream, one trawler passed us going upstream, and one sailboat passed us going upstream (oh, and about three tugs.) We didn’t say/hear a peep from the fellow pleasure boaters/cruisers. The only thing we heard from the tugs was a VERBAL “one whistle” – which is their lingo/shorthand for “pass port-to-port.” Before the days of radios, passing boats would sound ONE blast (and reply with ONE blast) to signal/confirm a port-on-port passing. Similarly, a double-honk (with a double-honk acknowledgement) meant a starboard-on-starboard passing. The only time that there was an “issue” – was if your blasts didn’t match (e.g. one honk from vessel one, and two honks from vessel two.) Then, someone would need to re-honk to change their preferred passing lane – until this honks matched.
But, the “default” seems to be port-on-port. There are some exceptions to the port-on-port rule. But, for the most part, EVERYONE seems to pass port-on-port (just like we drive our cars – on the left side of the road.)
What’s somewhat ironic, however, is that most boats have their steering wheels on the right (starboard) side – opposite of our cars. (Most tugs have a center-console, however…)
Things have been getting (mechanically) better with the boat, day after day. I tend to the “must-have” issues first. If there are no must-have issues, or if they don’t completely wear me out of energy, then I turn my attention to the “nice-to-have” items. Today, there were no “must-have” issues to address. So, I semi-permanently mounted our navigation monitor up at the flybridge, and hard-wired it down to the laptop in the cabin/cockpit. It’s essentially a remote (dual-screen) monitor situation. So, the navigation charts/screen that we enjoy below, is now echoed up to the flybridge station. So, we now have digital GPS-based charts at either location – without the need to carry laptops up & down stairs each time we change locations.
I also “fixed” the connections for the depth gauge. I had “rigged” it about a week ago with electrical tape and make-shift wire connections. Today, I properly attached crimped-on connectors, so the depth gauge has a good/solid connection, but can still be removed and transferred to the lower-helm when necessary. But, I have an extra fish-finder/depth-gauge/water-temp sensor that I plan to install at the lower helm when we get to crystal-clear water and I can dive the boat.
We covered four more locks, and about 70 more miles today. We are going to attempt to get an earlier start tomorrow, and try to cover about 90 miles per day for the next four days, in an effort to arrive in the Gulf Shores, AL area (coastline) by Monday evening (or thereabouts.)
We are hoping to sync-up with our friends Mark & Laura & family at Gulf Shores for a few days. From there, it’s a 400-mile run along the Florida coastline back to St. Petersburg/Clearwater/Tampa.
Cheers all,
Nick & Kelly.
I told them my ETA was about 30 minutes (which would be sufficient time for them to drain the lock, take-in the awaiting sailboat below, and then re-fill the lock before our arrival.) But, they insisted on waiting for us.
What’s additionally impressive, is that they knew my boat/call-sign – MILES before my arrival (which means that the prior lockmaster noted our call-sign/boat, and called-ahead to the next lock to notify them that we were heading their way.) Somewhat unbeknownst to us, the lockmasters have been passing us from hand-to-hand all the way down the canal system.
I wish there were more photo ops, or that we had a better camera, or that we had our camera at-the-ready as things quickly passed by. We have seen a few King Fishers (birds.) We have seen a totem pole, and a few personally-made lighthouses. Speaking of houses, we have seen some pretty elaborate waterfront homes, as well as some shacks that were nearly falling into the river.
At one point, Kelly saw a sign that pointed downstream and read “Key West & Key Largo.” Today, I finally grabbed the camera quick enough to capture a photo of a standalone phone booth, on the riverbank, in the middle of nowhere.That pretty much sums up this trip thus far: In the middle of nowhere, with no phone service when you want/need it, and perfect phone service when you don’t need it.
If anyone was ever tempted to take a LONG, slow boat trip like this, I would suggest that you do the following instead:
Buy yourself a little riding lawnmower, or a small diesel farm tractor. Then, just poke your way from coast-to-coast (or to wherever you wanna go.) You will see more, and meet more people than you would EVER see cruising a boat down “the ditch.”
Today, we cruised 10 solid hours. One boat passed us going downstream, one trawler passed us going upstream, and one sailboat passed us going upstream (oh, and about three tugs.) We didn’t say/hear a peep from the fellow pleasure boaters/cruisers. The only thing we heard from the tugs was a VERBAL “one whistle” – which is their lingo/shorthand for “pass port-to-port.” Before the days of radios, passing boats would sound ONE blast (and reply with ONE blast) to signal/confirm a port-on-port passing. Similarly, a double-honk (with a double-honk acknowledgement) meant a starboard-on-starboard passing. The only time that there was an “issue” – was if your blasts didn’t match (e.g. one honk from vessel one, and two honks from vessel two.) Then, someone would need to re-honk to change their preferred passing lane – until this honks matched.
But, the “default” seems to be port-on-port. There are some exceptions to the port-on-port rule. But, for the most part, EVERYONE seems to pass port-on-port (just like we drive our cars – on the left side of the road.)
What’s somewhat ironic, however, is that most boats have their steering wheels on the right (starboard) side – opposite of our cars. (Most tugs have a center-console, however…)
Things have been getting (mechanically) better with the boat, day after day. I tend to the “must-have” issues first. If there are no must-have issues, or if they don’t completely wear me out of energy, then I turn my attention to the “nice-to-have” items. Today, there were no “must-have” issues to address. So, I semi-permanently mounted our navigation monitor up at the flybridge, and hard-wired it down to the laptop in the cabin/cockpit. It’s essentially a remote (dual-screen) monitor situation. So, the navigation charts/screen that we enjoy below, is now echoed up to the flybridge station. So, we now have digital GPS-based charts at either location – without the need to carry laptops up & down stairs each time we change locations.
I also “fixed” the connections for the depth gauge. I had “rigged” it about a week ago with electrical tape and make-shift wire connections. Today, I properly attached crimped-on connectors, so the depth gauge has a good/solid connection, but can still be removed and transferred to the lower-helm when necessary. But, I have an extra fish-finder/depth-gauge/water-temp sensor that I plan to install at the lower helm when we get to crystal-clear water and I can dive the boat.
We covered four more locks, and about 70 more miles today. We are going to attempt to get an earlier start tomorrow, and try to cover about 90 miles per day for the next four days, in an effort to arrive in the Gulf Shores, AL area (coastline) by Monday evening (or thereabouts.)
We are hoping to sync-up with our friends Mark & Laura & family at Gulf Shores for a few days. From there, it’s a 400-mile run along the Florida coastline back to St. Petersburg/Clearwater/Tampa.
Cheers all,
Nick & Kelly.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
FINALLY – some forward progress!!!
We traveled 70 some-odd miles today (which isn’t too bad considering that we had to pass through four separate locks – each of which takes about 20-30 minutes when you catch them right. Fortunately, they were ALL ready for us. Traffic was so light, that each lockmaster would call-ahead to the next one, and tell them to get ready for us. Sweet!
We are in a place called Smithville, MS – pretty much in the middle of NOWHERE!
We went ahead and secured a dock tonight, so I can spend one more day researching/troubleshooting an issue with our generator. The alternators worked PERFECTLY today. (Whew!) But, the generator still needs some attention. It’s acting fuel-starved. It obviously needed the fuel filters and such changed (which I completed yesterday.) But, it’s still acting odd… I think that the fuel solenoid or something else is halting the fuel supply. (The filters all pump-up and fill-up perfectly, but no fuel is getting to the engine itself.) So, I’m spending most of tonight researching the Internet for answers – what did we ever do for this information before the Internet?
We spent about 10 hours on the water today. But, at least two of those hours were spent corralled within the locks. So, we only got about eight hours of actual cruising time.
Kelly has been nursing a wicked headache today. A weather front moved in, so her headache might be atmospheric-related? (pressure changes.)
When we stopped for tonight, I asked the guy who runs this place (Jesse) when we will start seeing alligators? He said that they purposefully introduced alligators to this waterway 22 years ago, to combat the beaver population. He said he saw a large one a few months ago, too. (Whereas, we saw a HUGE beaver swimming past us this evening…) He was too far away to get any decent pictures.
Pictures: Sorry there have been so few. But, the “ditch” is pretty darned boring… Not much worth taking a picture of…
Nite all,
Nick & Kelly.
We are in a place called Smithville, MS – pretty much in the middle of NOWHERE!
We went ahead and secured a dock tonight, so I can spend one more day researching/troubleshooting an issue with our generator. The alternators worked PERFECTLY today. (Whew!) But, the generator still needs some attention. It’s acting fuel-starved. It obviously needed the fuel filters and such changed (which I completed yesterday.) But, it’s still acting odd… I think that the fuel solenoid or something else is halting the fuel supply. (The filters all pump-up and fill-up perfectly, but no fuel is getting to the engine itself.) So, I’m spending most of tonight researching the Internet for answers – what did we ever do for this information before the Internet?
We spent about 10 hours on the water today. But, at least two of those hours were spent corralled within the locks. So, we only got about eight hours of actual cruising time.
Kelly has been nursing a wicked headache today. A weather front moved in, so her headache might be atmospheric-related? (pressure changes.)
When we stopped for tonight, I asked the guy who runs this place (Jesse) when we will start seeing alligators? He said that they purposefully introduced alligators to this waterway 22 years ago, to combat the beaver population. He said he saw a large one a few months ago, too. (Whereas, we saw a HUGE beaver swimming past us this evening…) He was too far away to get any decent pictures.
Pictures: Sorry there have been so few. But, the “ditch” is pretty darned boring… Not much worth taking a picture of…
Nite all,
Nick & Kelly.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
River to nowhere?
The good news is, that we now have TWO functioning, brand-new alternators. The bad news is, that they didn’t get delivered to the docks until roughly 3:00 pm, and installation wasn’t complete until 4:00 pm. Thus, we missed out window of opportunity for the traversing the ditch today. But, the good news out-weighs the bad news. It doesn’t cost us any more to stay another night here, and we can run a comfortable pace ALL DAY tomorrow, as opposed to trying to push a pace in a half-day.
Total cruising distance today: ZERO miles.
With a full day of cruising, we hope to make it to the next “big” town (which is a Sprint-serviced town.) This should resume out high-speed Internet service and such (yippee.) We should remain in high-speed-land for the rest of the weekdays (which is good for trying to work from the boat.)
If all goes well, we will spend the weekend traversing the next Sprint black-out area, and be back into cell coverage by Monday (Mobile, AL and/or Gulf Shores, AL.)
We have traveled 467 miles thus far (from Alton to the Alabama/Mississippi border.) The next leg is about another 445 miles. (Hopefully, it will take about half as much time as the last leg of the trip required!!!) MURPHY BE GONE!!!!
This is supposedly a down-hill run from here as well (running towards the Gulf.) I don’t expect too much of a current, but any little bit DOES help when you are only traveling at 6-10 mph.
We can’t WAIT to get to the clear saltwater!!! Can’t WAIT to see dolphins swimming in our bow wake!
Rainy today (and expected rain until the weekend.) Which I guess is better than sitting here BAKING in the heat/sun while going nowhere. Since we have to be held-up and locked-in here anyway, the sky might as well get rid of all the extra water, so it will be SUNNY by the time we approach the coastline Sunday/Monday (at least that’s MY perspective on how the weather is supposed to function.)
WAIT!!!! You didn’t think that I was going to let you go without another “surprise breakdown” story – did ya’?
So, I think I mentioned a day or so ago that we had some slight smoke/fog in our cockpit? It turned out to be an exhaust leak from our port motor. I applied a “field repair” (aka my VERY FIRST use of duct tape on this ol’ boat.) But, during the whole episode, the carbon monoxide detectors never made a peep. (We have two of them, one in the main cabin which functions on 100v shore power, with a battery backup; and the other on the master bedroom, 100% battery-operated.) Neither made a stickin’ PEEP during the whole smoky incident.
So, last night, with no generators running, no motors running, no NOTHING running, the forward (main) carbon monoxide alarm BEEPED and SCREECHED at us – at 2:30 in the morning no less!!!!
“What now?!” I essentially screamed as I tossed the covers aside.
“It’s the carbon monoxide detector,” Kelly said – very calmly – as if she has been listening to it go off every night of her life…
I was stupefied. How could she (half-asleep) know what the heck was beeping and blaring at us? This boat has no less than about two-dozen sensors and related alarms. How could she know which one it was? And, if it is the carbon monoxide alarm, why isn’t SHE jumping out of bed, too?
I began to wonder if she was already asphyxiated or something?
I unplugged the alarm (which is positioned RIGHT OVER the forward A/C vent.)
So, this alarm is essentially ONLY getting the chance to sniff/sample the air that’s coming out of that A/C vent. And, that A/C vent draws it’s cold air supply from the forward head – WHICH WE ARE NOT USING – AT ALL!!!! There are no motors of moving parts up there, either. No motors, no NOTHING to generate carbon monoxide.
I went ahead and shut-down the forward A/C unit (in case there was a blower motor burning up or a wire overheating/melting or something?) I plugged the detector back in, and nothing – not a peep. I also double-checked the unit that we keep in our bedroom, and it tested perfectly fine/operational.
I went ahead and left the forward A/C unit off for the remainder of the night, and the alarm never beeped again. And, today, we have had the forward AC unit running ALL DAY, and no beeps/alarms.
So, Murphy not only has his laws of what will go wrong, he is also a wicked-evil practical joker!
His Laws should be rewritten to say, “Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong – at the WRONG TIME!” And, “Even things that don’t go wrong, will SEEM to go wrong – and also at the WRONG TIME!”
Murphy is a JERK!
Nick & Kelly (& Murphy)
m/v Venture Out II
P.S. We are going to leave Murphy at the dock tomorrow morning and sneak away without him!
Total cruising distance today: ZERO miles.
With a full day of cruising, we hope to make it to the next “big” town (which is a Sprint-serviced town.) This should resume out high-speed Internet service and such (yippee.) We should remain in high-speed-land for the rest of the weekdays (which is good for trying to work from the boat.)
If all goes well, we will spend the weekend traversing the next Sprint black-out area, and be back into cell coverage by Monday (Mobile, AL and/or Gulf Shores, AL.)
We have traveled 467 miles thus far (from Alton to the Alabama/Mississippi border.) The next leg is about another 445 miles. (Hopefully, it will take about half as much time as the last leg of the trip required!!!) MURPHY BE GONE!!!!
This is supposedly a down-hill run from here as well (running towards the Gulf.) I don’t expect too much of a current, but any little bit DOES help when you are only traveling at 6-10 mph.
We can’t WAIT to get to the clear saltwater!!! Can’t WAIT to see dolphins swimming in our bow wake!
Rainy today (and expected rain until the weekend.) Which I guess is better than sitting here BAKING in the heat/sun while going nowhere. Since we have to be held-up and locked-in here anyway, the sky might as well get rid of all the extra water, so it will be SUNNY by the time we approach the coastline Sunday/Monday (at least that’s MY perspective on how the weather is supposed to function.)
WAIT!!!! You didn’t think that I was going to let you go without another “surprise breakdown” story – did ya’?
So, I think I mentioned a day or so ago that we had some slight smoke/fog in our cockpit? It turned out to be an exhaust leak from our port motor. I applied a “field repair” (aka my VERY FIRST use of duct tape on this ol’ boat.) But, during the whole episode, the carbon monoxide detectors never made a peep. (We have two of them, one in the main cabin which functions on 100v shore power, with a battery backup; and the other on the master bedroom, 100% battery-operated.) Neither made a stickin’ PEEP during the whole smoky incident.
So, last night, with no generators running, no motors running, no NOTHING running, the forward (main) carbon monoxide alarm BEEPED and SCREECHED at us – at 2:30 in the morning no less!!!!
“What now?!” I essentially screamed as I tossed the covers aside.
“It’s the carbon monoxide detector,” Kelly said – very calmly – as if she has been listening to it go off every night of her life…
I was stupefied. How could she (half-asleep) know what the heck was beeping and blaring at us? This boat has no less than about two-dozen sensors and related alarms. How could she know which one it was? And, if it is the carbon monoxide alarm, why isn’t SHE jumping out of bed, too?
I began to wonder if she was already asphyxiated or something?
I unplugged the alarm (which is positioned RIGHT OVER the forward A/C vent.)
So, this alarm is essentially ONLY getting the chance to sniff/sample the air that’s coming out of that A/C vent. And, that A/C vent draws it’s cold air supply from the forward head – WHICH WE ARE NOT USING – AT ALL!!!! There are no motors of moving parts up there, either. No motors, no NOTHING to generate carbon monoxide.
I went ahead and shut-down the forward A/C unit (in case there was a blower motor burning up or a wire overheating/melting or something?) I plugged the detector back in, and nothing – not a peep. I also double-checked the unit that we keep in our bedroom, and it tested perfectly fine/operational.
I went ahead and left the forward A/C unit off for the remainder of the night, and the alarm never beeped again. And, today, we have had the forward AC unit running ALL DAY, and no beeps/alarms.
So, Murphy not only has his laws of what will go wrong, he is also a wicked-evil practical joker!
His Laws should be rewritten to say, “Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong – at the WRONG TIME!” And, “Even things that don’t go wrong, will SEEM to go wrong – and also at the WRONG TIME!”
Murphy is a JERK!
Nick & Kelly (& Murphy)
m/v Venture Out II
P.S. We are going to leave Murphy at the dock tomorrow morning and sneak away without him!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Fish on!
Well, guess who caught the first fish (as well as the only fishes) on the trip this far? Answer: NOT the fisherwoman! Her 99.99% fish-catching record suffered a bit of a fallback today…
Granted, mine were NOT keepers! But, in HER fishing world, catching a minnow = one fish, just the same as catching a record-breaking sea grouper or such. So, my little striper and my baby big mouth bass count as a 2:0 shutout against the fisherwoman thus far!
We didn’t go very far today. We drove a courtesy van into town yesterday to reprovision. This morning, we did laundry and cleaned the boat a bit, and topped off the fuel tank (for the first time!) We still had about a third of a tank remaining, and I think we could have made it another couple of days. But, we wanted to check out mileage thus far, and also not run things too empty or low, and risk running dry.
We only drove the boat about three miles today (to a nearby waterfront mechanic.) He confirmed my diagnosis (that neither of our alternators are working.) But, he ALSO found a cut wire on one of the alternators. So, even if it WERE good, it wouldn’t have worked anyway…
So, we ordered a pair of new alternators, and they should arrive tomorrow (Tuesday) around 11 am. I have already removed the two old alternators, so hopefully it will only take an hour or so to get them both installed, tested, and confirmed, and get out on the water.
Our next stretch of water is a 44-mile long canal (ditch) that begins with an 80-FOOT flush down our first lock towards the sea. (All of our locks from here on out will be downhill drops.) Our largest lock-through thus far has been just under 60 feet (twice.) So, 84-feet will seem VERY deep! Plus, there is no anchoring allowed in the ditch. So, you have to be prepared to complete it in one day (no overnight stays allowed in the ditch.) If we get our alternators installed and get underway by about 1:00 pm, then we can make it (we have to allow time to wait at the locks for passing tugs/tows.) But, if we aren't underway by 1:00, then we will have to spend another night up here somewhere, and then launch at first-light on Wednesday.
We can’t wait to get back underway again. Our tanks are full of fuel and water, we are fully-stocked with food and drinks. We are all charged up and waiting to launch… waiting… waiting…
If there were any towns around worth visiting, it might make this wait more enjoyable. But, it took us 30 minutes to get to a nowhere town yesterday. (We went to Wal-Mart, Kroger and had our first fast-food in over a week = foot-long at Subway.) So, we’ll just have to rough it out here on the dock of our mechanic on the banks of Mississippi and Alabama (Alabama is the opposite shore from us) until our parts arrive and we can shove off again.
Mechanical ranting: So, I have spent quite a few posts talking about the mechanical issues, breakdowns, etc. I do this for two reasons. First, many of my friends are mechanics or ex-mechanics, so they appreciate the blow-by-blow feedback. Plus, they give us feedback/suggestions/tips on how to diagnose/repair our situations. Second, I kinda want to scare some people out of following in out footsteps. This is NOT an “easy” adventure. There are navigational challenges, physical obstacles, emotional stress, mechanical & electrical dragons, and more! The physical demands of the journey have surprised me the most. Pushing/fighting to keep the boat from rubbing against the crusty walls of the locks; free-diving to recover a lost anchor; climbing up & down and in & out of the engine room; and just the sheer exhaustion of 8-10 hour drives – mostly BORING drives in the sun/heat can REALLY take their toll on your body. I have been losing weight day by day – a VERY unexpected event…
Don’t get me wrong, there have been some beautiful sunsets/sunrises. There have been some peaceful and tranquil coves. We have seen some pretty interesting houses – everything from waterfront mansions and estates, to stilt-born river cabins that looked like Daddy Long Legs preparing to walk into the river. We have seen sunflower fields along the banks, and wild packs of dogs wandering the banks. (I think I even saw snake hunters roaming the banks one day – with long sticks, poking into holes in the mud flats.)
But, MOST of the time, it just looks like most every other river we have ever boated on. Tree-lined banks, hour-after-hour. The only break to the boredom is our music, and our navigational chores. Hour after hour, we wander from one bank to the other – following the deepest portion of the channel. Thus far, the shallowest it has become was 15 feet (and we have a 4-foot draft.) So, we still had 11 feet under out keel.
Final closing comment on this day: Miles traveled today = 2.5 miles.
Sincerely,
FisherMAN (and his non-catching fisher-wanna-be)
P.S. I gotta rub it in when I can, because she will likely out-fish me on the rest of this trip... (And, since I'm authoring this blog, I probably won't mention a SINGLE fish that she catches...)
As I learned in my journalism days, the power of the press belongs to those who own the presses... If she wants to brag about her fish stories, then I guess she will have to author her own blog. THIS BLOG is for MY lies and fishtales!
Granted, mine were NOT keepers! But, in HER fishing world, catching a minnow = one fish, just the same as catching a record-breaking sea grouper or such. So, my little striper and my baby big mouth bass count as a 2:0 shutout against the fisherwoman thus far!
We didn’t go very far today. We drove a courtesy van into town yesterday to reprovision. This morning, we did laundry and cleaned the boat a bit, and topped off the fuel tank (for the first time!) We still had about a third of a tank remaining, and I think we could have made it another couple of days. But, we wanted to check out mileage thus far, and also not run things too empty or low, and risk running dry.
We only drove the boat about three miles today (to a nearby waterfront mechanic.) He confirmed my diagnosis (that neither of our alternators are working.) But, he ALSO found a cut wire on one of the alternators. So, even if it WERE good, it wouldn’t have worked anyway…
So, we ordered a pair of new alternators, and they should arrive tomorrow (Tuesday) around 11 am. I have already removed the two old alternators, so hopefully it will only take an hour or so to get them both installed, tested, and confirmed, and get out on the water.
Our next stretch of water is a 44-mile long canal (ditch) that begins with an 80-FOOT flush down our first lock towards the sea. (All of our locks from here on out will be downhill drops.) Our largest lock-through thus far has been just under 60 feet (twice.) So, 84-feet will seem VERY deep! Plus, there is no anchoring allowed in the ditch. So, you have to be prepared to complete it in one day (no overnight stays allowed in the ditch.) If we get our alternators installed and get underway by about 1:00 pm, then we can make it (we have to allow time to wait at the locks for passing tugs/tows.) But, if we aren't underway by 1:00, then we will have to spend another night up here somewhere, and then launch at first-light on Wednesday.
We can’t wait to get back underway again. Our tanks are full of fuel and water, we are fully-stocked with food and drinks. We are all charged up and waiting to launch… waiting… waiting…
If there were any towns around worth visiting, it might make this wait more enjoyable. But, it took us 30 minutes to get to a nowhere town yesterday. (We went to Wal-Mart, Kroger and had our first fast-food in over a week = foot-long at Subway.) So, we’ll just have to rough it out here on the dock of our mechanic on the banks of Mississippi and Alabama (Alabama is the opposite shore from us) until our parts arrive and we can shove off again.
Mechanical ranting: So, I have spent quite a few posts talking about the mechanical issues, breakdowns, etc. I do this for two reasons. First, many of my friends are mechanics or ex-mechanics, so they appreciate the blow-by-blow feedback. Plus, they give us feedback/suggestions/tips on how to diagnose/repair our situations. Second, I kinda want to scare some people out of following in out footsteps. This is NOT an “easy” adventure. There are navigational challenges, physical obstacles, emotional stress, mechanical & electrical dragons, and more! The physical demands of the journey have surprised me the most. Pushing/fighting to keep the boat from rubbing against the crusty walls of the locks; free-diving to recover a lost anchor; climbing up & down and in & out of the engine room; and just the sheer exhaustion of 8-10 hour drives – mostly BORING drives in the sun/heat can REALLY take their toll on your body. I have been losing weight day by day – a VERY unexpected event…
Don’t get me wrong, there have been some beautiful sunsets/sunrises. There have been some peaceful and tranquil coves. We have seen some pretty interesting houses – everything from waterfront mansions and estates, to stilt-born river cabins that looked like Daddy Long Legs preparing to walk into the river. We have seen sunflower fields along the banks, and wild packs of dogs wandering the banks. (I think I even saw snake hunters roaming the banks one day – with long sticks, poking into holes in the mud flats.)
But, MOST of the time, it just looks like most every other river we have ever boated on. Tree-lined banks, hour-after-hour. The only break to the boredom is our music, and our navigational chores. Hour after hour, we wander from one bank to the other – following the deepest portion of the channel. Thus far, the shallowest it has become was 15 feet (and we have a 4-foot draft.) So, we still had 11 feet under out keel.
Final closing comment on this day: Miles traveled today = 2.5 miles.
Sincerely,
FisherMAN (and his non-catching fisher-wanna-be)
P.S. I gotta rub it in when I can, because she will likely out-fish me on the rest of this trip... (And, since I'm authoring this blog, I probably won't mention a SINGLE fish that she catches...)
As I learned in my journalism days, the power of the press belongs to those who own the presses... If she wants to brag about her fish stories, then I guess she will have to author her own blog. THIS BLOG is for MY lies and fishtales!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Lost in Time
After two or three days without cell phone service and Internet access, I feel lost in time… Is it Friday? Saturday? Sunday? Is this how retirees feel after awhile? A few days off the grid, and which day it is no longer seems to really matter…
Friday and Saturday were Tennessee cruising days. LONG cruising days. WHEW!
Friday: A full day of cruising Kentucky Lake. The lake is wide and LONG. Most of the large lakes that we have boated, have very few channel markers. But, Kentucky Lake is still navigable waterway (used by tug boats and such.) So, it has a clearly-marked channel (red buoys on one side, green buoys on the opposite bank.) So, while the lake looks deep from shore-to-shore, it actually has a “sweet spot” between the channel markers (where the original river runs/flows below.) The day seemed ENDLESS. We cruised, and cruised, and cruised… Since the lake is so wide, the banks pass more slowly, and time seems to stand still.
Since there is essentially no current here, I pushed the motors a little harder today (to see how fast we could cruise.) But, after about six hours or pushing them, one of my alarms went off! The motors looked good, as did the generator. The water temps were still cool (even cool enough to touch bare-handed.) And, the oil pressures were perfect. So, the alarm had to be someone else.
Our FIRST reaction to ANY alarm is to power-down (slow-down) and edge our way towards the bank (out of the main shipping channel.)
We cruised at idle speed for awhile, as I went below to investigate the cause of the issue. From what I could tell, the starboard transmission was running a little warmer than the port transmission. The slower speed caused the alarm to go quiet again (we were back within specs.) So, we backed off a few mph for the rest of the day, and all went well.
As the sun began to fade, we flipped through our Quimby’s Guide for a nearby marina/anchorage. In it, we found a pair of waterfront restaurants with safe/deep anchorage. What we WANTED was a place with decent shorepower (electric hookups) and a decent bar/restaurant to enjoy as well. Unfortunately, the electrical power at BOTH facilities was lacking. We had to move the boat around three or four times in an effort to find two outlets that wouldn’t pop breakers or would even WORK!
Just when we thought that we found an acceptable spot, and took a shower and such – a breaker would pop and we would loose power. So, we would disconnect all the lines, move the boat to another spot, hook everything up again, settle-in – then POP! I was about ready to toss something/someone into the river!!!
It was SUCH an inconvenience, that I didn’t want to reward the owners’ with our patronage at their restaurant. I was PREPARED to buy hundreds of dollars worth of diesel fuel, plus a full dinner + drinks for the two of us, plus overnight docking fees, tips, etc. – HUNDREDS of dollars. But, after a couple of hours of playing dock-hop with power cords and dock lines, there was NO WAY that I was going to spend another cent at either of these two places. (Well, I did purchase two bags of ice the next morning upon our departure…)
Saturday: Another FULL DAY of boating/cruising up the Tennessee River. Today, Kentucky Lake narrowed all day, and returned to a river-like waterway. Kentucky Lake is FULL of houseboats. Whereas, the river above it is FULL of pontoon boats.
It was a Saturday (weekend) after all. So, everyone who owns a boat, seemed to get out on the river today. All day long we were buzzed by jet skis, ski boats, runabouts, pontoon boats, and various other pleasure craft.
Around every bend, seemed to be another sandbar, with yet another Redneck Yacht Club assembly. The weekend boaters seemed to swarm us like gnats and mosquitoes – often following/training us to jump in our wake as we passed along.
We were like a semi-helpless big elephant, moving slowly through their turf. They would literally do circles around us to jump in our wake. We couldn’t out-run nor out maneuver them… We just had to accept their swarm…
By Saturday evening, it was apparent that we were nearing the end of this waterway. We had one last lock to pass-through, into the next “lake” on the Teneesee River.
We hadn’t seen a tug/tow/barge (underway) in what seemed like days. So, as we approached the lock, we assumed that we would have a quick lock-through (maybe with a handful of other pleasure boaters?) WRONG!!! Instead, they were locking a tug/barge down as we arrived. This meant that we had to wait about an hour for them to spit it out of the locks in front of us.
It was then our turn to lock-through, and to our surprise, we were again the ONLY boat to lock-through.
The sun was setting as we exited the lock. We made a quick bee-line run for what appeared on the charts to be a state park area. Instead, it appeared to be newly-developed with several multi-million-dollar homes. It was too late to hunt for another cove, we were going to have to make the most of this situation.
We found a small secondary cove (more like a nook) where we would be able to snuggle-in. It took us two or three attempts to get the bow (front) anchor line to “set” (hock-up) in the steep, rocky bottom. Since the cove was so shallow, we wanted a stern/aft (back) anchor line, too (to prevent us from swinging into shallow water or the shoreline.) We backed up as close to the shoreline as we dared, and tossed the anchor. But, like the bow anchor, it didn’t “catch” on the first attempt… The second attempt seemed promising (at first.) But, the anchor seemed to keep dragging… As I pulled it to the surface, it was heavier than usual. Sure enough, it had snagged onto a complete tree branch. But, the branch wasn’t enough to hold it to the bottom. So, I unsnagged the branch, and we prepared for our third attempt to secure the stern hook. We would try to get a bit closer to shore (in more shallow water) this time. We tossed the anchor as we approached the shallows, and then some IDIOT idles past us making the LARGEST WAKE possible!!!!! We were still in VERY shallow, rocky waters. We were at-risk of bouncing our hull on the hard bottom. We quickly maneuvered forward (into deeper water) to avoid disaster. But, just as we reversed our motors to stop our forward motion and halt us, we noticed that the entire spool of stern anchor line had gone over the railing during the quick-maneuver… GONE was out anchor, plus 50-feet of brand new anchor line.
But, wait! I could still see the spool floating on the surface!!! I ran to the stern to climb-down onto the swim platform, as Kelly reversed the motors to inch us backwards toward the spool. But, as we approached, it became too water-logged, and finally sank to the bottom – before we could capture it…
I was frustrated by the whole situation, and just wanted to hoist anchor and go to the nearest marina, and chalk this one up to Murphy and his laws. But, Kelly wanted me to make at least ONE attempt to find/recover the anchor. So, I secure the bow line/anchor, and had her back the motors against it – to keep it taunt and stationary in-place. I meanwhile grabbed my mask, fins and snorkel, and then jumped out into the now dark water.
I knew finding the anchor itself in the complete darkness was nearly impossible (distinguishing between a hard rock and a metal anchor with my feet would be difficult.) Son, instead, I decided to position myself between the anchor and the boat, and attempt to find the anchor line instead. I swam to the bottom, and then perpendicular to the line’s path. I couldn’t see ANYTHING. So, I just placed one hand on the bottom, and the other hand as high as I could (in case the line was semi-floating.) I then kicked/swam as long, had, and fast as I could. And, just when I was out of breath, I PUSHED and kicked/swam even HARDER – one last effort. Just as I was beginning to break-off my swim/search, my hand found the line, and I panic-swam towards the surface (not knowing how deep I really was anymore…)
But, I had done it! After all the chaos of anchoring, and then being nearly out-of-breath from swimming from the boat to the shoreline, and literally panting from the effort, I was able to muster enough air (and hold it) long enough to find our anchor line on my FIRST try!!!!
I traced the line backwards towards the shoreline to find the anchor. I then took it ashore, and literally hooked it into a tree/shrub. I then swam the line back to the boat, and BINGO – we now had a stern line, too! We were FINALLY dual-attached and safe for the night.
Mechanical Note: We are still battling alternator/generator gremlins. We spent our night at anchor without the generator, to see if the batteries would stay charged until morning. By morning, they had enough charge to only start ONE motor. So, there is something “leaking” our voltage overnight… (Still TBD…)
Also, as we anchored for the night, after a full day of cruising with the windows closed, and the AC on, the cabin was a bit “foggy?” I tried to troubleshoot the issue (assuming that it was maybe an exhaust leak from the generator all day?) But, couldn’t find any leak.
ENOUGH for one day! Time for bed!
Sunday morning, as mentioned above, we only hand enough battery power to start ONE of our two motors. So, we started the generator, too. (It has its own separate, brand-new battery.) With it started and running for about 60 minutes, we were then able to charge-up the house batteries and start the second motor.
We want to FIND/FIX these charging/electrical demons!!! So, today, we would only cruise a very short distance (about 10 miles.) But, it’s “key” 10 miles. During these 10 miles, we will exit the Tennessee River, and enter the Tenn-Tom Waterway. We will also exit Tennessee, and enter Mississippi & Alabama.
We will spend the next 24-48 hours at a boat slip in a marina. Swimming pools, hot tubs, courtesy cars, cable TV, free WiFi internet, etc., etc. I will spend much of my time down in the bilge, however, chasing electrical gremlins. (Wish me luck!) Oh, and that smoke-like fog that was filling the cabin yesterday? It turns out that it was an exhaust leak (two actually) on the port motor. There is a large-diameter, LONG host (exhaust hose) than runs from each motor, back through the walls of the cabin (each side) and then out the stern/back of the boat. The hose for the port motor developed TWO holes/leaks (one beneath the bed, and the other behind Kelly's bedside table.) I have fixed both of them. We have been pretty successful in ridding the boat of the smell of diesel fuel (except for our pillows.) Hopefully, this will resolve the pillow smell/issue, too... (Note to self: If it SMELLS like a problem, then it probably IS a problem!)
Nick (& Kelly.)
Friday and Saturday were Tennessee cruising days. LONG cruising days. WHEW!
Friday: A full day of cruising Kentucky Lake. The lake is wide and LONG. Most of the large lakes that we have boated, have very few channel markers. But, Kentucky Lake is still navigable waterway (used by tug boats and such.) So, it has a clearly-marked channel (red buoys on one side, green buoys on the opposite bank.) So, while the lake looks deep from shore-to-shore, it actually has a “sweet spot” between the channel markers (where the original river runs/flows below.) The day seemed ENDLESS. We cruised, and cruised, and cruised… Since the lake is so wide, the banks pass more slowly, and time seems to stand still.
Since there is essentially no current here, I pushed the motors a little harder today (to see how fast we could cruise.) But, after about six hours or pushing them, one of my alarms went off! The motors looked good, as did the generator. The water temps were still cool (even cool enough to touch bare-handed.) And, the oil pressures were perfect. So, the alarm had to be someone else.
Our FIRST reaction to ANY alarm is to power-down (slow-down) and edge our way towards the bank (out of the main shipping channel.)
We cruised at idle speed for awhile, as I went below to investigate the cause of the issue. From what I could tell, the starboard transmission was running a little warmer than the port transmission. The slower speed caused the alarm to go quiet again (we were back within specs.) So, we backed off a few mph for the rest of the day, and all went well.
As the sun began to fade, we flipped through our Quimby’s Guide for a nearby marina/anchorage. In it, we found a pair of waterfront restaurants with safe/deep anchorage. What we WANTED was a place with decent shorepower (electric hookups) and a decent bar/restaurant to enjoy as well. Unfortunately, the electrical power at BOTH facilities was lacking. We had to move the boat around three or four times in an effort to find two outlets that wouldn’t pop breakers or would even WORK!
Just when we thought that we found an acceptable spot, and took a shower and such – a breaker would pop and we would loose power. So, we would disconnect all the lines, move the boat to another spot, hook everything up again, settle-in – then POP! I was about ready to toss something/someone into the river!!!
It was SUCH an inconvenience, that I didn’t want to reward the owners’ with our patronage at their restaurant. I was PREPARED to buy hundreds of dollars worth of diesel fuel, plus a full dinner + drinks for the two of us, plus overnight docking fees, tips, etc. – HUNDREDS of dollars. But, after a couple of hours of playing dock-hop with power cords and dock lines, there was NO WAY that I was going to spend another cent at either of these two places. (Well, I did purchase two bags of ice the next morning upon our departure…)
Saturday: Another FULL DAY of boating/cruising up the Tennessee River. Today, Kentucky Lake narrowed all day, and returned to a river-like waterway. Kentucky Lake is FULL of houseboats. Whereas, the river above it is FULL of pontoon boats.
It was a Saturday (weekend) after all. So, everyone who owns a boat, seemed to get out on the river today. All day long we were buzzed by jet skis, ski boats, runabouts, pontoon boats, and various other pleasure craft.
Around every bend, seemed to be another sandbar, with yet another Redneck Yacht Club assembly. The weekend boaters seemed to swarm us like gnats and mosquitoes – often following/training us to jump in our wake as we passed along.
We were like a semi-helpless big elephant, moving slowly through their turf. They would literally do circles around us to jump in our wake. We couldn’t out-run nor out maneuver them… We just had to accept their swarm…
By Saturday evening, it was apparent that we were nearing the end of this waterway. We had one last lock to pass-through, into the next “lake” on the Teneesee River.
We hadn’t seen a tug/tow/barge (underway) in what seemed like days. So, as we approached the lock, we assumed that we would have a quick lock-through (maybe with a handful of other pleasure boaters?) WRONG!!! Instead, they were locking a tug/barge down as we arrived. This meant that we had to wait about an hour for them to spit it out of the locks in front of us.
It was then our turn to lock-through, and to our surprise, we were again the ONLY boat to lock-through.
The sun was setting as we exited the lock. We made a quick bee-line run for what appeared on the charts to be a state park area. Instead, it appeared to be newly-developed with several multi-million-dollar homes. It was too late to hunt for another cove, we were going to have to make the most of this situation.
We found a small secondary cove (more like a nook) where we would be able to snuggle-in. It took us two or three attempts to get the bow (front) anchor line to “set” (hock-up) in the steep, rocky bottom. Since the cove was so shallow, we wanted a stern/aft (back) anchor line, too (to prevent us from swinging into shallow water or the shoreline.) We backed up as close to the shoreline as we dared, and tossed the anchor. But, like the bow anchor, it didn’t “catch” on the first attempt… The second attempt seemed promising (at first.) But, the anchor seemed to keep dragging… As I pulled it to the surface, it was heavier than usual. Sure enough, it had snagged onto a complete tree branch. But, the branch wasn’t enough to hold it to the bottom. So, I unsnagged the branch, and we prepared for our third attempt to secure the stern hook. We would try to get a bit closer to shore (in more shallow water) this time. We tossed the anchor as we approached the shallows, and then some IDIOT idles past us making the LARGEST WAKE possible!!!!! We were still in VERY shallow, rocky waters. We were at-risk of bouncing our hull on the hard bottom. We quickly maneuvered forward (into deeper water) to avoid disaster. But, just as we reversed our motors to stop our forward motion and halt us, we noticed that the entire spool of stern anchor line had gone over the railing during the quick-maneuver… GONE was out anchor, plus 50-feet of brand new anchor line.
But, wait! I could still see the spool floating on the surface!!! I ran to the stern to climb-down onto the swim platform, as Kelly reversed the motors to inch us backwards toward the spool. But, as we approached, it became too water-logged, and finally sank to the bottom – before we could capture it…
I was frustrated by the whole situation, and just wanted to hoist anchor and go to the nearest marina, and chalk this one up to Murphy and his laws. But, Kelly wanted me to make at least ONE attempt to find/recover the anchor. So, I secure the bow line/anchor, and had her back the motors against it – to keep it taunt and stationary in-place. I meanwhile grabbed my mask, fins and snorkel, and then jumped out into the now dark water.
I knew finding the anchor itself in the complete darkness was nearly impossible (distinguishing between a hard rock and a metal anchor with my feet would be difficult.) Son, instead, I decided to position myself between the anchor and the boat, and attempt to find the anchor line instead. I swam to the bottom, and then perpendicular to the line’s path. I couldn’t see ANYTHING. So, I just placed one hand on the bottom, and the other hand as high as I could (in case the line was semi-floating.) I then kicked/swam as long, had, and fast as I could. And, just when I was out of breath, I PUSHED and kicked/swam even HARDER – one last effort. Just as I was beginning to break-off my swim/search, my hand found the line, and I panic-swam towards the surface (not knowing how deep I really was anymore…)
But, I had done it! After all the chaos of anchoring, and then being nearly out-of-breath from swimming from the boat to the shoreline, and literally panting from the effort, I was able to muster enough air (and hold it) long enough to find our anchor line on my FIRST try!!!!
I traced the line backwards towards the shoreline to find the anchor. I then took it ashore, and literally hooked it into a tree/shrub. I then swam the line back to the boat, and BINGO – we now had a stern line, too! We were FINALLY dual-attached and safe for the night.
Mechanical Note: We are still battling alternator/generator gremlins. We spent our night at anchor without the generator, to see if the batteries would stay charged until morning. By morning, they had enough charge to only start ONE motor. So, there is something “leaking” our voltage overnight… (Still TBD…)
Also, as we anchored for the night, after a full day of cruising with the windows closed, and the AC on, the cabin was a bit “foggy?” I tried to troubleshoot the issue (assuming that it was maybe an exhaust leak from the generator all day?) But, couldn’t find any leak.
ENOUGH for one day! Time for bed!
Sunday morning, as mentioned above, we only hand enough battery power to start ONE of our two motors. So, we started the generator, too. (It has its own separate, brand-new battery.) With it started and running for about 60 minutes, we were then able to charge-up the house batteries and start the second motor.
We want to FIND/FIX these charging/electrical demons!!! So, today, we would only cruise a very short distance (about 10 miles.) But, it’s “key” 10 miles. During these 10 miles, we will exit the Tennessee River, and enter the Tenn-Tom Waterway. We will also exit Tennessee, and enter Mississippi & Alabama.
We will spend the next 24-48 hours at a boat slip in a marina. Swimming pools, hot tubs, courtesy cars, cable TV, free WiFi internet, etc., etc. I will spend much of my time down in the bilge, however, chasing electrical gremlins. (Wish me luck!) Oh, and that smoke-like fog that was filling the cabin yesterday? It turns out that it was an exhaust leak (two actually) on the port motor. There is a large-diameter, LONG host (exhaust hose) than runs from each motor, back through the walls of the cabin (each side) and then out the stern/back of the boat. The hose for the port motor developed TWO holes/leaks (one beneath the bed, and the other behind Kelly's bedside table.) I have fixed both of them. We have been pretty successful in ridding the boat of the smell of diesel fuel (except for our pillows.) Hopefully, this will resolve the pillow smell/issue, too... (Note to self: If it SMELLS like a problem, then it probably IS a problem!)
Nick (& Kelly.)
Water Aboard
Part of my daily routine, is to turn on the bilge pump every morning and count-down the amount of time it takes to pump out any water that has accumulated overnight.Most boats like this take on a certain amount of water... The drive shafts have a seal/packing that is water-lubricated, and designed to “drip” a bit (which underway becomes a bit more of a splash than a drip.) Similarly, the boat has LOTS of through-hull fittings for A/C (heat pump) intake/exhaust (times two.) Plus motor intakes (times two.) Plus toilet intakes/outflows (times two.) Etc., etc. Add to this some leaky decks for a 30-year old boat, and morning dew becomes water inflow, as does any rain and such.
The bilge pumps have “float switches” that cause the pumps to turn on automatically when the water level reaches a particular height/level/ (There is ALWAYS an inch or so of water in the hull. But, when it gets up to about 2 or 3 inches, the FIRST of THREE bilge (sump) pumps turn on. If that pump should fail, there are two additional pumps that engage at higher water/float levels (e.g. the next one kicks on at about 5-6 inches of water in the hull, and the final one kicks on at about 12 inches in the hull.
Each morning (and also each afternoon after a full day of cruising,) I turn the pump to the on (manual) position to force it to pump out any water in the bilge (as opposed to waiting for the float switch to rise high enough to engage.) I then count the seconds until it runs dry. “Norm” is about 45-60 seconds. Anything less is okay, anything more is an issue. But, ZERO water output is actually a BAD thing! Something should pump out – even a trickle/trace-few drops…So, when NOTHING came out this morning, it meant that we had an issue with “pump number one” – our “primary” pump.
When I opened the hatch and lifted the bilge (basement) floorboards, I saw more than enough water to cause pump number one’s float switch to engage (but, fortunately, NOT enough to get pump number two to engage.)
I could also hear the pump BARELY trying to work – a slight hum from it’s electric motor.
I assumed that the old pump had died, and it was time to replace it. Fortunately, the marina that we spent the night at, had a mini ship store, and had two pumps to choose from. I bought one of them (the highest volume pump, to match the pumping capability of the one that had just died.)
After uninstalling the old pump, and reinstalling the new one – STILL no water was pumping out!!!There is only one issue that can cause this: a clogged exhaust tube/hose.
The hose is about 1-inch in diameter, and the pump has input screens that are about ¼-inch diameter. So, in theory, nothing should be able to enter/pass the pump that won’t also EASILY clear through the hose.
I envisioned a snake or something crawling into the tube/hose from outside of the hull. Maybe a critter got stuck in there overnight? But, the tube is about six inches above the waterline. So, whatever critter it was, would have to be able to climb UP a slippery, inverted, 6-inch rise. (Thus, no small turtles, or fish, or baby ducks, frogs, etc.) Snake, snake, snake is the only thing that came to my mind…
Whatever was in there (be it critter or crud,) had to be cleared. I need my primary bilge pump!
On all of my previous boats, the hose from the bilge pump simply attached at the pump, and then ran (unobstructed) through the hull (via a through-hull flange/fitting – usually about a foot or so above the waterline – to prevent any potential water backflow/intrusion.) But, on THIS boat, someone had installed a check-valve (one-way valve) in the hose about one foot away from the pump. (This makes a LOT of sense, because the hose can hold quite a bit of water inside of it. So, when the pump disengages, water in the hose can back-flow back into the hull. So much water comes back, that the float switch reengages the pump. The pump then turns on, and re-fills the hose with the bilge water, and turns off. Then, backflow (again.) This pump & flow-back cycle can literally be endless (causing the pump to cycle on & off for hours, days, weeks – until the batteries latterly die, or the pump dies, and then any follow-on water can cause a flood. And, because the batteries are now dead, a second & third pump (backups) are of zero use, either (because they have no power.)
Hint: Always attach your backup pumps to a second/separate battery source/bank. In our case, the second pump is actually a 110v pump. So, it can be powered via shorepower or the generator. But, I do need to rewire pump number three to a separate battery source.
Back to our issue: I disconnected the one-way valve, and whatever was in the line, BLASTED out towards me! GROSS!!! I don’t really know WHAT was in there… I assume just an oily grease ball or something? Anyway, after the BLAST of CRUD at me, I reattached the new pump, and BINGO – water flow! So, I also reinstalled the old pump, and BINGO – water flow from it as well!!!!
So, I reinstalled the original pump, and kept the new one as a spare.
We were already planning a lazy start to our Thursday. This little diversion added a few EXTRA hours to our delayed launch. It was about 1:30 pm before we finally left the docks today.
We cruised until sunset, and made it to the 73 mile marker (only about 50 miles.) This is kinda “par” for us. We attempt to average 100 miles per day. So, if we only cruise a half-day, we will only cover about 50 miles…
Here’s a hint as to how slowly we are moving: We have been able to tune-in to the SAME over-the-air television channel since we stopped just north of Cape Girardeau, MO on Sunday night. It’s now Thursday night, and we can STILL tune-in to weather channel 6.
We were watching the weather forecast tonight. They were calling for mostly sunny skies and mid-80s tomorrow/Friday, and then a chance of rain on Saturday and Sunday.
Kelly said, “that doesn’t apply to us, we will be out of there by then!”
I told Kelly, if we can receive the station’s signal, then we can receive their weather, too.
MORE water aboard:
We opened Kelly’s birthday present today. I had bought her an inflatable kiddie pool of sorts. Well, it’s not really a kiddie pool. It’s technically a sun lounger/tub. It can function as a raft to float in a pool, or it can be placed on shore and filled with water (like a little personal bathtub or wading pool.)
It took me about 30 minutes to blow the sucker up – manually, the OLD fashioned way – huffin’ and puffin’. We then placed it out on the bow of the boat, and partially-filled it with water.
I guess you can guess where Kelly spent the rest of the day… She is no longer standing watch at the helm. Now, she just lays in her tub and reads her books, and sips on a cool drink in the sunshine. She also has the hose handy (for a sprinkler-like shower as necessary.) I toss down a few chunks of ice from the cooler upon request, too.
I wonder if she’s going to let ME spend a day or two basking in her tanning tub, too?
Tonight (Thursday night) we found a PERFECT cove. There is a narrow pass from the main channel, into a large cove – and we are then on a smaller/secondary side cove. The water is calm and peaceful here, and the banks are deserted.
We can receive television signals here, but no cell phone or internet access. (Now THAT sounds like heaven to me!) ;-)
So, while we are writing this update on Thursday night, we won’t get to post it until we get back into cell phone range. (So, don’t panic, parents.)
We plan to hang-out in the cove for awhile tomorrow morning (another late start.) Ideally, I’d like to see us underway by around noon, and try to get about eight more hours (or 70-80 miles behind us on Friday.) Ditto for Saturday.
While are travels were short and slow today, we DID finally clear-out of Kentucky. Our little heavenly cove is just a few miles inside of Tennessee (Dover, TN.)
Kelly is planning to get her fishing line wet in the morning. We restrung her rod the other night. The fish were calling to her tonight, but it was too buggy for her.
This post is getting rather long, so I’ll close for now.
Check out our sunset pics. That’s what our view was like as we set anchors this evening. Then a quick BBQ of some burgers, while Kelly tossed together some homemade potato salad. We eat GOOD for liveaboard/cruising boaters!
Nite all.
Nick (& Kelly)
m/v Venture Out II
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Up, Up, & Away!
Today was another flawless day. No breakdowns! :-)
We departed Metropolis, IL at 8 am this morning. We had about an 8-mile run up the Ohio River to Paducha, KY. We had one small lock to traverse enroute. Then, turn into the Tennessee River and cruise about 22.5 miles upstream to the Kentucky Lock & Dam.
Up, Up, & Away!!! Up nearly 60 feet, and then slip out into the expanse of Kentucky Lake.
Unfortunately, we had just over an hour wait at Kentucky Lock/Dam for our turn to ride the water elevator. Once it was our turn, we were solo in the chute. If this had been our first lock, it would have been pretty impressive and daunting. But, we are getting pretty used to it now -- even this monster didn't scare us.
Oh! So, this morning, I heard Kelly's FIRST "real" complaint about the trip. Throughout all of the breakdowns, and endless hours at the wheel/helm, and the facilities (or lack thereof,) she hasn't made a single peep or filed a single complaint -- until this morning.
Her exact words, as she stared out into the light drizzle (after 12 hours of straight, non-stop rain,) were, "I didn't sign up for this..." -- (with a sigh...)
"What?" I asked?
"Rain" she replied. "I can handle the breakdowns, the locks, the smell of diesel fuel, etc. But, I want sunny skies. Enough with the rain."
Fortunately, sunny skies are in the forecast for the next few days as we traverse Kentucky Lake (it should only be about a two-day journey, but we might stay for an extra day to enjoy it a bit more...)
Technology: I had grand plans for sharing our adventure (digitally.) I have installed a webcam on the bow of the boat, and had configured our wifi router to broadcast our GPS position and make automatic updates to our blog/website/facebook account. Unfortunately, our wifi router (that I love, love, love) died on day one. :-( And, the cell service has been nearly nonexistent, or we have been "roaming" via third-party carriers (and I don't want to pay their fees.) So, we have remained offline and often turned our phones off to conserve power and avoid the fees. (Sorry.)
We are now at Kentucky Lake Marina. We plan to depart here at about 8am Thursday morning, and log about 100 miles. Kentucky Lake is LONG!!! We are only going to cross abotu 200 miles of it. Probably 100 miles tomorrow/Thursday, then find a protected cove to overnight, and maybe even stay there an extra day/night to just "chill" and soak up some sun (while it lasts through Friday.) Then on Saturday, get underway again and try to finish the final 100 miles of this lake-based leg.
Fuel Economy: We seem to be doing about EXACTLY as advertised/expected (maybe even a little bit better?) They "advertise" the cruising distance of this trawler at 1,000 miles on full tanks (500 gallons of fuel.) But, one of our tanks apparently has a leak. So, we have one hand tied behind our backs when it comes to distance -- right?
Well, we still ahve 250 gallons of fuel aboard. From Hoppies Marina to Kentuckly Lake (240 miles,) we have only used about 80 gallons of fuel. We are getting roughly 3 mpg.
We were hoping/budgeting for abotu 10 hour per day time 10 miles per hour equals 100 miles per day. And, at about 3 gallons per hour, we were expecting to run through about 30 gallons per day. 100 miles/30 gallons = 3.33 mpg.
So, our guestimates appear to be nearly dead-on accurate!!!
But, there is one catch...
We were only expecting to get about 500 miles per tank of gas (250 gallons.) So, we should have only achieved 250 miles per half-tank of fuel (125 gallons.) Whereas, we got nearly 250 miles on only 1/3rd of a tank of fuel. So, our theoretical range would be about 750 miles on the single 250-gallon tank that we have...
We are going to play things conservatively, however, and assume that our good mileage was largely due to the down-stream PUSH of the Mississippi River. (Note, however, that 140 of our 240 miles was actually UP stream -- and for much of that distance, we were also running our generator, too!)
Regardless of how we crunch the numbers, things are AT LEAST on-par with our goals/budget/expectations, and we are likely doing BETTER than expected!
Photos: Internet access has been slow. And when "roaming," it can be costly. So, we will post photos when we get the chance (they may not match the date/time of the blog entries...)
Blogger doesn't seem to support photo captioning anyway, so you will have to make up your own captions.
The water seems to get smoother and clearer with each passing mile. We only passed maybe two tugs/tows all day today (granted it was a relatively short day.) Short or not, our goal was Kentucky Lake, and we are here!
Tonight: BBQ (again -- still cooking up the steaks that tawed during our electrical meltdown.) Laudry, a few MINOR boat chores, and a restful night's sleep (secure in a slip/dock at the marina.) No worries about our anchor lossing it's hold in the current, and washing aimlessly downstream in our sleep. No worries about tugs running us down, or washing us ashore with their wakes. No worries about 3-foot river level drops OVERNIGHT -- leaving us high & dry on-the-hard when we awake.
Rehtorical question: How can SO MANY cities, that came to life due to their proximety to a river -- turn their back on the river that created the city? Every major river-front city SHOULD have a marina (whether it's a private marina, or a municipal marina.) A place that welcomes waterborne tourists/visitors. Most boat owners have a significant amount of discresionary income. Plus, MOST boats hold a LOT of fuel, and burn through it pretty quickly! That's a LOT of lost revenue for the city. Lost tourist dollars.
And, when there IS a marina along the way -- why does it SO OFTEN have to be such a hole-in-the-wall? Hoppies is a legend on the Mississippi River. But, it's just a couple of old barges anchored along the bank of the river. They have ONE bathroom ashore, which is BARELY better than an out-house. They have no showers, no restaurant. The sell overnight dockage at $1 per foot. (I only pay 80 cents per foot for a much nicer dock/slip in Kentucly Lake.) Hoppies only has fuel, water, and electrical power (and one bathroom) -- that's ALL it has!
But, even here in KY Lake, how much effort would it be to install a couple of hot tubs? What about a couple of dock carts? Or even a HUGE neon sign that says "FUEL!"
Where is the "St. Louis Marina" Where is the Cape Girardeau Marina? The Cairo Marina? The Metropolis Marina? The Paducha Marina?
The little city of Alton, IL has a marina that puts most others to shame! They have excellent facilites, and a motivated staff to match! They bring drinks & bags of ice to your dock/boat. They collect your garbage from your boat/slip every morning. They have a pool, two hot tubs (which are all open until midnight!) A snack bar and mini-grocery/convenience store. They host/promote at least one event per month. They roll out the red carpet for EVERYONE!
Now THAT is riverfront hospitality!
Of the 10 or so piers of slips in Alton, only one is reserved for transient overnighters. All of the other docks are for local boat owners, and they are nearly sold out.
I cna only imagine that the same woudl happen for a STL-based marina, or a Cape Girardea or Ste Genevieve marina. And, for small, lost cities like Cairo and Metropolis, a riverfront marina can bring new guests, and new residents.
I am SHOCKED, however, by the lack of boats/cruisers to be seen on the river during our journey. We have only seen maybe three to six other pleasure boats passing buy us: One from Alton to STL. One cruiser heading upstream on day two. One power-catamaran trawler on day three. Nothing on day four (because my head was burried in the engine room, and it was RAINING all day.) And nothing today (not cruising anyway...) Sure, here at the marina, there are TONS of boats in these slips -- labeled with cities like "Clearwater Beach, FL" and "Chicago, IL." But, MOST of these boats stay here -- forever. They are simply floating condos for remote snowbirds -- waiting for their semi-annual visitors/hosts.
Many of the boats even sport such names: "Lake House," "Beach House," "Floating Condo," etc. I guess the given name of our boat kinda fits our wandering spirit -- Venture Out.
Well, it's getting late, and I need to help Kelly fetch the laundry from the dryer.
Nite all,
Nick (& Kelly.)
We departed Metropolis, IL at 8 am this morning. We had about an 8-mile run up the Ohio River to Paducha, KY. We had one small lock to traverse enroute. Then, turn into the Tennessee River and cruise about 22.5 miles upstream to the Kentucky Lock & Dam.
Up, Up, & Away!!! Up nearly 60 feet, and then slip out into the expanse of Kentucky Lake.
Unfortunately, we had just over an hour wait at Kentucky Lock/Dam for our turn to ride the water elevator. Once it was our turn, we were solo in the chute. If this had been our first lock, it would have been pretty impressive and daunting. But, we are getting pretty used to it now -- even this monster didn't scare us.
Oh! So, this morning, I heard Kelly's FIRST "real" complaint about the trip. Throughout all of the breakdowns, and endless hours at the wheel/helm, and the facilities (or lack thereof,) she hasn't made a single peep or filed a single complaint -- until this morning.
Her exact words, as she stared out into the light drizzle (after 12 hours of straight, non-stop rain,) were, "I didn't sign up for this..." -- (with a sigh...)
"What?" I asked?
"Rain" she replied. "I can handle the breakdowns, the locks, the smell of diesel fuel, etc. But, I want sunny skies. Enough with the rain."
Fortunately, sunny skies are in the forecast for the next few days as we traverse Kentucky Lake (it should only be about a two-day journey, but we might stay for an extra day to enjoy it a bit more...)
Technology: I had grand plans for sharing our adventure (digitally.) I have installed a webcam on the bow of the boat, and had configured our wifi router to broadcast our GPS position and make automatic updates to our blog/website/facebook account. Unfortunately, our wifi router (that I love, love, love) died on day one. :-( And, the cell service has been nearly nonexistent, or we have been "roaming" via third-party carriers (and I don't want to pay their fees.) So, we have remained offline and often turned our phones off to conserve power and avoid the fees. (Sorry.)
We are now at Kentucky Lake Marina. We plan to depart here at about 8am Thursday morning, and log about 100 miles. Kentucky Lake is LONG!!! We are only going to cross abotu 200 miles of it. Probably 100 miles tomorrow/Thursday, then find a protected cove to overnight, and maybe even stay there an extra day/night to just "chill" and soak up some sun (while it lasts through Friday.) Then on Saturday, get underway again and try to finish the final 100 miles of this lake-based leg.
Fuel Economy: We seem to be doing about EXACTLY as advertised/expected (maybe even a little bit better?) They "advertise" the cruising distance of this trawler at 1,000 miles on full tanks (500 gallons of fuel.) But, one of our tanks apparently has a leak. So, we have one hand tied behind our backs when it comes to distance -- right?
Well, we still ahve 250 gallons of fuel aboard. From Hoppies Marina to Kentuckly Lake (240 miles,) we have only used about 80 gallons of fuel. We are getting roughly 3 mpg.
We were hoping/budgeting for abotu 10 hour per day time 10 miles per hour equals 100 miles per day. And, at about 3 gallons per hour, we were expecting to run through about 30 gallons per day. 100 miles/30 gallons = 3.33 mpg.
So, our guestimates appear to be nearly dead-on accurate!!!
But, there is one catch...
We were only expecting to get about 500 miles per tank of gas (250 gallons.) So, we should have only achieved 250 miles per half-tank of fuel (125 gallons.) Whereas, we got nearly 250 miles on only 1/3rd of a tank of fuel. So, our theoretical range would be about 750 miles on the single 250-gallon tank that we have...
We are going to play things conservatively, however, and assume that our good mileage was largely due to the down-stream PUSH of the Mississippi River. (Note, however, that 140 of our 240 miles was actually UP stream -- and for much of that distance, we were also running our generator, too!)
Regardless of how we crunch the numbers, things are AT LEAST on-par with our goals/budget/expectations, and we are likely doing BETTER than expected!
Photos: Internet access has been slow. And when "roaming," it can be costly. So, we will post photos when we get the chance (they may not match the date/time of the blog entries...)
Blogger doesn't seem to support photo captioning anyway, so you will have to make up your own captions.
The water seems to get smoother and clearer with each passing mile. We only passed maybe two tugs/tows all day today (granted it was a relatively short day.) Short or not, our goal was Kentucky Lake, and we are here!
Tonight: BBQ (again -- still cooking up the steaks that tawed during our electrical meltdown.) Laudry, a few MINOR boat chores, and a restful night's sleep (secure in a slip/dock at the marina.) No worries about our anchor lossing it's hold in the current, and washing aimlessly downstream in our sleep. No worries about tugs running us down, or washing us ashore with their wakes. No worries about 3-foot river level drops OVERNIGHT -- leaving us high & dry on-the-hard when we awake.
Rehtorical question: How can SO MANY cities, that came to life due to their proximety to a river -- turn their back on the river that created the city? Every major river-front city SHOULD have a marina (whether it's a private marina, or a municipal marina.) A place that welcomes waterborne tourists/visitors. Most boat owners have a significant amount of discresionary income. Plus, MOST boats hold a LOT of fuel, and burn through it pretty quickly! That's a LOT of lost revenue for the city. Lost tourist dollars.
And, when there IS a marina along the way -- why does it SO OFTEN have to be such a hole-in-the-wall? Hoppies is a legend on the Mississippi River. But, it's just a couple of old barges anchored along the bank of the river. They have ONE bathroom ashore, which is BARELY better than an out-house. They have no showers, no restaurant. The sell overnight dockage at $1 per foot. (I only pay 80 cents per foot for a much nicer dock/slip in Kentucly Lake.) Hoppies only has fuel, water, and electrical power (and one bathroom) -- that's ALL it has!
But, even here in KY Lake, how much effort would it be to install a couple of hot tubs? What about a couple of dock carts? Or even a HUGE neon sign that says "FUEL!"
Where is the "St. Louis Marina" Where is the Cape Girardeau Marina? The Cairo Marina? The Metropolis Marina? The Paducha Marina?
The little city of Alton, IL has a marina that puts most others to shame! They have excellent facilites, and a motivated staff to match! They bring drinks & bags of ice to your dock/boat. They collect your garbage from your boat/slip every morning. They have a pool, two hot tubs (which are all open until midnight!) A snack bar and mini-grocery/convenience store. They host/promote at least one event per month. They roll out the red carpet for EVERYONE!
Now THAT is riverfront hospitality!
Of the 10 or so piers of slips in Alton, only one is reserved for transient overnighters. All of the other docks are for local boat owners, and they are nearly sold out.
I cna only imagine that the same woudl happen for a STL-based marina, or a Cape Girardea or Ste Genevieve marina. And, for small, lost cities like Cairo and Metropolis, a riverfront marina can bring new guests, and new residents.
I am SHOCKED, however, by the lack of boats/cruisers to be seen on the river during our journey. We have only seen maybe three to six other pleasure boats passing buy us: One from Alton to STL. One cruiser heading upstream on day two. One power-catamaran trawler on day three. Nothing on day four (because my head was burried in the engine room, and it was RAINING all day.) And nothing today (not cruising anyway...) Sure, here at the marina, there are TONS of boats in these slips -- labeled with cities like "Clearwater Beach, FL" and "Chicago, IL." But, MOST of these boats stay here -- forever. They are simply floating condos for remote snowbirds -- waiting for their semi-annual visitors/hosts.
Many of the boats even sport such names: "Lake House," "Beach House," "Floating Condo," etc. I guess the given name of our boat kinda fits our wandering spirit -- Venture Out.
Well, it's getting late, and I need to help Kelly fetch the laundry from the dryer.
Nite all,
Nick (& Kelly.)
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