On The Hard

Overtime has been pulled from the water and placed on “The Hard.” How can I be sure you ask? Because a friend from Gold Point Marina, Chris Burton, called me today and when I asked “what cha doing” he said “standing here looking at your boat.” As you know, Overtime is at Aqua Yacht Harbor in Mississippi, so I was kind of surprised just as he was when he noticed my boat. Small world!

Time For Some TLC

We arrived at Aqua Yacht Harbor Sunday afternoon to have some work done, just not sure how much is to be done yet. I gave Tom, the service manager, a list of items I wanted them to look into but while looking they discovered something that may prove to be expensive; a leak/seepage in my fiberglass hull in the area where the rudder shank penetrates, ouch! They'll pull the boat out of the water possibly next Monday and she'll be on the hard (sitting on dry land) for at least a week, therefore we'll rent a car and drive home since we're only four hours away. On a happier note, we had a good day at Shiloh National Military Park Tuesday with Jim and Mandy (Shell Belle) along with Kent and Jan (Follow That Dream) followed by dock-tails; also had an excellent lunch at Hagy's Catfish Hotel located next to the park.

The Great Wall of Alabama

Kim and I walked almost 4 miles this morning then went to a Florence visitor center located near the marina where Kim found an item of interest. We borrowed the marina car, loaded Wally and Darcy Campbell in the back and headed for The Great Wall of Alabama. With the help of the young lady in our GPS app we found the great wall in the Alabama country side. We parked on a dirt road and as we walked up the driveway we saw several people sitting in a semi-circle, we were invited to join them. Tom Hendrix told the story of his g-g-grandmother walking back to this area from Oklahoma when she was 17 years old in the year 1844 or 45. She had been forced from the area along with all the other Indians in President Jackson's Indian Removal Act better known as the Trail of Tears.

Later in the evening we celebrated Darcy's birthday with champagne and homemade apple pie.

Florence, Alabama

With 12 boats pulling out of Joe Wheeler State Park this morning and headed to the Wheeler Lock it was best to have one person do the coordinating rather than each boat making contact. The lock is only a mile or so below the park and with good coordination the lock was open and waiting. It's been rather windy this morning and I was a bit concerned about hitting one of the other boats while pulling into the chamber, remember I have a single engine and no thrusters, but everything went smoothly. We rafted onto another Kadey-Krogen Manatee named Summertime and had a nice conversation with Wally and Darcy as the water level eased us on down to the Wilson reservoir. Once on Wilson Lake we had a 10 mile or so trip to Wilson Lock, it's a rather short lake but has a hell of a drop to the Pickwick pool level... 95 feet. At the lock it was “rinse and repeat.” So, we are now tied to the end cap of “A” dock and heading out to see what the day brings.

The 2016 Fall Rendezvous Comes to a Close

The Americas Great Loop Cruisers Association (AGLCA) 2016 Fall Rendezvous at Joe Wheeler State Park has reached its conclusion. We had a lot of good meals, a lot of good booze, a lot of good information disseminated and met a lot of good people, all-in-all we had a really good time and picked up a lot of good information. Kim even won a door prize one night which was a basket filled with lots of goodies – an engraved wine bottle, t-shirts, hats, books, gift certificates, and a coffee mug. We have also been able to go on a couple of hikes plus paddle our kayaks around the large bay facing the lodge which is located just above the Wheeler dam and branches north off the Tennessee River. Wednesday evening we attended an exhibition polo match, meal and concert at the Bluewater Creek Polo Club located near Rogersville, the polo was boring but the meal and the music were good.

Weather permitting we will be casting off at 8:00 in the morning (Friday) with 12 other boats all heading for Wheeler then Wilson Dams, we have a couple of guys coordinating with the locks in hopes of having a smooth passage. Kim and I are stopping in Florence for a couple of nights then heading over to Aqua Yacht Harbor to see about adding some additional navigation equipment to the helm... I'll let you know how that goes.

For now we plan to have a drink, watch a show, then go to bed.... we are tired – it's been a very busy week... good night.

Joe Wheeler State Park

We pulled out of Ditto Landing at 8:00 a couple of days ago and had a 7 hour and 30 minute ride from mile 333 to 277 at speeds approaching 7.5 mph on occasion; a strong headwind was holding us at 7.0 to 7.3 most of the time. Again we saw just a few other boats however we were trailing Le Marie Sofie most of the entire day, a 2006 36' Monk in beautiful condition owned by Maurice and Renee from Canada. As we pulled into the bay where the lodge and marina are located we radioed the office and they directed us to slip 602, surprisingly the exact same slip I was in two years ago when bringing the boat home.

We are now on a dock with numerous other boaters here for the rendezvous, all nice folks eager to lend a helping hand where needed. This morning Kim and I went for a hike, about four miles through paths trailing the lakes edge where we saw deer on several occasions, yesterday we kayaked along the entire bay.

We will be busy attending informational sessions for the next several days so I may not be making very many posts.

A Trip to the Store

I have saddlebags... not just the ones hanging from each side of my torso, I have them hanging over the back tire of my bicycle; today we made good use of them. We woke early and hopped on Aldridge Creek Greenway and rode to a Publix grocery store a little over 4 miles each way. There's not much near Joe Wheeler State Park Marina, our next destination, so we thought it would be a good idea to have more food on-board. We bought some Boars Head Hickory Smoked Turkey, pork chops, salmon, veggies, chips, snacks and bread. I put 2,000 lbs in my saddlebags and the bread and chips in a basket on Kim's handlebars, I then popped a wheelie all the way back to the boat.

Oh, be sure and see pictures at the link listed on the sidebar.

Beautiful Weather and Beautiful River

Shellmound has a couple of nice little T-docks to tie onto and it was a quiet night, no jackhammers or traffic sounds, just the occasional smell of dead fish. I wound up tying a string around the tail of a big one and dragging it across a field to a garbage can, all under the cover of darkness of course. I'm sure there will be a concentrated smell waiting for whoever opens that can next. We were on a dock by ourselves but there were three boats on the other dock, I walked over the next morning for a short visit and to see what their plans were for the lock but they were in no hurry, so we pulled out by ourselves around 8:00.

I had called Nickajack Lock earlier to check on traffic, since there was none and the chamber was ready for us we sailed through in about 20 minutes. As we were pulling out of the chamber my nephew, Shawn, called to say he was waiting on the downstream side to take our picture; his timing couldn't have been better. We cruised by waving while he stood by snapping, a few minutes later we had pictures of ourselves delivered via text messaging... ain't technology cool!

We settled in at around 7 mph with the engine temperature holding steady around 165 degrees at slightly under 2000 rpm's, I didn't touch the throttle again until we arrived at Goose Pond Marina. Since leaving the lock we have been traveling on Guntersville Lake and it is a beauty, parts are remote and parts have some very nice homes, some are amazing. We heard radio transmissions with Nickajack and knew some boats were behind us but it was hours before we saw any, eventually though we saw Rachel in the distance. She's a 2013 48 foot Kadey-Krogen trawler owned by George and Rachel (Rachel is the name of the boat and wife) who kept her at Gold Point, they're not doing the Loop but are headed out into the vast river system and the world beyond. We kept seeing her in the distance when we were on long straightaways and after several hours she caught up and we sailed next to each other taking pictures, she's a beautiful ship with some mighty nice owners. I wish them well in their travels.

Yesterday and today several boats called us on the radio to say we had a beautiful boat, that surprised me because I consider it to be rather odd looking although very functional.

We arrived at Goose Pond Marina around 3:00 and were joined by our friends Bill and Janie, who own a boat like ours, a Kadey-Krogen Manatee. When we were looking for a boat, we had read about the Manatee and wanted to see one. I was able to locate Bill and Janie's Hi-D-Ho using a boater's forum we belong to and they were kind enough to allow us to come see theirs. After seeing Hi-D-Ho, we decided the Manatee fit our requirements; a small 36' boat with a small 90 hp single engine and very comfortable living space. It was nice to see them Tuesday again and after a few drinks and good conversation, the four of us had a wonderful meal at the nearby Docks restaurant. These folks have been a very big help to us and become very good friends - thanks guys!

Next morning we headed out shortly after 8:00 aiming for Ditto Landing Marina located near Huntsville. Again we had a beautiful trip, saw very few boats and sailed through Guntersville Lock in about 20 minutes. We passed very few homes and just enjoyed the natural beauty the area has to offer, and again the weather was magnificent. We arrived at Ditto Landing Marina around 3:00 and were joined a little later by Kim's aunt and uncle, Corky and Ed. We had a wonderful visit followed by a Mexican meal at Rosie's.

So, we are having a great time and are doing well, I'll write more in a day or so.

Life is Good, and I have the tee-shirts to prove it!

Leaving on a Slow Boat

This morning we wanted to get underway no later than 10:00 am, so we got up semi-early and walked up to Chattz coffee shop to use up the last few dollars we had on a gift card. Since Kim woke up with a pain in her back we walked slow and she'd stop to stretch every now and again, but we eventually made it. When we got back to the marina I wanted to add water to my tanks and pump out the holding tank but the only working faucet was not at my slip or the pump-out dock, that meant two opportunities to display my boat handling skills. No problemo, backed out of my slip and with a few backward and forward thrusts along with my mastery of the ship's wheel I was able to back into a slip with a working faucet, the only problem was a boat pulled up to the pump-out dock at the same time. As luck would have it the other boat pulled away just as I finished topping off the water tanks so I hopped up to the pilothouse and started pulling out of the slip but then noticed another boat headed to the pump-out dock; being the gentleman I am I pulled back into the slip and motioned him to go ahead. So now we wait, he gets gas (it's a gas and pump-out dock) then he pumps-out, then his wife goes up to the office, in the meantime his friend in another boat pulls in for gas. Well, I won't keep harping on that except to say we did finally get to the pump-out dock.

Ok, now we are ready. Years of research, training, boat searches, getting her home, fixing her up, provisioning and transitioning it all comes down to this... pulling away from the dock. So now we're cruising along leaving the sounds of the best little mid-sized city behind (massive jack hammering on the Olgiati bridge).

We floated effortlessly downstream at a leisurely 7.5 to 7.9 mph for the next 40 miles through the gorge, this is rugged country but with some beautiful homes with large yards scattered here and there along the way. Oh, and the mountains were awesome as well.

We tied to a free dock just above Nickajack Dam for the night, other boaters have already invited us over for dock-tails. See you later.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Guess what.... we have been busy. We have made several trips to the house to straighten up, boat parts and gear were everywhere. I moved most of it to the basement but still have a bunch of tools cluttering my “office.” While at the house we've taken advantage of the washer and dryer since we don't have one at the marina, and since we're trying to conserve water on-board we have taken a couple of showers there as well. All that luxury comes to an end Monday when we pull out of Chattanooga and head down river, we'll be going through the gorge which has been hailed by many of the boaters we've met as spectacular. I've seen it many times and must agree.

We've also had four or five groups of friends, co-workers and relatives come down to have a meal, see the boat and wish us well, all much appreciated. We are very fortunate to have so many people interested and caring.

We have met several more Gold Loopers in recent days, Chattanooga is a great side-trip for the water-wanderers in the Fall, not just for the natural beauty but for the many events going on at Ross's Landing. Last weekend was Wine-Over-Water and a Three Sisters festival, this weekend is the 24th AnnualChattanooga Head Race.

Today Kim and I rode our bicycles on the River-walk up to Chickamauga Dam, about 16 miles round trip, then we finished off some meatloaf leftovers we had from last night's visit to Clyde's-on-Main.

The Journey Begins

After years of anticipation we are finally under way, sort of. We pulled out of Gold Point Yacht Harbor around 2:00 on Friday September 30, 2016 located near Tennessee River mile 472 and promptly began an hour long wait for the Chickamauga Lock about two miles downstream. My Dad was a huge help with logistics when we purchased this boat 2½ years ago and he's never got to enjoy it, so we invited him to ride with us on this first short leg of the trip. With some major events happening in downtown Chattanooga this weekend the wait area quickly accumulated ten boats for the downstream lock-through. This weekend is one of the busiest boating weekends for the downtown marina, there's a Wine Over Water event happening on the Walnut Street Bridge and a Three Sisters blue grass festival going on right next to it. While waiting we could hear some of the radio chatter, several boat owners knew each other and they were devising a plan for entering the lock and tying off. One of the ladies referred to Overtime as “that green striped thing” which got a chuckle out of Kim and me, although I think Overtimes feelings may have been bruised. We were the third boat to enter the chamber and when all was said and done we were tied to the wall on our starboard side and had a 45 foot Californian tied to our port side, this turned out to be a good omen because they were Gold Loopers. Boats fly little triangle shaped flags on their bow called burgees, these burgees display some interest of the boat owner such as a sports team or organization they like. We fly a burgee signifying we are members of “America's Great Loop Cruisers Association,” it has a white background with the letters AGLCA and a symbolic map representing the loop's route around the eastern United States. Once a member has completed the loop they fly a flag of the same design but with a gold background, thus they are called “Gold Loopers.” We finally got to pull out of the lock and got under way at an easy 7 mph, the slowest boat of the ten, we soon lost site of them and enjoyed an easy cruise to our first destination, Chattanooga... our home town. Since Gold Point doesn't prorate their monthly fee we decided to stay downtown for a week or so while living on the boat, this gives us a chance to see our hometown as tourists and we can still run home to balance what we need with what we want on-board Overtime.

We dropped my truck downtown at a garage where we pay a monthly fee prior to casting lines so we'd have some transportation, so Saturday morning we go be-bopping to the garage ready to get things done and were quickly deflated to see a totally flat rear tire on my truck, geeze! Of all the places to have a flat this was one of the best, I was under cover with room to work rather than stranded on the side of the road with cars whizzing by. After finding the jack, figuring out how to access the spare located under the truck bed and changing the tire we headed to Gold Point so Kim could get her car. After dropping her off I headed to the house and decided to mow the grass one last time, I have a two year old 46 inch riding mower which I drive with the attitude that things that don't move out of my way will be obliterated with a blade that hasn't been sharpened in two years. Since I'm not stupid (my opinion, not everyone's) I do tend to avoid things that might not want to be obliterated so easily, however on this date in history my mind was elsewhere, plus I didn't see the big root hiding under the dead leaves... one of my blades now swings freely and my spindle may be spineless.