KnotSoFast Tugboat Travels

Friday Oct. 7, 2011 - From Chattanooga back to Nickajack Dam

2011-10-09T16:15:00.000-05:00

Chattanooga's Riverfront is beautiful on a peaceful fall morning!

The air was cool and the river looked liked like a sheet of glass when we woke this morning. We fired up the propane grill and put biscuits on to bake, then started another propane camping burner and boiled water for our coffee and hot chocolate. When we had plenty of boiling water we replaced the kettle with a frying pan and Marvin cooked bacon and eggs. It was a pleasant morning as we ate breakfast and watched the riverfront area wake up and come to life with boats, people and wildlife.

Marvin fries up the bacon in the "outdoor kitchen" of our yacht :).

Shortly after the dishes were washed and we were about ready leave, a marina employee came by and asked if we’d had any problems during the night. He said that another boat, docked behind us, was boarded by someone about 2:00am. He didn’t offer any more details, so I don’t know exactly what happened, but it is kind of scary to think about someone climbing aboard while you’re asleep.

About 8:30am we cast off the lines and made another pass to look at the “Delta Queen” before turning downstream for the trip back to Nickajack Dam. A strong breeze made this morning feel more like fall, and the morning sun was at our backs. This made the colors of the mountain trees stand out and appear brighter than they were yesterday morning when the sun was in our faces.

The historic Delta Queen, now docked and serving as a floating hotel.

As we rounded the bend where I-24 runs alongside the river, Marvin spotted a doe deer and two smaller deer on the right bank. When Glenda, Abby and I were here in June, there was construction being done on this bank – I assume for erosion control – and flowering plants had been placed at the top of the bank. The three deer were having a fine breakfast at the expense of those plants.

The Gorge has to be one of the most peaceful places on earth to cruise in a 6 mph boat!

This doe with two young were feeding on the recently landscaped riverbank directly across from I-24.

As we continued down the river at about 6½ miles per hour, we noticed quite a few more boats on the water than we’d seen the day before. Mid-morning we were surprised to see a group of about 7 or 8 small speedboats traveling at what appeared to be 90 mph or so, coming around the bend and headed toward us. Their engines screamed and as they passed, they skipped along the surface, often with only their prop in the water and nothing else touching. Over the next hour or so, we would see several more groups of these speedboats, all travelling toward Chattanooga at an extremely fast pace. We learned later that these were part of a loosely organized group that left Nickajack Dam boat ramp and raced to Chattanooga, ate lunch and raced back.

Since there are no shower facilities at the marina in Chattanooga, we had brought along two "solar showers" and placed them on the roof of the cabin before leaving this morning. The water was hot by mid-day. We were on a wide, remote part of the river, so we slowed down and Marvin drove while I changed into my bathing suit for a shower out back in the cockpit. Then we switched and Marvin got a shower while I drove.

The Gorge is 26 miles of one fantastic scene after another. It was hard to quit after only two days of cruising!

As we got closer to Nickajack Dam, most if not all of the speedboats that passed us earlier passed us again going downstream, and when we arrived at the ramp we realized we would have to wait awhile as the group of 40 or so speedboaters were all trying to trailer out at one time. In talking with some of them we learned that this is an annual event held on Friday before a weekend of professional dragboat racing. Most of the boats that passed us were running about 110 mph, but a few of them were “only” doing about 90. While I’m sure they had a great time, I guess I’m just not wired for living life at that speed.

We eventually got in line with my truck and trailer, and pulled the Knot-So-Fast out of the water and into the parking lot, ending our trip. Even at 6 mph or so, it seemed to go by way too fast! After packing things away and tying down fenders, antennas and such, we headed home. Marvin and I were both tired, but we agreed that this was a great trip. I hope we can do it again.

We stopped at Cracker Barrel in Ft. Payne to eat supper. When we got back to the truck there was a note on my windshield which read " If you want to sell the boat, call me at XXX-XXX-XXXX". While it's flattering to have someone admire the boat that I built, we're having way too much fun with it to think about selling it!

October 06, 2011. Another Cruise through the "Gorge" on the TN River

2011-10-09T14:22:00.001-05:00

With the tugboat and truck full of gas and packed for the next adventure, I tried to sleep Wednesday night, but was too excited. I got up at 4:20am and pulled out of the driveway at 4:55, on my way to Jasper, TN for another cruise through “the Gorge” section of the Tennessee River. About 5:45 I exited I-459 at the Trussville exit and met my good friend Marvin Roye, who would accompany me on this cruise. We drove another 2 hours to the Nickajack Lock and Dam boat ramp, where we slid the Knot-So-Fast off her trailer and fired up the little 9.9 HP engine. The motor purred like a contented cat, as usual. After making a few entries in the log book and making sure the GPS and VHF radio were working, we pulled away from the ramp and headed upstream at 8:58 am. The weather could not have been any better – temperatures in the 70’s and not a cloud in the sky!

Entering the Gorge section of the Tennessee River

About 5 miles from the ramp we passed the old Hales Bar power generating plant and the Hales Bar Marina, which was the site of the Glen-L boat builders “Gathering” a few weeks ago. I had missed this year’s get-together due to an issue with our dachshund Daisy. Daisy severely injured her back (a common problem with dachshunds), and we were afraid we were going to have to put her to sleep. In fact, we had made arrangements to do just that, but thankfully we got a second opinion on her condition. To make a long story short, Daisy had surgery, and although she still has a long way to go, she is improving each day.

Marvin and I swapped "wheel duty" throughout the day.

Anyway, Hales Bar Marina looked about the same as it did when we docked there in June, with the exception of six of the floating cabins that burned sometime around the first of September. I told Marvin that Glenda and I had seen a bald eagle just upstream from the Marina when we were there last year, and I hoped we’d get to see one on this trip too. The river was quiet, and we passed only an occasional fishing boat as the bright sun warmed the cabin, eventually making us shed our long sleeve shirts. Marvin said the trees were beginning to change colors, but other than a few yellow leaves (the only fall color I can see very well) I just had to take his word for it.

About 10 miles into our trip, as we entered the actual gorge, I spotted the first of three bald eagles we would see today. He (or she) appeared from behind us on the port side, between our boat and the riverbank, and flew ahead of us for about ¼ mile before we lost sight of him. I was able to get a couple of camera shots, but the quality wasn’t very good.

The first of three eagles we saw, this one almost got away before I could grab my camera!

Marvin and I took turns all morning at the wheel, and we didn’t stop as we ate sandwiches for lunch. We passed a couple of larger cruisers headed downstream, but for the most part we were still sharing the river with only a few small fishing boats. At 2:00 pm, I spotted another bald eagle fly out of the tree line and over the river some distance ahead of us. He made 3 passes from the trees out over the water and back, and on the third pass, was accompanied by another one. We were too far away and the passes out of the tree line were too quick for me to get a photo, but I still felt like a kid on Christmas morning when I saw them.

I called Marine Max, which operates the marina in downtown Chattanooga, by phone to make sure they had a slip available for us to stay in overnight. Since we don’t need electrical or water hookups, the truth is that we could anchor out, but I like the ability of having a steady dock where I can step off the boat and stretch my legs, set up a folding chair and take a break from the rocking motion of the little tug.

The Chattanooga Aquarium operates a tour boat that takes passengers on a two hour trip through the Gorge, and it passed us headed downstream at a fairly slow pace. A short time later, the captain radioed to “any concerned traffic” giving his location and that he was moving upstream. I realized his location was just downstream from us, and when I looked out the rear, saw him approaching us at a much higher speed. I moved over toward the right bank to give him all the room I could, and hopefully to avoid the worst of his wake. He slowed as he approached us, but his wake was still the biggest one we had to deal with during the trip. I turned our little boat into the wake as he passed, and crossed it almost head-on. We dipped and rolled, but with the exception of a spilled can of soda, we survived it unscathed.

I24 runs alongside the Tennessee River just downsteam of Chattanooga.

One of the Chattanooga Ducks, an amphibious tour vehicle.

We pulled into the marina’s fuel dock at Chattanooga at 4:15 and checked in. As we approached we saw one of the amphibious “Duck” tour boats, full of passengers, ending its water tour. We drifted along waiting to see it motor up to the ramp and then drive out of the water and up the ramp to the street. After paying the dock fee for the night, we untied and took a short ride past the old “Delta Queen” riverboat which has now been converted into a floating hotel. We then picked a spot on the “Bluff Dock” in front of five other cruisers and tied the Knot-So-Fast up for the night.

This beaver made his home along the rock bank at Bluff Dock in the heart of Chattanooga!

As usual the Knot-So-Fast was the smallest boat at the party!!

Marvin had taken care of all the food for the trip, and we fired up the propane grill where he cooked pork chops, baked beans and baked potatoes. We ate as the sun went down and watched a sculling team and several people on stand-up paddle boards taking advantage of the last few minutes of sunlight on the river.

Marvin cooking pork chops and potatoes. Our boat may have been small, but
we ate like we were on the biggest yacht around!

I'm told these are easy to master, but I have my doubts.

I had intended to make this post to the blog from Chattanooga, but couldn’t find a workable internet connection. The Bluff Dock is a busy place with lots of pedestrian traffic . We enjoyed talking to several people who stopped and asked about the tug. We were asked a couple of times “What year is it?”, as most people think it must be really old. Things quieted down and we were able to get to sleep by about 10:00.

Tenn-Tom Trip Ends - June 15, 2011

2011-06-15T20:04:00.000-05:00

I woke at 5:15 this morning and the thermometer read 74 degrees - about 10 degrees warmer than yesterday morning. Since we didn't have a real schedule for today, I went back to sleep for another hour or so. Then, after cleaning up the boat and taking Daisy for her morning walk, we hopped in the truck and drove to McDonalds for a biscuit. Then we untied the boat and idled out of the Marina on the backwater, taking a path parallel to the main channel of the Tenn-Tom for several miles. I think the section we were on was probably part of the old "original" path of the Tombigbee River, before the Corps of Engineers straighted it out in the 1980's. Anyway, it was a pretty morning ride upstream that eventually joined back with the main channel. We continued upstream for another few miles, passing several fishing boats using "noodles" or gallon jugs to float fish.

Columbus Marina as seen exiting the Stennis Lock. The first building is Woody's restaurant, which has been closed for some time. The marina office and slips are behind the restaurant.

Grain loading facility near Waverly Marina.

The grain silo facility next to Waverly Marina was busy loading a barge and a couple of Corps of Engineers boats were moving downstream, apparently tied together. Their large outboards were kicked up, and they were being pushed along by smaller Yamaha outboards which were mounted alongside the bigger engine. Glenda and I wondered what they were doing. We got our answer when they pulled into Columbus Marina as we were topping off the fuel tank on the Knot-So-Fast. I commented to one of the drivers on the little Yamaha 6 hp outboards pushing the boats. He told me they had just gotten the smaller outboards, for use as auxiliary power, and were in the process of breaking them in.

Breaking in their new Yamaha 6 hp auxiliary outboards.

Our total mileage for the last 3 days was 86.9, and filling the tank took 6.77 gallons for an average of 12.83 mpg!

The little tug boat continues perform well. I still need to move the batteries and fuel tank forward to get some weight off the stern, and there are places on each side of the deck that catch and hold rainwater that I need to address, but overall she is a great little boat. The Glen-L company designed her well.

The little Yamaha 9.9 HP outboard still hasn't missed a beat, either. I still get strange looks from people when they see it and ask "Is that the ONLY motor you got on that thang?????" I know they don't believe me when I tell them that it pushes the boat just fine. We currently have about 1300 miles on the boat, and are looking forward to our next trip.

This little guy crossed the river in front of us this morning.

Glenda Says:
We were successful! Even old people can have fun. Of course I missed the grand kids, but truthfully anytime I am enjoying myself I wish I could share it with the people I love. I know this kind of travel is not for everybody but to me the joy of it outweighs the inconveniences. We slept in this morning, we were both moving a little slow. But I perked right up after my morning coffee. I enjoyed the morning ride. This morning I got a photo opt with a water snake headed quickly across the river. He was not happy when we intercepted him attempting to get a better picture. The Columbus Marina was nice and clean. It was pleasant to have the truck and not have to hike over to the showers. We met a couple of nice people who are living on their boats. I'm not sure I'm ready for that. It was also very dog friendly. Unfortunately most of the "neighbor" dogs were exuberant labs. They were very friendly but their idea of fun was attempting to bat Daisy around. She did not care much for that. The heat is still the most difficult thing to deal with, but being a school teacher, summer is the only time I have to spend much time on the boat. We'll just have to deal with it. Hope you enjoy our blog!

Tenn-Tom Trip, June 14, 2011

2011-06-15T07:58:00.000-05:00

Last night was really cool after the storm. When I woke up it was about 65 degrees!
We got an early start today, leaving the Marina at 6:05, and the lockmaster at Stennis Lock had the doors open for us when we arrived. By 6:30 we had been lowered about 26' and were exiting the lock on the lower side.

Early morning fog made the river seem extreemly peaceful.

I don't think I've ever seen this many buzzards in one place. This is one of 6 towers they were covering.

Not the prettiest group of girls at the dance.

For the first few miles I was a little dissapointed in the scenery.Downstream of the lock, the scenery looked bland and artificial. We didn’t see anyone fishing, and the pelicans, herons and other birds we were so accustomed to seeing had vanished. Then after a few miles we began seeing hundreds of birds – buzzards! We passed under an electrical distribution line and there were literally several hundred buzzards perched on the electrical towers and along the river bank. Like some people, buzzards are more attractive if viewed from a distance. My new camera let me get way too close to their faces. I was beginning to think that buzzards was all we would see today.

Thankfully the scenery soon changed and we ended up seeing (and getting pictures) of 2 bald eagles, a raccoon, osprey, and several other birds. Glenda and I are both trying to get used to making the new camera work like we want it to, but sometimes it seems to have a mind of its own. We are getting pictures that we never could have made with the older cameras, but we need to work on using the features of the new camera to make the quality of pictures a little better. As we travelled farther downriver toward Belville Lock and Dam, we also passed more and more homes. Many were the kind of homes that made you wish you could just sit in the swing on the front porch with a glass of sweet tea and watch the river flow slowly by.

I never get tired of seeing the bald eagles.

Prettier than the buzzards.

We're not sure what he was looking for, but he was in a hurry!

We didn't seem to bother him as he walked along the bank.

I don't know what to say about this one - "Just in Case?"

Another unexpected structure!

These ladies were taking it easy under a "whole yard" fan.

At 11:20 we arrived at the Tom Beville Visitor Center and the historic snagboat “Montgomery”, which is dry docked on the riverbank. The Beville Lock and Dam is adjacent to the snagboat and visitor center.

The snagboat, (which I mistakenly thought dated back to the Civil War period), was commissioned in the 1920’s, and powered by coal-fueled steam boilers. It is a true piece of history, and they’ve done a great job of restoring it. It was easy to imagine what life would have been like for the workers onboard.

The Snagboat "Montgomery", circa 1926

The wheelhouse looked like it was still operational!

Glenda loved the rear lounging area. Through the window you can see the paddlewheel.

The view from the upper deck was great.

The visitor center is also impressive, but I failed to see any historic or cultural significance to it, since it was built in 1985. (That’s pure opinion on my part.)

Just before we left the site, a tug with (I think) 5 barges exited the upper end of the lock and passed by us headed upstream. We would see him again today at Stennis Lock as he was in the process of locking up when we arrived. The wait was short and we were soon in the lock for the second time today.

As soon as we came out of the lock on the upper side, the first thing I saw was our white pelicans! They are much prettier than the brown ones we see on the coast, but I do love to see the brown variety circle above the water at 40 or 50 feet and the fold their wings and plunge at what looks like 100 mph into the water. More often than not, when they surface they are swallowing a fish. I guess God made us all different.

We tied back up in our slip at the Marina and headed for town in the truck to sample some of Columbus’ fine dining. Then after we left Backyard Burgers, we stopped by Walmart to pick up a few things. Back at the marina, we showered and tried to post this entry to the blog, but the bugs overtook us at the office and we couldn’t get a strong enough signal to connect to the wi-fi from our slip at the far end of the marina. I’m writing this in MS-Word, and I’ll cut and paste it tomorrow when I can get closer to the wi-fi router.

Most of the turtles drop off into the water before we get close enough for a picture. These hung around a little longer.

I had almost given up on seeing an osprey on this trip. Then this guy and his mate flew by late in the afternoon.

Wondering what kind of creature might make this his home.

The tugboat's pilothouse stood above the lock gates as he waited to go upstream. As soon as he was out, the chamber was emptied and we got the OK to enter the lock.

They may not be as aerobatic as their brown cousins, but they are prettier.

Glenda Says:
Ladies never believe what men promise! Tom said if I got up right away and got ready he would take me into town for a cup of coffee before we left. Welllllll, I fulfilled my end of the bargain but by the time he finished his toiletries he said it was too late! Oh well it is a bad habit anyway. The morning was beautiful. I even got a little chilly as we skimmed across the water at 5:50. A.M. We got through the lock without any difficulties. I am always scanning with the binoculars because, by golly, if I can see it with the binoculars Tom can take a picture of it with his super-duper new camera! Early in the day was best. We saw the bald eagles closer than I have ever seen them. (my best God moment of the day) "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up on wings as eagles. " Then we spied a easy going racoon walking along the bank looking for breakfast. He did not seem to be particularly concerned with us so we were able to get some good pictures. By the time we arrived at the "snag boat" it was getting hot. We ate lunch before we toured the boat. It was commissioned in 1926. I told Tom if he built me one like that I would go anywhere he wanted to go. (but I would probably need a wheelchair) We walked through the vistors center, mostly for the air-conditioning, but the antiques were nice. Then it was back on schedule if we were going to make it back to Columbus marina by 7:00. I napped briefly on the way back but it seems that while was I trying to nap was when Tom decided to get all friendly and toot the horn at everybody he saw. Can you tell that by the end of the day the heat had made me a little irritable. At one point when I was tying up the boat Tom said, "I will tell you what you doing wrong there one day when you're not dehydrated" . He is a smart man!

Tenn-Tom Waterway Trip. Just Me and Glenda. June 13, 2011

2011-06-13T19:34:00.001-05:00

Glenda and I are on a tug boat trip without any of our grandchildren, for the first time since we launched the boat last year. We decided to take the opportunity to cover some new territory, so left Montevallo this morning pulling the Knot-So-Fast on her trailer, headed for Columbus MS. About 10:45 we arrived at Columbus Marina, which is located just off the main channel of the Tenn-Tom Waterway, North of Stennis Lock and Dam.

White Pelicans!

The tug boat "Ashleigh", from the Port of Mobile, heads downstream toward Stennis Lock.

It was hard to tell if the Waverly Marina was open for business or not (?)

Barge Loading Facility a couple of miles North of Columbus Marina.

Clear Skies to the West after the Storm.

Columbus Marina is a small but modern facility, and we were met by the marina’s very helpful and friendly manager, T. Caldwell. We were given our choice of several covered slips, which later proved to be a blessing. More about that later.

After launching the boat and tying her up in the slip, we unhooked the trailer and took the truck into town to find lunch. We had a great lunch at the Main St. Café. It’s the kind of place you find in all small towns, where the locals and informed visitors enjoy a relaxing meal in the hub of town. Of course the sweet tea was excellent, as was the food.

Back at the boat, we decided to do a little exploring while we waited for the sun to get a little lower in the sky. We untied and headed out of the marina, passing the Stennis Lock and Dam before turning upstream. Our first unexpected sight was a group of WHITE pelicans. We are used to seeing lots of the brown pelicans on the Gulf Coast, and I knew that the white variety existed. I just didn’t realized that they were found this far inland. If my memory is correct, the main difference (aside from the color), is that the brown pelicans catch their food by diving from the air at great speed into the water, whereas the whites feed by catching small fish that swim by them as the float. (Somebody correct me if this is not correct). I’m sure Abby will do some reference work on white pelicans when she sees the pictures!

We puttered upriver at about 5 mph, playing with my new toy, a Canon SX30-IS camera. Beginning with our first trip on the tug boat a little over a year ago, I had become more and more frustrated with my old digital camera. We saw lots of wildlife, but managed to get only an occasional photo from close range. It seemed that every time we saw a really beautiful bird, alligator, deer, or what-ever, that we’d scare it away by trying to get the boat close enough to take a decent photo. After the trip to Chattanooga a couple of weeks ago, I looked through the photos we had taken and decided I had to have a better camera for wildlife scenes. We had seen so many beautiful examples of God’s creation, but my camera just wasn’t up to the task of doing them justice. The SX30 has a 35X Optical Zoom and can go up to 140X with its Digital Zoom – It’s really neat! I hope I’m still this happy with it when the VISA bill comes at the end of the month.

After about 7 miles of upriver travel, stopping often to check out the Corps of Engineers facilities and to photograph birds and such, we turned around, making it back to the marina just in time to get the boat secured before an afternoon thunderstorm hit with lots of lightning and 40+ mph wind gust. After a couple of “waves” of stormy weather, things calmed down and we enjoyed much cooler temperatures.

Glenda Says: Ok, test do we really like each other well enough to spend this much time together given that about 16 feet is as far away as we can get if we need to. We’ll see how it goes. Columbus Marina is very nice. It is also very quiet. I had hoped it would be a good place to bring the grandkids but I don’t see a good place for them to get into the water . There is a nice recreation area with a simple play ground but it’s more than ¼ mile from the marina. The marina is very “Daisy” friendly and other than being harassed by an overzealous yellow lab she seems to be enjoying herself. I really enjoyed our ride upstream. I enjoy the thrill of the hunt looking for wildlife. I saw another deer by the water today. I have decided to look for God everywhere and the deer reminded me of when the Pslamist said “my soul pants for you as the deer pants for the water”. ( I think it was the Pslamist that said that) It was hot enough for the deer to be panting. I was not ready to come back but the captain insisted and it was a good thing. About 20 minutes after docking our roughest storm yet came in. The lightening was horrible and the wind was worse. The good news is it should be a very cool night for sleeping.

More White Pelicans

TN River Trip - Final Notes and a Story About a True Salty Dog.

2011-06-06T08:55:00.001-05:00

Our trip from Goose Pond Colony Marina in Scottsboro, AL to Island Cove Marina in Harrison, TN and back, with a stop in Chattanooga, covered 219 miles, and put 39 hours on the Knot-So-Fast's 9.9 hp engine. This brings our total mileage on the boat to about 1200!

Mileage for the upstream half of this trip was 11.09 mpg. I have not filled up again, but judging by past trips and the fuel gauge, I suspect that the downstream ride was done at about 14 or 15 mpg for a round trip average of about 13.

We did better with our food planning this time. In the past we always packed twice as much food as we needed. This time we finished the trip with a little surplus food, but not nearly as much as before. I still packed way too many clothes. I've decided that in the future I need to pack a presentable set of clothing for restaurants or other social events, and wear bathing trunks and a tee shirt while travelling. This would be more comfortable and they could be washed out in the sink and would dry overnight. A couple of pair should be all I need.

Glenda and I are still studying how to move the batteries and fuel tank forward. This would solve two issues; 1) It would balance the boat better, putting her closer to the designed water line, and 2) It would give us some much needed space in the cockpit and eliminate the problematic water flow issues around the covers that I currently have over the battery and tank compartments.

Before this trip I made compartments between the cabin top beams to house 4 life jackets, a book rack on the port side of the bulkhead and a binocular/cell phone rack under the steering wheel. These small changes gave us extra storage under the port seat and eliminated lots of clutter on the dash. I'll continue to work on storage improvements.

The biggest lesson I learned on this trip was the need for a spare pair of binoculars! When our only pair broke on day one, I knew I'd have a hard time finding another pair. I was pessimistic about the super-glue repair I made, but with gentle handling the repairs held up for the length of this trip. I did become acutely aware, however, of how often I used them and how important they are. My aging eyes are not really all that bad, but I have severe color-blindness and can't distinguish the red/green navigational markers by color alone. The binoculars make it easy to see the shapes of the markers from manageable distance. We also use them constantly to read signs, look at wildlife, and a host of other essential tasks. As my Daddy use to say, I would have "been in a world of hurt" without them.

Now for the Salty Dog story. At about 4:30 on Sunday afternoon, we went to our church small group meeting which lasted until about 7:30. Daisy was in the back yard as usual, and Glenda made sure she had plenty of water on the shaded back porch, because it was really hot. Shortly after we got home our neighbor informed us that she had rescued Daisy from the tug boat, where she assumed we had mistakenly forgotten her. Glenda assured her that we did not leave her in the boat. A quick investigation revealed that Daisy had dug under the gate of the back yard, CLIMBED the stepladder we had put beside the boat, and jumped into the cockpit. Once there, she apparently was afraid to make the leap back to the stepladder (or she just chose not to get out). Apparently her condition caused a stir and a two unknown ladies had noticed her, giving her some water and then knocking on the neighbors door to inform her of the cruel owner's (our) neglect. I guess that proves that Glenda was right - Daisy loves to ride on the boat. What really makes me feel like an idiot is that we've been carrying her up that stepladder for over a year!!!

TN River Trip - June 4th, 2011 - Our Last Day of the Trip

2011-06-05T22:23:00.001-05:00

We stayed tied up at the fuel dock pier at Hales Bar last night, and had a pretty consistent breeze through the windows. We got up early and pulled out at 6:01, with the "River Dawg" right behind us. River Dawg's owners were headed to their homeport in Guntersville, finishing a 500 mile river trip in the 60'+ houseboat. They told us about locking through at Chickamauga yesterday when, using the stern thruster to keep the big boat against the lock wall, they overloaded the thruster battery and it literally blew up!

We saw more tugs on the return trip from Chattanooga.

When we arrived at Nickajack Lock about 7:00, we were informed that we had about a 45 minute wait, since a towboat was just about to be locked down. About 7:20 the lockmaster radioed to inform us that the tow was almost down in the lock, and they would be locking up a pleasure craft, then we would lock down next. He also asked us to make way for another downstream tow, with 7 barges, that was going to tie up on the lock entrance wall and wait for his turn to lock down after us. We then heard "Mo Jac" a larger yacht that had passed us yesterday and also overnighted at Hales Bar, call to say he was approaching the lock and needed to lock down. It was clearly getting busy.

The small boat that had locked up exited the lock at about 8:00 and we were given the OK to enter the lock. The River Dawg entered first and tied to his starboard side, and we pulled in behind him and secured to a bollard. Although River Dawg's captain had expressed some worry about keeping the houseboat in line without the use of his stern thruster, he didn't seem to have any trouble keeping her firmly against the wall. Mo Jac was approaching the lock and after being warned by the lockmaster to "slow it down" he passed us and the River Dawg and tied up on the downstream end of the lock. This put us in the perfect order to leave, fastest boat first, then the River Dawg, and finally the Knot-So-Fast. The 40' drop to Lake Guntersville level was quick, and we were out of the lock and on our way to Goose Pond Colony by 8:30.

This dock section apparently got away from its owner. It was floating in the middle of the river.

Going upstream we navigated around islands using the normal navigation line on my GPS. Travelling back, we took the opposite side of the islands when the charts showed there was sufficient depth.

Herons were the most commont birds we saw, and one of Abby's favorites.

Thursday evening while we were docked at Chattanooga, a couple with 3 children walked by and the smallest child, a red-headed boy who looked to be about 4 years old, squealed when he saw our little red tug. He obviously recognized my boat as the one he'd seen in the children’s' books, and he was begging his Mom and Dad to let him climb in. His mother explained to him that it was not their boat and he couldn't get on someone else’s boat. I told them that if it was OK with them, he was welcome to climb on and look. He and Dad stepped into the cockpit while Mom took their picture. The little guy was grinning from ear to ear.

Back to Saturday, we were just South of the Willow Creek Steam Plant when we saw pontoon boat in the middle of the river with several people aboard. Several kids started making hand motions for us to blow our horn, and we obliged them with several toot-toots. I then noticed the young man aboard yelling, waving and pointing toward the front of the pontoon. I couldn't hear what he was saying, and had no idea what he was pointing at. I slowed to an idle and turned the tug toward them, pulling up on their starboard side. That's when I saw "Eli", the little red-headed guy that we'd met in Chattanooga! He had the same ear-to-ear grin on his face as we pulled up! We talked with them for a few minutes, said goodbye to our little friend and headed downriver again. Maybe we'll run into Eli again someday.

The Willow Creek Steam Plant.

About an hour away from Goose Pond, we started packing away all the accumulated "stuff" in the boat. When we arrived we found our truck and trailer just as we left it at the marina, and within about 20 minutes we were loaded and headed home. We'd promised Abby a catfish dinner on the way home, so we stopped at the Catfish Cabin in Guntersville. Abby was lured away from the catfish when she saw flounder on the menu. (She said she wanted "real" seafood, not catfish.) Both the flounder and the catfish were great, and the meal would have been perfect had it not been for the fact that our ticket showed that Glenda and I both got a "Senior Citizen Discount" on our sweet tea. (Glenda has a little bit of a denial problem.)

Bridge Construction

I have decided we need a bigger boat. These trips are just too much fun not to share with more of our grand-kids.

Glenda Says:

It was cooler last night! It was the only night we weren't under a covered slip, which may have been the key. We got an early start. Abby just stayed in her gown and slept some more until after went got through the lock. We stayed close to the "River Dawg" up to and through the lock. Even though the trip has been hot I still have mixed feelings about it being over. Being out on the river, even in the heat, makes me feel "real" if that sounds crazy so be it. I watched the river banks carefully hoping for more sightings of all the creatures you know are hiding there. I'm remembering not to take the beautiful herons, magnificent ospreys and charming dragon flies for granted. They are always free with their appearances. I really want the trip to go on but as they say "the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak". The heat as left me as limp as a dishrag, as my momma used to say. So it is time to go home and recover.

Abby enjoyed seeing the dragon flies in varying colors. (Look closely on her leg).

Abby Says:

I'm ready to go home too. It has been fun but it is hot. Today I mostly played with my DS but the best part was the dragonflies that kept flying in and landing on me. My favorite one was blue with a large green head. He kept moving his head around like he was looking at me. We stopped a couple of times and walked around some. I liked that too. I told Papa that the trip would be better if we could sleep in more and stop more.

TN River Trip - Friday June 3, 2011

2011-06-03T22:26:00.001-05:00

Breakfast this morning was at Panera Bread, just a few blocks away from our dock. After breakfast Glenda and Abby played on the "steps" waterfall and I caught up on downloading pictures and such to the computer. After taking care of some housekeeping, we walked awhile in the dock area. We visited the "Moon Pie" actory store and decided to eat lunch before buying anything we'd have to carry around with us. Another block or so up the street was "Sugar BBQ" which I'd heard was good. We were impressed by the friendly service, and the BBQ was some of the best I've ever had (and I eat lots of BBQ).

The view from our dock, looking down river last night.

Stopping back by the Moon Pie store, we loaded up with Glenda's favorite banana flavored pies, and Abby got souveniers for her and her little sister Bailey. Once back at the boat we packed things away and cast off for Hales Bar. This trip would only be about 36 miles, and I hoped the current allow us to make good time. I set the throttle at about 3800 rpm and the GPS registered about 6.7 mph.

Just South of downtown we were passed by the houseboat "River Dawg" who radioed to warn of his passing and assuring us that he was not making a big wake. The crew was finishing a 500 mile cruise and would stay tonight as Hales Bar before ending the trip at thier homeport in Guntersville.

Going back through the Gorge, we deviated only slightly from our previous course, taking the left downsteam route around Williams Island. This proved to be worthwhile, as we saw from this side that the island was mostly pasture land where a fairly sizeable heard of cattle was being kept. There was a small outboard powered barge platform tied up on the island that appeared to be used to transport equipment and cattle back and forth.

As we passed the discharge facility for the Raccoon Mountain Resovoir, Glenda's sharper eyes spotted a large doe white-tail standing ankle-deep in the water at the bank. We approached to try and get a video shot, but she wouldn't stand for that!

We arrived at Hales Bar about 5:05 Central Time, and decided to stay at the fuel dock. River Dawg and Mo Jac, a yacht that also passed us during the day, were both tied up nearby.

Glenda Says:
It was nice to have options for breakfast! We enjoyed our walk to Panera Bread. Abby wanted to spend as much time as she could playing on the step waterfall. She and I played most of the morning. We made a make shift frisbee from our drink lid. We enjoyed strolling back down the street for lunch. But after moonpies I'm afraid I better start worrying more about those calories. The views of the mountains along the gorge are amazing. I am very grateful for this opportunity to enjoy these gifts from God!

Abby and I played frisbie with a soda cup lid on the steps this morning.

It was hard to drag Abby away from here. It was one of the only cool spots around.

We have lots of pictures of the steps!

Lookout Mountain

Glenda samples a "factory fresh" banana Moon Pie.

The other side of William's Island gave no clue that it was home to a herd of cattle.

Typical river path through the mouintains in the Gorge.

Abby says:
I got to play on the steps a lot. Papa even played with me some. I got a stuffed llama at the moonpie store. I liked the mint chocolate moonpies. We got something for Bailey too. I got to go swimming when we got back to Hales Bar. While we were gone Daisy wet on my bed. So we had to wash it.

TN River Trip - Thursday June 2nd

2011-06-03T21:23:00.000-05:00

This entry is for Thursday, June 2, but was not posted until Friday, June 3rd.

Knot-So-Fast approahing the Island Cove fuel dock.

This morning was a lazy one for the Knot-So-Fast crew. We woke early, washed a load of clothes, and cleaned up. Then we pulled the Knot-So-Fast out of her covered slip and around to the fuel dock, where an Island Cove employee was waiting to help us gas up. My estimate of 12 gallons of fuel was pretty close – she took 11.75 to fill her 19 gallon tank. That translated to 11.09 mpg so far on this trip, which has been all against the current to this point.

Abby and Daisy wait for "Papa" to finish fueling.

Our experience at Island Cove was a good one. Transient slips are only $0.75 per foot, the restaurant was right next door, and the shower & laundry facilities were clean. The Wi-Fi connection worked perfectly, although a worker there had warned us of occasional problems with it. Island Cove is a busy place, with wet and dry storage for about 600 boats, a very busy boat repair facility and restaurant all squeezed into a fairly small space.

We emptied the porta-pottie and trash bag, then pulled out of Island Cove Marina about 9:05 Eastern Time, headed downstream toward Chickamauga Lock and Dam for our lock-down to Chattanooga. We noticed a tug and barge about a mile ahead of us, and I thought there might be a delay at the lock if we had to wait while they locked the tug down ahead of us. When we arrived at the lock, we learned that there was a problem with a tug that was in the chamber, and we would have an estimated 2 hour waitlock down. We circled awhile, visited the Chickamauga Marine and the TVA boat ramp/park across the river, then circled in front of the lock some more. About 12:30 we were joined by a couple on “Argosy”, a Californian flybridge cruiser, and a runabout with 2 young men aboard. We learned from radio communication with the lock that the plan was to lock us down as soon as the tug/barge could get underway and clear the lock. The Dennis Ross would have to wait a full cycle to lock down, since he had to go through alone because of his size.

Finally, around 3:05 the problem tug cleared the lock and we were given the horn signal to enter the chamber. Argosy went first and moved to the starboard bollard on the downstream end of the lock. The runabout grabbed the bollard directly behind Argosy. This forced us to tie up across from Argosy on the port side, meaning that Glenda had to swap a fender from starboard to port and then lasso the bollard while I positioned the boat as close as possible to the wall. Glenda performed her task better than I usually do, and we were secured quickly. The Argosy had already radioed the lock that they were secure, but then we noticed they had come loose and were moving forward. The captain quickly recovered and moved her back into position, calling again to report he was secured. We let the lockmaster know we were also secured, and almost immediately the water started dropping. The lock down seems much faster than locking up, and in no time we were watching the lower doors open onto Nickajack Lake. The Argosy pulled away and we followed. Once clear of the lock, the runabout pulled up beside us and asked permission to take a picture of our boat. (Permission ????!!!! We love the attention.)

Between the lock and downtown Chattanooga, we were running about 7 mph at 3800 rpm. Current makes a lot of difference in a little boat like ours. Once in in Chattanooga we tried radioing Marine Max to find out where we were to dock. The Captain of “Mas Bueno”, a trawler docked on the Bluff View dock, responded and offered to grab our lines if we wanted to go ahead and tie up beside him. We decided to go to the marina office first instead. We needed ice for the coolers, and I really didn’t want to have to move the boat once we docked for the day.

The marina had us reserved for another dock, but we asked them change us to Bluff View. We wanted to be near other boats, and the Mas Bueno captain had already gone out of his was to help us, so we knew we’d be among new friends. The Fruition was docked just ahead of the Mas Bueno, and we later met her owners and learned they lived on the Fruition at Hales Bar Marina. Like 2 other couples we met at Hales Bar, they remembered the Glen-L boat builders’ “Gathering” last September and were glad to hear that we’d be back there this September.

Glenda Says:

Island Cove Marina was nice. I feel ok about all the calories I’m consuming because I’m walking so far to the showers! We took some nice photos before we left and Tom let us sleep in till at least 6:30. Surprising there was no place for coffee again but when I went into the boat store and ask, the guy in there gave me some of their office coffee. We left the marina around 9:00. When we realized we had a wait to lock through we went over and investigated the marina closest to the lock. We didn’t stay long as Tom wanted to make sure we were ready when the lock opened. Three and one half hours later went got through. I was really fine the first 2 and ½ hours but that 3rd hour was rather frustrating. Abby read aloud some and played with her DS. We arrived in Chattanooga around 4:00. Had a great ,very late, lunch at TGI Fridays. Then we walked across the pedestrian bridge over to the park where Abby played briefly in the park foundation but being a little like her Papa she did not like the crowd. We came back over to the dock and she played on the waterfall stairs. It was rather crowed there too. We had a nice visit with the people who were docked here and enjoyed the comments made about our boat by the people strolling along the waterfront. I did have a little difficulty going to sleep. I was uncomfortable knowing the just anybody could be two feet away just outside the boat. But once I went to sleep I slept pretty good.

Abby Says:

I decided not to go swimming at the marina. I wanted to spend more time in Chattanooga. We waited a long time at the lock. When we got to Chattanooga I liked the steps best. But the BEST thing was a beaver that was living close to the boat. We saw him swimming in the water. Daisy saw him too and wanted to jump in and get him. I hope we see him again before we leave. I am having lots of fun.

Abby LOVED feeding the ducks. Daisy wanted to feed ON them!

Ready for the ride down river to Chattanooga

FINALLY inside the Chickamauga Lock!

This was Abby's favorite spot in Chattanooga

Abby and Papa take a break on Market Street.

The smiles tell the story!

Abby is waiting for the beaver to reappear.

June 1, 2011. Hales Bar Marina to Island Cove Marina

2011-06-01T19:41:00.002-05:00

Hales Bar Marina

We slept well last night, and were up by a little after 5:00. At about 6:15 we pulled out of Hales Bar and headed toward Chattanooga. There was quite a bit of debris and floating logs as we got started, but it gradually got better and better as we travelled upstream. The heat was tough today - high of 97 degrees!

We continue to see dozens of osprey each day, many times on thier nest, with young.

As we entered the 25+ mile "gorge" where the TN runs in the canyon created by Raccoon, Signal and Lookout mountains, I discovered why it is such a favorite cruising ground. I can only imagine what it would look like in the Fall as the leaves are changing! We tried to take good pictures and video, but they don't do justice to the views in real life.

One suprise I had was the fairly consistent cell phone service I had in the gorge. It wasn't always there, but probably over half the time we had a signal strong enough to make a call or check e-mail.

When we got to Chattanooga, I began to worry a little about getting to Island Cove before they closed. We needed ice and thought I remembered them saying the office closed at 5:00 PM. When we figured in loosing an hour due to them being on Eastern time, I knew we'd have to get through Chickamauga Lock quickly to make it in time.

We arrived at the lock a little before 3:00 Eastern time, and had to wait for another boat that was locking down to clear. We then entered the lock with another small boat, for the lift up to Chickamauga Lake. We exited the lock at about 3:35. We called the marina to tell them that we would be close to 5 oclock getting there, and were pleasantly suprised to learn they didn't close until 6:00! We arrived about 4:50 and pulled into the fuel dock, found the office and got our slip assignment, gate code, bath-house key and information that the restaurant next door was open.

We washed our faces and headed straight to the restaurant, the Fox Cay. Abby and I had catfish and Glenda had grilled tuna. We probably drank about a gallon of water each and enjoyed the air-conditioning!

Back at the boat we straighted up, drained the ice chest and got the berths ready for sleeping. Then Glenda and Abby took off to the showers while I downloaded pictures and videos to the computer.

The "Gorge"

The Chattanooga Star

We've seen the river from this Highway many times. Today the view was reversed. It's much better without the truck traffic!

American Indian Statue.

The famous Delta Queen, now a floating hotel in Chattanooga.

This must really be pretty when the leaves change!

This osprey let us get pretty close before leaving her nest. She didn't go far.

Mountains all around you!

Glenda Says:

We got off to an early start this morning but no coffee. Tom saw a boat launch with a store and offered to stop and see if I could get a cup of coffee. I ask a man fishing there if he thought I could get a cup of coffee at the store, he sort of chuckled and said probably not but I could get a cold beer. As we were tying up a couple rode down in their golf cart and I ask them if I could get a cup of coffee at the store. She said no since the owner did'nt drink it he did'nt sell it. She offered to go to her place to make me some. You know some people are just so nice. I declined of course and we went on our way. Abby went back to sleep until about 8:00 ,but she was awake early enough to see most of the beautiful scenery. Many of the houses along the route are beautiful. We loved the one with the indian statue. But the area called the "skillet" was the most beautiful. There were mountains all around us. In years passed as I have driven through Chattanooga I have always said I wish I could see this view from the water. Today I was able to. We arrived at the marina too late again for Abby to get in a swim. But she was a good sport. We fed the ducks and the fish and we ate a nice meal at the "Fox Cay" resturant. Heck Abby thinks its cool that the showers had a dispenser with body and shampoo soap. Come to thnk of it that is pretty cool!

Abby says:

Today two funny things happened. Daisy was laying in her bed on the stepdown but she was too close to the edge and flipped over. She did not like that! And for the first time someone was in the lock with us. They had a dog and a cat on board the boat with them. (Papa claimed he saw a bird in there too but me and G.G. did not see it) The dog started chasing the cat and the man began to yell loudly!. Here at the marina there are all kinds of ducks. About 7 came over to our boat and G.G. let me get a piece of bread and feed them. There were so many different kinds of ducks, 3 white ones, 1 multi colored one and 4 green headed ones. We ate supper at Fox Cay, a wierd name for a resturant. But it was good.

May 31, Scottsboro to Hales Bar Marina in Guild, TN

2011-05-31T21:06:00.000-05:00

Sleeping on the boat last night was about a 6 on a scale of 1-10. We were under a covered slip, so the afternoon sun didn't heat up the boat too much. We ran the fans in the v-berth until around mid-night and the heat was tolerable. About 3:00 am the swallows that had nest under the dock awning woke up and thought the needed to wake the rest of the world. I turned my fan back on to drown out some of their chirping, and finally got back to sleep. I woke at 5:00 am and Glenda and Abby finally got up about 5:30. (Have I mentioned that Glenda is NOT a morning person?)

The grill at the bait shop was open at 5:00, so we had the deluxe breakfast this morning (that's canned biscuits and bacon instead of the usual honey bun or granola bar.) I had put my foot down with Glenda and Abby and insisted that the Knot-So-Fast was pulling out to head upriver at 6:00 AM sharp, NO MATTER WHAT. So about 6:33 we untied and left the marina.

The weather was clear with just a little haze on the water. As we entered the main channel of Lake Guntersville, I noticed that the depth finder was still not working consistently. I had hoped that the sensor had just moved out of alignment, but a quick check showed that was not the problem. Throughout the day it seemed to get better, so I won't worry about it now.

The broken binoculars that I super-glued back together last night seemed to hold, and we handled them very delicately all day. We use them constantly, and I really can't imagine not having them. Hopefully the glue will hold for the duration of this trip.

Today's scenery was great, and we wound through some smaller mountains and around several islands that split the river. There were lots of bass boats on the water, and several areas were covered with drifting "noodles". Catfishers use a 1' piece of swimming noodle, with a line and hook, to drift fish, putting out dozens of noodles and letting them float with the current. After a sufficient time, they retrieve them and (hopefully) the fish on the end of the line.

We passed no commercial traffic at all today, which was suprising to me. I had assumed that there was a lot of barge/tug boat traffic here, but if today was a normal day I was certainly wrong.

We lost count of the osprey we saw today. Many of them were on nest at the top of navigational markers, with what appeared to be nearly grown chicks. About 11:00 oclock I spotted a bald eagle flying across the river in front of us. He flew until we had to use the binoculars to see him, and we then noticed that another had joined him. The sighting lasted probably less than a minute, but it was still a thrill for all three of us. When I was Abby's age everyone was predicting that the bald eagle would become extinct, and to see them now as we have on several of our boat trips is fantastic.

We held the Knot-So-Fast's little Yamaha 9.9 to about 4000 rpm most of the day, which translated to about 5.5 mph running against a slight current. When we were about an hour below the Nickajack Lock and Dam, I called the lock tender on the VHF radio to let him know we needed to lock through upstream. We were glad to hear that he had no other traffic, and when we arrived the gate was open and they were waiting on us. He directed us to a bollard on the upstream side of the chamber, saying there would be less turbulence there. The water rose quickly and were exiting onto Nickajack Lake within about 20 minutes of entering the lock. After clearing the lock, Abby took the wheel for about an hour, until she handed off to me as we approached Hales Bar Marina. After checking in and resupplying with ice, Abby and Glenda took a dip in the pool, then headed off to the showers and to do laundry. The restaurant at the marina was not open, so supper was sandwiches again. We made the decision not to bring the propane grill on this trip, hoping to eat one meal each day at a restaurant - I guess if you count the bacon biscuit, we'd already eaten out once today.

Tomorrow we'll entered the section of the TN river that everyone say's is the most beautiful section of the whole river - the Gorge that forms a canyon between Raccoon, Signal, and Lookout mountains.

Glenda Says:
I AM TOO A MORNING PERSON! Just not a 5:00 A.M. person. I just enjoyed the view early this morning while Abby and Daisy napped. I seem to always see the big splash but miss seeing the big fish that made it. I like sitting out on the back and feeling the warmth of the morning sun before it gets too hot. Abby read aloud some from "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" after she got awake. There's just something magical about floating down the river enjoying God's creation. The "regulars" here at Hales Bar are super nice. We were immediatly met with welcomes and questions of what they could do for us. One older couple insisted on leaving their fan here for us to use tonight! Of course for Abby, the most important thing once we arrived at Hale's Bar was getting to the pool. For most of our couple of hours we had the pool to ourselves. We've showered and are now ready for the worst part of every trip. Getting the beds ready. By the time I am finished I need another shower!

Abby says:
Today we had FUN!!! First we headed off on the Knot-So-Fast from AL toTN. We passed the AL/TN state line! When we got here at the marina, there was a pool, and this time the pool closed at 9:00. So we got to go swimming. We also got to see turtles. Lots and lots of turtles. Some turtles were as big as a wadded up shirt, others as small as the circle you can make with your pointer finger and your thumb.

Daisy says:
I WOOF am WOOF sweating WOOF!!!

May 30th. We are in Scottsboro, AL and will start our TN River trip tomorrow!

2011-05-31T18:40:00.000-05:00

This post was written last night, but we didn’t have Internet access, so it is being posted now.

Glenda and I, accompanied by our oldest grand- daughter Abby and Daisy our miniature dashound, are embarking on river cruise from Scottsboro, AL to Chattanooga and back on our 20’ tug boat Knot-So-Fast.

On Monday (Memorial Day) we trailered the Knot-So-fast to Scottsboro, AL to Goose Pond Colony Marina. On the way we stopped in Guntersville and at Wintzell’s Oyster House. We had hoped to go to Wintzell’s by boat sometime, but we learned that the two causeway bridges between the restaurant and the main Tennessee River channel only have about 6’ of clearance, a good 18” too short for the tug get under.

By the time we launched at Goose Pond , it was almost 4:00 pm. As Glenda parked the truck, Abby and I motored around the point from the ramp to the marina slips. I handed Abby the binoculars and asked her to read a sign on the bank for me. The binoculars came apart and fell onto the floor, broken. Without my binoculars, I’ll have to depend on Abby and Glenda more to help with the navigational markers, and I’m sure we’ll miss the close up views of the wildlife and birds on the trip.

After originally tying up at the wrong slip, we finally found where we were supposed to be and secured the Knot-So-Fast. Abby was disappointed that the pool was already closed for the day, but the parks sandy swimming area on the river made a decent substitute. We took a short ride out of the marina to the main channel of the river, just to make sure the boat was running correctly and to get a little breeze on our faces – there was no wind at the marina and we were going through our water supply pretty fast in the heat. After a shower, we settled in for the night. Tomorrow morning we’ll head out at daylight for Hales Bar Marina in Guild, TN.

Abby says: Today Monday (Memorial Day) we took a long car ride from Montevallo to Scottsboro. When we finally got here we had to get settled. Then it was time to go swimming, but a nice lady came up to us and said the pool closed at 5:00. Of course it was 5:00. So my grandmother asked another lady if there was a place that we could swim in the river. Yaaaaa!!!!!! We got to go swimming! After that we dried off. We were on our way back to the boat when my grandmother and I saw a muskrat in the water! Today was a great day, and I am looking forward to the next day!

P.S. It is now 9:36 and I am sweating in my bed!

Glenda says: Time to unwind. I can’t explain how refreshing it is to have 9 year old eyes to see the world through. All is well as long as you can go swimming and it is really exciting to see a muskrat swimming in the water! I need to be reminded of the simple joys in God’s creation. I think tomorrow will be a “great” day too!

March 16, 2011. The End of Our Trip, and a Few Notes

2011-03-16T19:19:00.001-05:00

Sunrise from the Barber Marina deck. Glenda and Abby slept through this!

The night was peaceful and quiet at Barber Marina and we slept great. I got up about 6:00 and watched the sun come up and a dolpin play in front of the marina. Glenda and Abby slept in.

At the marina, we met a couple from Tuscaloosa and thier 9 year old daughter. They had chartered a 33' sailboat and had spent the last few days sailing in Alabama and Florida. They offered some TheraFlu for Glenda's cold, which was greatly appreciated.

We also met Tim and Pamela Pennington, who live on their BEAUTIFUL home-built sailboat the "Pamela Ann". They spent 10 years building thier boat and have been living aboard her for 10 years. They told me of plans to transit the Panama Canal next winter and then go up the West coast to Alaska. Tim said they are working on a book of their travels and he hopes to get it published. After talking with them for just a few minutes, I can't wait to read their book!

"Pamela Ann", built by owners Tim and Pamela Pennington.

We pulled out of Barber Marina this morning at 9:00, and made the short trip to the boat ramp under the Hwy. 59 bridge in Gulf Shores. There we pulled the boat out onto her trailer and ended this little adventure.

We love seeing the osprey's. This one didn't seem to care that we got prettly clost to him.

Here are some figures for the trip:

Time: Five days, four nights

Total Mileage: 154

Avg. MPG: 11.18 (This is slightly lower than the 13.2 mpg I got previously. On this trip we ran about

1/2 mph faster. On the next tank of gas, I will run slower, about 5.5 mph, and see how

much difference there is).

March 15, 2011. Our trip gets extended, and Abby goes on a Dinosaur Hunt!

2011-03-15T19:27:00.004-05:00

We were worried last night after hearing that the storms were severe in Mississippi, but everything went North of us, and all we got was a pretty stiff wind all night long. I had to get up several times to check the dock ropes on the boat, since a falling tide and the wind shifts made us start bumping into the dock pilings off and on. Nothing severe, just enough to wake me up with the "thump ......... thump ........... thump".

We took Daisy for her morning walk, filled the ice chest with (free!) ice from the marina, and left headed West for what was supposed to be our last day on the boat.

As we turned to go under the bridge at the marina, one tug/barge was Westbound under the bridge and another was waiting on the other side to come through. When he radioed that he was going under the bridge, I asked if I had time to get through before he got there. The captain assured me that I did, and after clearing the bridge we followed alongside the first tug for a mile or so before turning NW into Pensacola Bay.

These two tugs and the Knot-So-Fast met at the Pensacola Bay Bridge.

My cousin works for the Pensacola Parks Dept., and we decided to take the detour to pay her a visit. Aside from my first going to the wrong pier and ending up in 2' of water (scary), we had a good visit.

By mid-morning Abby was voicing her desire to spend another night on the boat. Glenda was thinking that her head cold might be more tolerable in a real bed that didn't sway and go thump in the night, but a grand-daughter who wants to spend time with you is hard to resist. Glenda agreed to one more night on the boat.

Abby is happy as long as she has a book and Daisy!

We stopped for lunch at the Oyster House and Restaurant, which is near the AL/FL border and right on the ICW. The food was fantastic here. Abby had fish (as always), I had fish and shrimp, and Glenda had salmon. We ate on the porch overlooking the ICW -- great food, great weather, great view ... It doesn't get much better than that!

the Oyster House and Restaurant at the AL -FL line

As we entered Alabama, we started seeing some familiar sights such as the "Cold Mill" fleet of Dolphin Cruise boats. We discussed anchoring in Ingram's Bayou, but when we stopped for gas at Barber Marina, the price of $20 for a nights dockage which included showers, was too good to pass up.

Barbor's Marina is a beautiful facility, clean and quiet, but a little out of the way if you don't have access to a car. But since we'd has such a great lunch that really wasn't an issue. Cold sandwiches were fine for supper.

Of course you can't go to Barber Marina without searching the woods for midieval knights and dinosaurs. Abby caught a dinosaur and made friends with a couple of knights and a giant seahorse.

Abby and the Giant Seahorse at Barber Marina

We met lots of interesting people!

The woods around Barber Marina are full of surprises!

The Knot-So-Fast looks a little small next to some of the other boats. It looked much bigger when it was in our basement!

As I type this, Abby and Glenda have finished showering and have headed back to the boat. We should sleep well tonight as the floating docks here are easier to manage and quieter. Tomorrow we will motor back to Gulf Shores and pull the Knot-So-Fast back onto her trailer until the next adventure.

We hope you've enjoyed reading about our little tugboat trips, and until next time, God Bless.

Tom, Glenda, Abby and Daisy

March 14, 2011 - Back to Santa Rosa Yacht Club in Gulf Breeze, FL

2011-03-14T17:12:00.004-05:00

The Landing, a Ft. Walton city park where we docked Sunday night.

We all slept late this morning, and didn't stir until 7:00 am. A tow boat and barge came through about 3:00am and woke me, but was gone by the time I got up to see why the boat was rocking. It was a quiet and peaceful night.

We walked Daisy this morning and Glenda spotted what she thought was a big fish or dolphin headed for the pier, making a wake from underwater. As we all walked to the end of the pier to see it, the little otter popped his head up and looked at us. We watched as he moved from one pier to the other, coming up to look around every minute or so. At one point he stopped to harrass a duck swimming near the pier.

We pulled out just before 9:00 this morning and took a quick look at the Hwy 98 (Miracle Strip) Bridge before turning back West toward Pensacola.

Hwy 98 Bridge over the ICW

I realized that with our late start we wouldn't be in the Pensacola area for lunch as we origianlly planned. I called the Navarre Beach Chamber and got directions to "Sailor's Grill" at the lower west side of the Navarre Beach Bridge. This was sort of a "Jimmy Buffet" style beach grill. Other than the fact that they don't serve sweet tea, the meal there was pretty good.

Knot-So-Fast at the "Sailor's Grill"

Two Shrimp Boats passed us about 2:00. You can see the sound was getting choppy.

After we were out of the Navarre Beach area, we were pretty much all alone again in the Santa Rosa Sound until we got almost to the bridge at Gulf Breeze. After lunch the wind picked up again and the last 2 1/2 hours was a little rough.

Today we only saw one dolphin, who came up beside the boat to take a look at us. We had expected to see a lot more.

ParaSailers at Gulf Breeze

Dinner tonight was leftover chicken and PB&J sandwiches!

Abby playing at the Santa Rosa marina.

This is our home for tonight, Santa Rosa Yacht Club in Gulf Breeze.

March 13, 2011 - Gulf Breeze to Ft. Walton

2011-03-13T19:58:00.004-05:00

This was one of only a few other boats on the Sound this morning.

We left Gulf Breeze at about 8:00 this morning, headed East toward Ft. Walton. The water was dead calm and the sky was clear blue, and we had Santa Rosa Sound almost to ourselves most of the day. We passed a tug pushing barges early in the morning, and then only saw two or three other boats until around noon.

Bridge to the beach. The old (lower) bridge sections are now fishing piers.

Abby got a lot of "wheel" time. She's becoming a pretty good Captain.

Glenda is still fighting a virus or head cold, and took to the V-berth several times today to nap. Abby took the wheel for 2 watches of about an hour each, and really did great. She even took us under the Navarre Beach Bridge. I was standing by her side, but I didn't have to pitch in to help at all!!!

We saw several nests of Ospreys today, and although we never saw any chicks, the mom and dad ospreys looked like they were attending to babies, by thier actions at the nests.

We also saw several dolphin, and had a couple of them follow alongside the boat for a short distance.

Abby and I took a break while Glenda was at the wheel.

Abby "posing" with Daisy.

We are staying tonight at the "Landing", a city park in Ft. Walton. I had called ahead and gotten permission to dock overnight here. The park is really great and within walking distance of several restaurants and a Publix. We got here in time to visit the children's science museum, which was a little dated but still lots of fun.

Abby and I walked to Publix and got a bucket of chicken and we had a picnic. Everyone want to know about the boat and our trip, and it's really fun to see the children get excited when they see the little tug. (Glenda says that's cause I'm still a kid at heart.)

The Landing park was great, and docking was free with prior approval!

The rain forcast has been moved to Tuesday, so we'll head back West in the morning and stay somewhere near Pensacola again.

Abby and a rare giant "Park Pelican".

March 12, 2011 --- Knot-So-Fast gets a taste of saltwater!

2011-03-12T19:50:00.003-06:00

Glenda and I, accompanied by grand-daughter Abby (now 9 years old!) and Daisy the dog, put the Knot-So-Fast in the water about 8:30 this morning under the Hwy. 59 bridge in Gulf Shores. We then headed East on the ICW toward Florida. The air was cool, but the sun was bright and skies were clear.

Abby and Daisy relaxing on the back of the tug.

A "real" tug boat pushing 2 barges, the "Stephanie Kennelly" had passed while we were launching, and we caught up to her just before we got to the Wharf at Orange Beach. She was travelling about 5 mph and we were doing 6, but I knew that it would take me forever to pass him, since our top speed is only about 6.5 mph. I worried that if I had to stay behind him, we would be behind shedule by about an hour at the end of the day. I finally decided to call her on the radio, and I explained to the Captain that I would like to pass if he saw a suitable place, but that I could only do 6.5 mph, and I was content to stay behind him if I needed to. To my suprise the Captain told me come on around him on the "two whistle" side and he would slow down long enough for me to get around him! I have the utmost respect for the Captains who drive these HUGE tugs, pushing barges that are sometimes 100' wide and 500' long. To slow his rig and let our little 20' boat pass was incredibly kind of him. As we cleared the front of the two barges, I radio'd him and thanked him. He responded that our vessel was a "great looking" boat and wished us a safe journey. I remembered Glenda telling me that last night when saying her prayers, Abby asked God to "let us have a good trip and meet lots of nice people". Prayers answered :).

The "Margaret Kennelly"

When we crossed into Florida, the beaches and aqua-blue water were beautiful (so I'm told - I'm colorblind). We travelled along the ICW to Pensacola and then turned North for a few miles to the Oar House restaurant where we had a late lunch. After gobbling down our lunch we left and headed for Santa Rosa Yacht and Boat Club in Gulf Breeze, FL. The wind had picked up a little and Pensacola Bay had become a little choppy. We pushed the Knot-So-Fast at 6.5-7 mph the whole way, and arrived just before the closing time of 5:00 pm. The dock worker "Art", a retired school teacher from the midwest, met us at the slip and helped us tie up as two Florida Water Patrol officers pulled on the other side of the dock. Everyone here wanted to make sure we had everything we needed for the night.

Old Lighthouse at the Pensacola Naval Air Station

After a walk along the public fishing pier and hot shower, we are settling in for the night. Tomorrow the plan is to head East again to Ft. Walton.

February 26, 2011 -Dani and Bailey's Tugboat trip on Lay Lake

2011-03-12T19:02:00.002-06:00

Four year old grand-daughter Dani was down from Maryland for a couple of weeks, and 2 year old grand-daughter Bailey had never been on the tugboat, so when Saturday promised sunny skies we headed for Lay Lake. Glenda and I have really loved getting to introduce all our grandkids to being on the boat!

Bailey loved "driving" the boat.

Actually Bailey HAS been on the tugboat, but she wasn't really aware that it could go in the water - it's always been in the driveway when she "drove" it.

This was Dani's second ride on the Knot-So-Fast

We put in at Okomo Marina and rode down to Lacoosa Marina where we stopped and saw an old friend and met a couple of new ones. The girls got a chance to play, and on the way back we started hearing yawns, so we cut the trip short and put the boat back on the trailer. When we stopped for lunch on the way home we had to wake both the girls up!

Snack Time below deck !!!!

Friday Dec. 10th

2010-12-15T13:04:00.002-06:00

This morning our 4 year old grand-daughter Dani and I wiped the frost from the bulwark and seats of the KnotSoFast and hooked her up to the truck and headed for Lay Lake on the Coosa River. The forcast called for sunny skys and a high in the mid- 50's. Not perfect, but this looked like the only chance I'd have to get Dani out in the boat before she headed back home to Maryland on Monday.

We got to Okomo Marina about 10:15am, and the sun was beginning to warm things up a little. Dani was excited to be getting her first ride in the tugboat even though the freezing overnight temps ruled out any thoughts of an overnight trip. Dani was next in line, as all 3 of the older grandchildren had already been on at least an overnight boat trip.

We launched the tug and after letting the engine warm up, we headed North to Cedar Creek. I had to put 3 cushions in the helm seat to allow Dani to see out when she took the wheel. She enjoyed it, even though I could not find the "captain's hat" for her to wear.

At about noon, we crossed back to the West bank of the River and followed the narrow slough to my brother Scott's river house at Shelby Shores. Dani did well sitting still while I tied up. We got out and ate our lunch - PB&J sandwiches and chips - there. After lunch, Nathan and Nicole, my son and daughter-in-law, arrived and the four of us then headed back upstream and expolored Cedar Creek and the lake to the North for a couple of hours. With the windows to port and the back door closed, the sun warmed the cabin and made the temperature very comfortable. We drank cokes and ate cookies while watching osprey, ducks, camaroon and many other birds. Before lunch we only saw 3 other boats, but in the afternoon we saw several more, and the temperature warmed.

Hopefully we'll get her back down for another trip when the weather is a little warmer and I can make good on my promise to her of sleeping on the boat.

Link to Glen-L Video of G4 Weekend

2010-11-05T20:43:00.001-05:00

This is a link to the Glen-L blog, and a 5 minute video that shows about 30 home-built boats in action. You will see Abby at least 3 times in the video - twice in a little mini-tug with 7 year old Ellie Eason from Atlanta, and once in the Knot-So-Fast, along with Glenda.

The video was taken at the "Gathering", at Hales Bar Marina on the Tennessee River, in October.

http://www.glen-l.com/wordpress/

Oct. 21, 2010. Took my Mom for a ride down the Alabama River

2010-10-22T19:02:00.000-05:00

On Thursday, a week after my Mom's 83rd birthday, she and I trailered the KnotSoFast down to the Montgomery Marina on the Alabama River. After breakfast at Cracker Barrel, we arrived and launched the boat at 9:00 am. The weather was fantastic - cool enough that we kept the windows and back door shut for the first couple hours as we motored at a blazing 6.2 mph down the river.

Just a few miles down river, we saw military planes from the Air Force base pass overhead as we puttered past the site of Wilbur and Orville Wright's flight school, which was the first commercial flight school in the nation. We passed Cooter's Pond and then Catoma Creek, both of which have Corps of Engineers campgrounds and boat ramps.We watched fish jump and ospreys circle above us on the way to Pintlala Creek where we anchored out and had lunch. An osprey serenaded us with continuous high-pitches screeches the whole time we were eating, but he was just out of sight behind the trees that lined the creek bank, and we never saw him. I'm not sure what he was so upset about - maybe we were anchored in his favorite fishing hole!

On the return trip, Mom took a nap while I tried to get some good video clips of some of the grey herons and white egrets that seemed to line the riverbank at every creek, slough an nook. Our speed going back upriver was just about the same as it was in the morning - between 6.0 and 6.2 mph. As slow as that sounds, its amazing how often I find myself slowing down from even that pace to look at a bird or stream or creek that I hadn't noticed before. I guess you're really getting old when 6 mph is too fast for you! :) I'd love to do some cruising on the Alabama by canoe, but I'm not sure my back would hold up to it.

We stopped at the Montgomery City Dock where Mom stretched her legs by taking a walk while I packed up everything and got the boat ready to trailer back home.

This morning I got an email from a 2nd cousin who lives in Montgomery. She was excited that she had spotted the KnotSoFast as we passed through Prattville on the way home. My little tug always gets lots of attention, and I have to admit that I love it when little kids yell at their parents to look at it as we go by. I think it's shape and colors are the same as the pictures of boats in so many children's books, that they immediately identify with it.

Even though it seemed much too short, this was a good trip, and I think Mom enjoyed it. I always get a kick out of being on the water, and it was a special day for me get to share something I love with my Mom.

9-25-2010, Day 2 of the Gathering

2010-09-26T08:29:00.000-05:00

Today was overcast with off-and-on showers, but no heavy rain. We had a total of 40 boats here today, and it was a sight to see at about 2:30 this afternoon when we got them all out on the water at one time. We've met lots of nice folks here and everyone has had a good time. We got to take several people for short rides in the Knot-So-Fast.

The extension I put on the skeg really helped the handling, and being around all these other home boat builders has got me fired up to finish all the little projects on the Knot-So-Fast. Covering over the hatches and redoing the battery box lid seems to have stopped the small leaks we had when it rained.

From Abby:
When I got to the Gathering, I thought I would see a lot of dogs. When everybody saw Daisy they all wanted to pet her. Everytime we walked from the cabin to the grass, Daisy would get petted at least once. Then when people came by and their hands were full they would just compliment me on Daisy.

I met a little girl named Ellie. She and I played together with Daisy. There were 3 tiny tugboats here and one of them was named "Abby's Lil Tug". Ellie and I got to drive it around the marina! We got lots of pictures and videos of us driving the little tugboat. The man who built it noticed that the tugboat was going slower than it was supposed to. Then he looked at the propeller and saw about 4 feet of seaweed on it. He pulled it all off and the boat started going faster. The boat had a bell and a horn! When Ellie was driving the horn was working but when I started driving the battery was low and the horn wouldn't work. But it still had a bell and I got to ring it.

Tonight I won an award! It was "The Cutest Tugboat Captain". Ellie got the same one too. It was a tie, and gave us both the award!!!

From Glenda:
It has been so fun to meet all the nice people - from Canada to Florida to California. I've really enjoyed being able to share our blessings.

Here are a few pictures from today:

9-24-2010 - The Glen-L Boatbuilders Gathering, Guild, TN

2010-09-24T20:40:00.001-05:00

Glenda, grand-daughter Abby, and I left Montevallo this morning headed to Hales Bar Marina on the Tennessee River for the 4th annual Glen-L Boatbuilders Gathering. I had spent the last few days adding a section onto the skeg of the Knot-So-Fast, hoping to make her track a little straighter. I also had a few places to repair and had hoped to put a fresh coat of paint on, but the skeg work took longer than I expected and the repairs and paint never got completed.

We arrived at Hales Bar about lunch-time and launched at the ramp about a half mile belsow the marina. Abby and I drove the boat back to the marina and Glenda took the truck and trailer back. We tied up at the marina and had lunch, then took a short boat ride upriver for about 6 miles and back.

There are dozens of home-made boats here of all shapes and sizes, some from as far as way as Canada!
Here are some pictures:

Glenda Says:
Even on a short outing I caught sight of a beautiful bald eagle. The mountains around the river are amazing. There are already some pretty fall colors in the trees. Abby is enjoying showing off Papa's boat and loves it that people have kept up with our blog.

Day 3 of Dakota's Adventure - new update 7-11-10

2010-07-10T07:10:00.000-05:00

Last night was much cooler than Thursday night, and we all slept better. The Marina here is quiet and laid-back, with lots of houseboats and pontoons boats, and a few large cruisers and sailboats. Apparently a lot of people keep thier boats here during hurricane season and on the coast the rest of the year. There are a few full-time residents living on thier boats here too.

Dakota says:
We had a very fun time on the tugboat. Daisy woke me up licking me in the face this morning. I'm not ready to go home. I want to stay on the boat forever. On my next trip I want to go on the Alabama River. But I don't want to anchor out at night, that scares me. I want the boat to be tied to a pier at night. I hope next time it's not as hot as this time.

Glenda hasn't had coffee the last two mornings, so she has nothing to say.

We're just about packed up, and are about to hook up the trailer and pull the KnotSoFast back out for the trip home. Dakota seems to have had a great time.

Update to this page:

After we packed up, we decided to take a short trip across the river before leaving. We had seen a couple of boats nosed up to the bank yesterday and some children in bathing suits and wondered what exactly what was there. We got there and realized that the small sandy bank where we saw the boats was just that - an access point from the water. The actual swimming beach was just over the bank on Deerlick Creek. We also realized that this was all part of a Corps of Engineers campground at Deerlick Creek. We turned downstream a few hundred yards and entered the creek. The creek was much wider and deeper than your typical creek, and the soft light from the low early morning sun intensified it's beauty. I get tired of using the word "beautiful", but there aren't any other words to describe the sights we've seen. This creek, and the Pintlala Creek on the Alabama are two of the prettiest places you can imagine. I wonder how many similar places we missed on these trips because we thought we didn't have time to stop and explore them. I'll try to learn from that.

Thanks for reading our blog -- we'll update it on our next outing!
Tom

Day 2 of Dakota's Adventure

2010-07-09T19:45:00.000-05:00

Today was a good day. We left the marina at 7:15 am and rode upstream to the Bankhead Lock and Dam. They only lock pleasure craft thru at 10am, 2pm, and 6pm, but luckily we got there in time for the 10am lock through. This was the first time I had locked UPSTREAM, and it was a little different. As we waited below the lock, they emptied the 110' x 600' chamber of 70' of water! It caused quite a rush of water and some rough water as we waited. The lockmaster recommeded that since we were alone in the lock, and in such a small boat, that we just float free and not tie to the floating bollard. That suprised me, but it worked out great, and in about 40 minutes we were exiting the lock on the Bankhead resovoir, 70' higher than when we entered. Dakota was a little nervous, but she did fine. As with all our lock experiences so far, the lock-master was extreemly patient and helpful.

From the lock we traveled upstream about 8 or 10 miles, and saw another different view of Alabama's wilderness, as well as a huge industrial coal barge loading facility, and an old fashioned "pool-hall/biker hangout/beer joint" that I mistook for a convienence store.

I'm typing this from a bench at Cracker Barrel - we almost ran our laptop battery down last night trying to post with a hit-or-miss internet connection.

Dakota says:
The waterfall we saw was the best part ever! I liked seeing the catfish trying to chase down a bream in the lock, too. The lock was very fun, too. Papa and I went into a beer joint - that was my very first time, and scary! I hid behind Papa. The people in there were scary!

We're going to stay on the boat one more night, but I told GG I wanted to stay on the boat FOREVER.

Glenda Says:
It is beyond my comprehension how so-called intelligent people can look at all of God's creation and say it all happened by accident. All the diffent kinds of trees, rocks, birds, insects and fish all just "happened" to evolve. I'm not buying it. I saw the neatest thing- a snake skin hanging in a spider web about 50' up on a cliff. We joked about how big the spider would have to be to catch, skin, and eat that snake! ;). (See picture) We really had a wonderful time today. The waterfall was beautiful. Going up in the lock was an exciting experience too. Most of all it has been fun to watch Dakota have such a good time. It has not been as hot today and right now it is really pleasant. We will be headed by home tomorrow.

Dakota's Adventure on the Black Warrior River

2010-07-08T20:51:00.000-05:00

Last week we drove Grandson Dallas back to Maryland and returned with his 7 (nearly 8) year old sister, Dakota.

Today, Thursday July 8th, we hooked up the KnotSoFast and pulled it to Eagle Cove Marina just North of Tuscaloosa on the Black Warrior River. We got in the water about 10:45 this morning and after finding our assigned slip and looking around at the other boats at the marina, we headed North on the Black Warrior.

The wind was in our face, and with the sun playing peek-a-boo from behind the clouds, it was a pleasant trip. The first point of interest for me was at river mile 351.9, which is the approximate location of old Lock #14, where my great-grandfather James (Daddy Jim) Glover was a Lock Tender. His daughter Cherry Lottie grew up on the river here and met Melvin Thomas Smitherman who was working on the M&O Railroad which passed by the Lock. They married and my father was one of thier children. There was no sign of the old lock, nor any of the houses which were home to the workers here. It was fun to know that we were very close to the spot where my ancestors worked and grew up, though.

We rode upstream another hour or so, then headed back downstream. Now the wind was with us, and about the same speed as our boat - the net result was no wind. Just as we approached the marina again we had a nice shower which cooled things down a little.

Dakota Says:
Today was a very fun day on the Black Warrior River. My favorite part was seeing the big dead turtle! Also driving the tugboat was fun. I liked the rock cliffs - the holes in them looked like bear caves! I liked seeing the fish jumping. I tooted the horn at some people who were swimming. It rained hard on us.

Glenda Says:
The Warrior is different from the Alabama but no less beautiful. There are more pines and cedars and no cypress or spanish moss. I enjoyed seeing the site of old lock 14, where Tom's great-grandfather worked. It was nice to tell Dakota some of our family history. The only time it has been suffocatingly hot is when we showered in the shower house that had no windows! Daisy was a good sport about being locked in the boat while we drove to Tuscaloosa for supper. Right now the night sky is spectacular and the sounds of the crickets and frogs are just what I need to get my mind settled. The sky is flashing with distance lightening that makes it all the more wonderful.

Friday, Day 2 on Dallas' Adventure

2010-06-18T12:45:00.000-05:00

Tom says:

We woke early today, about 5:15 am. It was hot and humid all night and we didn't sleep as well as last time. Dallas slept pretty well until he rolled off his bunk onto the floor about 3:15 am!

We looked for the alligators around Prairie Creek, but didn't see any. What we did see was 10-15 large gars jumping straight up out of the water. The closest one was only about 10 feet from the boat, and I think was an alligator gar. Just like yesterday, the most common site was grey herons and the white herons (or egrets, or whatever they are).

Dallas was excited to spend the night on the boat, and yesterday and today he's handled the wheel quite a bit. He has the physical coordination to keep the boat steered well, but after a few minutes he has trouible focusing his eyes on the route. For a five year old, he's the best tugboat captain I've ever seen!

It's 12:55 PM now, and we are passing under the US 31 bridges, which means we have about 10 miles to go.

Dallas says: My favorite parts of the trip was honking the horn at people. Seeing the trees and the cows in the water was fun too. Last night I fell off the bed GG said but I don't remember.

We got up early so GG made me take a nap. Now I want to go watch a movie.

Glenda Says:

We got off to an early start this morning, but still no alligators. My back came back with a vengence this morning but after a couple of hours it eased up. I am still taken with the beauty along this stretch of the river. If this fallen creation is this beautiful I sure can't imagine heaven! The herons, both gray and white are so elegant. It was probably wise to limit this trip to overnight. Dallas has done very well for an active five year old. Everything is an adventure to him but it only keeps his attention for about five minutes.

Prairie CreeK with Dallas--6/17/10

2010-06-17T21:02:00.000-05:00

Tom says:

It is HOT! Hot! Hot!. Dallas drove the tugboat very well, he is probably the best 5 year old tugboat captain I know. We are told we can watch a "caravan" of alligators come through the creek tomorrow morning, we are going to try to be up to see that.

Dallas says:

I saw big fish jumping! We are going to sleep on the boat! I got to drive the boat and HONK the horn. People waved at me. Honking the horn is my favorite part. I saw some jets. I want to be a jet pilot. We saw white and gray herons. They were pretty. I am having fun. I want to ride on the boat again.

Glenda Says:

It is HOT! The breeze still came through the windows as we traveled and made it tolerable. I appreciate those of you who have been praying for by back issues. Today it was much better. Tom and Dallas were very helpful and I just basically sat back and enjoyed the ride today. We talked to some very nice people again. Some folks who were playing in the water urged us to come over and wanted us to visit with them for a bit but we had to get on to the campground. They got in their boat and followed us all the way to the campground. Of course the boat is the hit of the campground. People were coming over to take pictures. I'll try to post on the way back to Montgomery tomorrow.

Down the Alabama with Dallas

2010-06-17T06:44:00.001-05:00

We are off again with another grandchild! We are putting in today at Montgomery marina so we can show the sites to our grandson Dallas. We will be posting photos and reports of our sites later in the day!

The end of our 1st adventure on the Knot-So-Fast

2010-06-06T15:37:00.000-05:00

Glenda says:

I can't believe its over. We left Fly Creek at around 6:00am Sunday morning. We were hoping to get across the bay before it got any more windy. It was really rocky and I felt it in my stomach, nothing to keep my mind occupied but water. It was a rough ride but we arrived at Bay Gardens around 10:00 am where our wonderful daughter-in-law Nicole and our son Nathan were waiting for us on the dock. We showered and went for our celebratory lunch at Lulu's and took the boat out under the intercoastal waterway bridge. I am so proud to be married to a man that makes his dreams become reality. I am blessed to be a part of those dreams.

Tom Says:

The 4 hours spent crossing Mobile Bay this morning made us appreciate the calm, smooth waters in the rivers that we had enjoyed since last Sunday. The contrast reminds me of a trip I took several years ago with a good friend Terry Arnold in his sailboat Bay Horse. We spent 4 peaceful, quiet days on the Tombigbee and Mobile rivers, then crossed the bay in a heavy chop. That's the trip that lit a fire in me to do some travelling on Alabama's rivers.

Abby and the dog slept most of the way across the Bay, and Glenda was feeling a little seasick. I stayed on edge watching the GPS to stay on course, and watching the waves to make sure we didn't get hit broadside by one of the really big ones that seemed to show up every 30 or 45 seconds.

Overall, the Knot-So-Fast performed great! I haven't filled the gas tank yet, but on the initial leg of the trip, from Montgomery to Miller's Ferry Marina, she got 16.2 mpg! The little Yamaha 9.9 never missed a beat.

There was a little water (about a cup or 2) in the bilge on several days. I first thought one of our ice chest drains was leaking, but later narrowed it down to a leaking hatch cover in the cockpit.

The V-berth and it's cushions were very comfortable, and we were cool enough to sleep each night after running the two small fans for an hour or so. We had screens to fit the center windscreen section and both side windows, and that provided plenty of ventilation at night. We had also made a screen for the back door, but we never needed it.

Next adventure? I'm not really sure. We'll spend the summer taking the other grandchildren on some short rides. In the Fall, we'll trailer to Hales Bar Marina on the Tennessee River for a Glen-L boatbuilders meet referred to as The Gathering. If Glenda can get a couple of days off, we may combine that with a little trip up or down the Tennessee.

From Abby:

Daisy says "I am glad I am woof home!"

Saturday Evening June 5th Last night on the boat

2010-06-05T20:33:00.000-05:00

Glenda says:

The river delta was a little more busy than I thought it would be. We still saw lots of birds but I am disappointed that I did not see another alligator. The cypress trees are beautiful. The wind was up a lot. We stopped at the Oyster House on the causeway and ate lunch. It was good! We planned to stay a while at Five Rivers Delta Resource Center, but they were having a wedding and so we headed on across the bay. It was a rough ride but the little boat did well. We got to Fly Creek Marina just before the storm did and our wonderful sister-in-law Stephanie came and got us and let us shower at her house. The storm was about over by the time we went back to the boat and we were blessed with a magnificient DOUBLE rainbow! I can't believe tomorrow is our last day.

Abby says:

Last night Daisy had not gone to the bathroom since lunchtime, and it was the next day before she got to go! Today I saw a mother egret and her 2 babies! We had to go to Stephanie's house to take a shower. Then it started storming, after the storming there was a double rainbow!!!

Tom says:

I am worn out! The trip across the bay from the causeway to Daphne was rough.
The Knot-So-Fast took some pretty good waves and wind today. The ones that came over the bow made me feel like the Captain of one of the "Deadliest Catch" boats ;)

We've met some really nice people on this trip, including Cheryl and Harold Daily at Miller's Ferry Marina, all the attendants and lots of campers at the Army Corps of Engineers campgrounds, the older gentleman who flagged us down Thursday to offer us some free fresh catfish, and the guy here at Fly Creek Marina who helped us tie up and offered to let us use his car!

The people and the scenery on this trip have made it something I will remember the rest of my life. Getting to share that with Glenda has been great, and getting to share it with my grand-daughter Abby has been priceless. Tonight she asked Glenda, "You know what I don't like about life?" Glenda asked "What?". "The best things always seem to go by so fast," she said.

I couldn't have said it any better.

Saturday Morning Day 6

2010-06-05T07:44:00.000-05:00

Tom says:

Last night was the first night we anchored out without being tied to a dock. There was no wind and the current kept us steady. I did worry about the anchor light not being high enough to be seen from the front of the boat so I taped some LED lights to the front of the cabin roof. Probably was not needed since we did not see another boat until daylight. We have slowed some are taking our time. We are seeing more and larger cypress trees and even though this is a commerical route and we are closer to Mobile it still seems isolated. We have seen very few other boats in the first 10 miles.

Glenda says:

I did not sleep as well last night. I was concerned about difting even though Tom assured me the anchor would hold and we have an anchor alarm that would wake us if it did'nt. Bless her heart Daisy did not use the bathroom until about 6:30 this morning and only after we found a boat ramp we could stop and let her off. She did not even make it to the grass. She is a wonder dog. The Mobile river is wider than most of the Alabama was. I am looking for alligators, bears and

raccoons. Abby is too busy reading about birds to look for them!

Friday Day 5

2010-06-04T20:48:00.000-05:00

Glenda Says:

Wow I can't believe our trip is almost over! Today we got off to a good start from Issac's Creek. I watched a snake in the lock with us. He came too close to the boat to suit me. I sat on the back with the binoculars in hopes of seeing another bear but saw a deer. Everything is just so beautiful. We can really tell a difference when we turn in the river in such a way that the wind is behind us. As long as the wind is coming toward us it is like a fan blowing all the time. We began to see river shanty's today. I could see no way for anyone to get to most of them by anything other than boat. Tom finally decided to take a chance and let us get out at a sandbar. Daisy and Abby had a good run. We've really had a long day. We ended up anchoring out, so for the 1st night we were not at a campground. Abby and I got to experience the "solar shower". About all it did was cool us off. Daisy really does not understand that she can not get off the boat to use the bathroom. I'm sure we will have to walk carefully in the morning. We are 1/2 mile off the Mobile River in the Tensaw River. The sunset was beautiful. I'm still struggling with the small space in the evenings, putting down beds and stowing away "junk". But I think this is something I can do more often.

Abby says:

We saw 42 white birds, 18 gray birds, 5 sparrow kites, 5 buzzards, 1 hawk, 1 snake, 1 deer, 2 turtles, 5 dragonflys, 1 fish, 1 duck, 1 loon, 29 butterflys and 9 boats, just today!!!

Daisy says: WOOF! WOOF!

Thursday afternoon

2010-06-04T07:40:00.000-05:00

Glenda says:
We could not post last night. But yesterday was great! I saw a BEAR. Tom and Abby are not as commited as I am about watching the banks. I only saw his haunches as he hurried up to the bank when he realized we were there. We went back and saw where he had be digging. I was so excited. I also saw a little raccon digging in the bank for mussels. He was not concerned with us. The different types of birds are interesting too. I have
been so interested in the wildlife that I have not paid enough attention to the historical sites. We stayed at Issac's Creek last night and it was rather erie as we wound our way to the dock at dusk.
Abby says:
Today we went through the Clairborne lock. The water did not go down as much as the first lock. We saw a small snake in the water of the lock. He was yellow, green with black spots down to his tail. But we did not get a chance to see what kind he was.
Tom says:
Yesterday put us back on our original schedule because the current was so swift it let us go a little faster than planned. This gave us a bit of a cushion. Issac's creek was a little difficult because it was getting dark when we got there, but the park attendant was very helpful.

2010-06-03T08:58:00.000-05:00

Glenda says:

Yesterday I saw a beautiful antebellum style home sitting on a bluff overlooking the river. Right now we are sitting here at Millers Ferry Marina waiting on Nathan to come so we can trailer the boat beyond the lock. It is closed for maintinence. The people here are very nice. We had a good night dispite the rain. Washed clothes and took a nice hot shower.

Abby says:

We are close to the lock that is closed. Last night me and GG saw a big rabbit. There are a lot of mayflys . There are so many on the lights it looks like fuzz

2010-06-02T18:04:00.000-05:00

Glenda Says:

God is love. Love is patient. I suppose to try to be more like God and this trip is teaching me patience:) When it rains the boat gets really small! Most of today has been nice but it has now been raining for almost 3 hours. We saw Old Cahaba, a bald eagle, and lots of birds. Daisy is being a wonder dog and of course Abby is taking good care of her.

Abby says:

There was a storm today. I sat in the chair and Daisy got in my lap because she was curious about the storm. But afterward Daisy liked it. I said I wanted to see one white heron at the beginning of the trip but I have ended up seeing about twenty of them. It has rained a lot today. I hope it won't rain anymore! We saw a bald eagle today and that was only the second time I have every seen one. This is a lot of fun!

Tom says:

Highlight of the day was the bald eagle. Looks like we skirted the bad storm and only got the rain.

Day Two - Prairie Creek to Six Mile Creek

2010-06-01T17:47:00.001-05:00

Tom says:

We travelled about 45 miles, through a lock and under the Edmund Pettus bridge!

Today was much different from yesterday. We had the river all to ourselves, and passed only about 8 or 10 other boats all day long!

The current below the dam was much faster than I expected, and we were travelling at about 8 mph most of the day. Yesterday at the same engine speed we were doing a between 6 and 6.5.

The scenery was beautiful again, and so far we haven't had any rain (it's 5:50PM now).

Prairie Creek was out of ice, and we were running low, so Marvin and Belinda Roye drove to Six Mile Creek park and resupplied us. A thousand thanks to them - ice goes fast in this heat.

Last night was dark, peaceful and not too hot on the boat - we slept good. Tonight we are a little closer to other campers, so we'll see.

The first photo is where we docked last night at Prairie Creek, and the second is where we are now.

Tomorrow we'll head downstream for Miller's Ferry Campground.

Glenda Says:

I told Abby the story today at Durand's Bend of some of the cooperation between some of the Creek Indians and early settlers of Alabama. It is really fun to imagine life as it may have been almost 200 years ago. It is nice to know that while God created

all of this for his glory, we can bring him more praise by enjoying it.

Abby says:

Today we went through a lock. We went down about 30 feet! Daisy was curious when she heard the squeaking of the thing that we tied to. I think she liked it and will want to do it again. Daisy saw a fish jumping in the lock. I like this trip I can't wait to go through another lock! (and I don't think Daisy can either)

Day One is Complete

2010-05-31T19:59:00.001-05:00

We rode 53 miles today from Montgomery to Prairie Creek Campground. We saw lots of birds, fish, flowers and plants, and one LAAARGE alligator!

The best part was the limestone cliffs around Holy Ground Indian battlefield. I'm trying to add a photo, but our internet connection may not be good enough.

Tomorrow we'll go through the Henry lock and then stop at Six Mile Creek Park just south of Selma.

From Glenda:

History tells us that during the Creek War William Weatherford (Cheif Red Eagle) jumped from a bluff during the Battle of Holy Ground. This is great fun. Hot and tired right now and trying not to be ill.

From Abby:

Today me and Papa saw a spoonbilled gar jump out of the water. He was BIG!! Then we saw a dead gar. He was not big, but his teeth were!!!

Launch!

2010-05-30T20:42:00.000-05:00

From Tom:
We drove to Montgomery Marina this afternoon and launched the Knot-So-Fast. We took a short cruise to the Montgomery City Dock and watched the big riverboat dock and unload her passengers. Then at dusk we motored back to the Marina where we'll sleep on the boat. Early tomorrow morning we head downstream, headed for Gulf Shores!!

From Glenda:
Sucess right away! Bunches of turtles came to greet us at our slip. Abby had a blast feeding them bread and watching them compete with the bream. Daisy is uncertain about the movement of the boat but has already curled up to sleep now. The Montgomery Dock is where tons of cotton went down the river starting in the early 1800's and elegant steamboats brought visitors from all over to the deep south. There seems to be some party people nearby which may disturb our sleep but maybe they won't stay up to late!

From Abby:
We saw nine turtles! When Daisy saw the turtles she wanted to jump in to get them! We are going to have so much fun!!!

Final Shakedown Run

2010-05-28T18:45:00.000-05:00

Jay Gordon and I spent about 4 1/2 hours on the Knot-So-Fast today on Lay Lake. Everything went great, and we got some good video of some osprey on the nest with their chicks.

The boat listed a little to the starboard side, but that was due to the fuel tank being almost empty - it should sit level again with a full tank. I'm getting more comfortable in handling the boat and knowing what to expect in wind and currents.

We now have put a total of 112 miles on the boat, and have not depleted the original 10 gallons of gas, so although I can't say exactly what the mpg is, I know it's more than 11.2 mpg. If I have time tomorrow I will siphon what's left out of the tank and get a more accurate figure.

Here are a few pictures from today:

Interior tour

2010-05-27T20:39:00.000-05:00

3 more days before launch. Tom has tolerated my amenities. But a womans touch is always needed. I am very pleased with my color choices for the privacy curtains and given it is such a small space, I am pleased with the design for the head and the galley area. Thanks to our friends Marvin and Belinda our sleeping/lounge area is also well appointed :) The sink is a regular stainless steel bowl Tom adapted and plumbed. The countertop stands up when the head is needed and the privacy curtain is pulled. The bench seating lays out at night for sleeping. (for a rather slim person) We have added removeable screens to put up at night. Hopefully that will deter at least some of the bugs. Truthfully I think Abby and I will spend most of our time out on the cockpit looking for animals and historical sites.

7 Days and Counting

2010-05-23T21:49:00.000-05:00

Launch day is one week away!

In the last two days we finished the wiring, mounted the head (porta-pottie) and privacy curtains, installed the cockpit hand rails, mounted a mirror (girls must always have a mirror), smoke detector, and put the name "Knot-So-Fast" on the transom.

The boat looks good in the driveway with all the lights on - I can't wait to see it in the water at night!

Glenda and I are beginning to realize what a small boat it is, though, as we take inventory of all the "stuff" we want to carry with us in order to be comfortable.

I'll be hard at work the next several days finishing up a punchlist of small items on the boat. Feel free to drop by and see it if you have time. My cell # is 516-0217.

Porthole windows and finishing touches

2010-05-20T11:19:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, Jay Gordon, our Small Group Pastor, came to help with painting the decks of the Knot-So-Fast. We fitted the handrails which will be mounted on top of the cabin to hold to while you're walking around to and from the bow of the boat, and did some final electrical work. Jay painted the walk-around deck and underneath the walk-rail while I finished the porthole windows. Jay took a break from painting long enough to help me fit the windows into the cabin.

Today Nathan came over and he and I reinstalled the varnished walk-rail. I fitted the water tank with a "garden hose" fitting to make re-filling it simpler.

Thanks Jay and Nathan. 11 more days till Launch Day!!!!

Construction of the "KnotSoFast"

2010-05-16T15:56:00.000-05:00

In May of 2008, Tom began construction on a Glen-L designed "Bo Jest" mini-tugboat. The boat was constructed of wood and fiberglass, and is powered by a 9.9 HP Yamaha outboard engine.

The bow contains a V-berth, and a convertable bench/seat on the port side folds down to make a minimal bed for a grandchild.

The KnotSoFast is now almost completed, and has been in the water several times for final adjustments and testing.

The Maiden Voyage -- On May 31st, we will leave Montgomery, Al and travel down the Alabama River to Gulf Shores. Our Grand-daughter Abby will help crew the boat as she writes a book about the adventure. At 5 or 6 miles per hour, the trip should take us 7 or 8 days to complete.

We will update this site as often as possible, but we are unsure of the availability of internet service on the route, as most of the area we will go through is very rural.