Ard
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2013
- Messages
- 54
- Fluid Motion Model
- C-24 C (Sterndrive)
- Hull Identification Number
- FLMR2101A202
- Non-Fluid Motion Model
- WetTruck 26 (whitewater motor rig)
- Vessel Name
- Chilidog
- MMSI Number
- 338165568
I’ve just returned from a river adventure with my R21 Classic. As I enjoy reading other trip reports, I thought I’d add one.
Day 1
Left Denver before dawn towing boat to Kansas City.
Day 2
Filled 3-5 gallon water containers, 4-5 gallon diesel cans, and fuel tank, rigged boat and put her in the water at mile 352 of the Missouri River. Cruised upstream and down for a few hours testing all systems. Anchored for the night behind a wing dam.
Day 3
Cruised back to the ramp and met my brother who would be joining me for the trip. We quickly got him on board with his gear (in the pouring rain) and wasted no time heading downstream in what was a very full river. Had excellent current of about 3-4 mph so covered 102 miles and tied off in the mouth of the Grand River for the night.
Day 4
Today’s destination was Cooper’s Landing at mile 170. Cooper’s Landing is the only quasi-marina on the lower Missouri River and also serves those traveling the Katie Trail. We arrived at 4:30pm, met a friend I hadn’t seen for 30 years, enjoyed local BarBQ, swill, and live music.
Day 5
The 3 of us had breakfast and departed about 9:30am with a destination of Hermann, MO at mile 98. Hermann is a great little river town with a very minimal dock, well developed riverfront park (with flush toilets and running water), and many wineries. We docked and said goodbye to our friend, walked into town about a block, and enjoyed dinner at what was the oldest continuously operating saloon west of the Mississippi (so they claimed).
Day 6
Cruised to mile 11 just north of St. Louis and tied off for the night on Pelican Island.
Day 7
We quickly completed the remainder of the Missouri River and dumped into the Upper Mississippi at mile 195, just north of the Chain of Rocks rapid. We scurried across the river to the channel that would take us to the final lock on the Upper Mississippi, Lock 27. This would be my first locking experience. Once the lock was in sight I attempted to raise the lock operator for instructions on channel 12. No answer so I got in line behind a commercial tow. Only one of the 2 locks appeared to be operating. Once the lock opened out came Mimi, a 40 meter pleasure craft heading upstream. This was the first cruiser we had seen.
Once again I attempted to communicate with the lock operator with no response so I decided to make him aware of my inexperience with the procedure… still no response. As the tow in front of me entered the lock the captain asked the lock operator if he had heard me to which the operator responded “yes”. Exercising patience, I sat through another lock cycle and was then instructed to enter the lock. He requested that I just float in the middle rather than attaching to one of the bollards as it was only a 4’ drop and he’d have me out of there in no time.
So my first experience was quick but gentle and one I’ll always remember.
Once back in the Mississippi we were treated to the realities of the commercial nature of the river in a very busy port, and a ripping fast current of 6mph, and tow wakes! Having come from the whitewater world I am not intimidated by the wakes but after 5 days of placid water we needed to become accustomed to the constant rocking of the boat. She is after all, a very small craft. Next stop - Hoppies at mile 158.5.
We arrived so quickly I barely had time to raise Fern on the VHF before docking. I had originally planned on stopping for the night but it was only 1:30, and Hoppies really doesn’t have anything to offer beyond fuel and ice. So we filled 2-5 gallon diesel cans (that’s all we had used in 400 miles), and listened to the brief lecture regarding debris, wing dams, and buoys. At this point I was not certain as to where our ultimate destination would be. I was thinking Nashville, but I had unanswered questions regarding the speed of the current coming down the Ohio. My best guess based on Internet research was perhaps 2mph, but of course that would vary based on volume which was swinging wildly this time of year. I quizzed Hoppie and I was surprised that he didn’t really have an answer. He thought it might be about the same as the Mississippi. Were that the case, I could only imagine the pain of trying to work my way upstream in the Ohio the 47 miles to the Tennessee. It could take 4 days!
Plan B was to continue down the Lower Mississippi to Memphis and up the Arkansas which I knew to be a relative trickle. You readers must remember that the 18 hp R21 Classic is a very slow boat. At full throttle I can achieve a top speed of 7.9mph but a realistic cruising speed for 1 or more days is about 6mph. Thus far I had been cruising at a relative speed of 5.3mph (1850 rpm). So, off we went into the unknown.
AIS became my new best friend. I quickly learned that the path of least resistance was to yield the entire channel to the oncoming tows. Although radio communication was possible I found most of the tow operators were from the deep south and that created somewhat of a language barrier. Basically I couldn’t understand a word they were saying. It reminded me of watching “Swamp People” where they subtitle the english language. I only wish my VHF had that feature.
Now a word about the wakes from the tows traveling upstream. A typical tow on this leg of the river system is 10,000 hp pushing 42 barges in a 6x7 configuration, creating a craft over 6 acres in size. They are pushing into a 5-6mph current with a SOG of around 5mph. This produces a massive wake initially consisting of rollers about 6’ in height creating a wave train about a quarter of a mile long running down the center of the V shaped wake you would expect. This initial wake bounces of the river banks like sound waves creating wave frequencies that, while not completely random, can hit you at normally unnatural intervals. Occasionally this would result in cresting a wave peak only to immediately submerge the entire bow into one following at a surprisingly close spacing. Hit ‘em strait on!
After about a half hour the river would finally reclaim its relatively placid self only to find ourselves greeted by the next tow coming around the bend. And so this went on and on, mile after mile.
Now a word about debris. There was a lot of it this time of year. One could almost always spot a tree floating out there somewhere. Occasionally we would come to debris fields that we could not pass through without constantly hitting floaters. The challenge at that point was to avoid the big stuff, and for the most part we were successful in doing so, avoiding the big stuff that is. We hit hundreds of mainly harmless pieces. There were a dozen or more strikes that made me wince, one rudder strike was particularly loud and disturbing.
The plan at this point was to get through the Upper Mississippi by the end of the following day as the rocking ride was becoming tiresome. I had charted an anchorage (thanks to Active Captain) at Rockwood Island which we made at dusk. It was a day full having traveled 104 miles with a lock and a fuel stop in 13 hours. 102 miles remained between us and the Ohio.
Day 8
Same as yesterday without the lock and fuel stop. We pulled into Angelo Towhead just above the mouth of the Ohio and were surprised to see another boat already at anchor. We pulled along side for a brief conversation. They had come down the Ohio and were about to head up the Mississippi for Michigan. He asked us if we had come from Hoppies and where we had spent the night. I was a little hungry and river weary so I did not engage in further conversation. Once at anchor and well fed I thought twice about what challenges they had in front of them… I mainly wanted to convey information regarding debris but I had no luck raising them on the radio and they were out of sight, and it was after dark.
I set my alarm for 4am as I wanted to get an early start on the day. If I was correct about the speed of the current we could make Paducah by nightfall. If Hoppie was correct we would turn about and begin the trip down the Lower Mississippi to Memphis.
Day 9
It was very dark at 4am… no moon. The Navionics charts are very good. The channel is clearly marked. But the tows run at night and I became concerned about visual perspective and my ability to hit the wakes straight-on, so I decided to sleep for another hour. We left at 5:15am. No one was awake on the upstream bound pleasure craft so we turned up the Ohio. We revved her up to 2200 rpm, a noise level we could live with for the day. I was relieved to find we were making about 4mph SOG. There are no wing dams on this section of the Ohio so I hugged the river left bank and was able to eek out another quarter of a mph. So 4.25mph SOG it was for the day (a harsh reality after 10-11mph SOG) with 47 miles to go.
I wasn’t totally clear on the lock situation. I knew there was a new lock under construction that was to (reportedly) be completed in 2014. As we passed the construction site it was clear they were years behind schedule. Lock 53 was decommissioned. I called ahead (on my cell phone) to lock 52 for a report. I was told the dam was lowered (however they do that) and to just proceed with caution. The river was constricted here by the dam into 2 sections. One was the commercial lane which I was trying to avoid, and the other was conveniently on my side of the river, so that’s the way we went. That is until the Chilidog came to a complete halt. The trusty Yanmar was still humming away, in fact nothing was different but our SOG which was zero. I was somewhat amazed that the constriction of the river, in conjunction with the water feature created by the submerged dam, had created a current of 6mph. But so it was, I eased the throttle up to 3000 rpm, inched over the feature and soon all was back to normal.
We made Paducah and the mouth of the Tennessee River at 4:30pm. I had planned to stop at the city dock for the night but it was gone. With 22 miles left to Kentucky Lake, and 4 hours of daylight, I began to develop this fantasy of reaching the Kentucky Lock and Dam, being locked through before dark, and finding safe harbor for the night on the Lake, if not a marina with a hot shower and a restaurant meal.
And fantasy it was. We reached the Kentucky Lock and Dam at 7:45pm. There was a commercial tow in front of us but I thought it might still be possible. That is until the lock operator went incommunicado. He wouldn’t answer the phone or the radio. At 8:30pm, out of frustration I gave up, ran the Chilidog up onto the muddy riverbank with a tow running 100 yards behind me to the left, the loud highway bridge to my right, and this was home for the night. I was so tired that the very loud environment, and the smell of diesel exhaust went unnoticed until morning.
Day 10
At 6:30am to my surprise I raised the lock operator. He told me he would get us through in about an hour-and-a-half. We made coffee, had breakfast, and about 7am we decided to putt around the dam while we waited. I had noticed that we were at a somewhat steeper angle than we had been the night before. We pulled the slide hammer stake and tried to reverse out but it was clear we weren’t going anywhere. No big deal. I pulled the fuel cans off the bow and moved them to the back of the cockpit, then the water jugs and a few other heavy items. Normally a little weight shift is all it takes. Not this time, and the clock was ticking. I had less than an hour to resolve this before our turn through the lock. And typical protocol is to allow a pleasure craft through once every three lock cycles. As this is a very busy commercial route, if we were to miss our opportunity we may very well be here all day.
Now I know better than this. I’m at the bottom of a dam with releases controlled by hydroelectric requirements (typically peak during the day), and whatever comes through with each lock cycle. I was tired and cranky, and not thinking clearly when I put myself in this position. I emptied the pockets of my shorts, put on the Chaco's, grabbed the shovel, and started digging. First we cleared the suction from the keel. Then I dug out the rudder. Then we rocked, and rocked, and heaved, and rocked, and dug some more. Then when the lock emptied we got a slight rise in the river level, and inch by inch the Chilidog was free again. As it turned out we didn’t get into the lock until 10:30am. Then up 57’ to Kentucky Lake (tires for fenders worked as planned). We took the channel that connects Kentucky Lake to Lake Barkley and then went directly to the Green Turtle Bay Resort and Marina. Shower, shave, lunch at Dockers, dinner at the Yacht Club, and a bunch of very friendly people on Pier 4. They provided a slip with afternoon shade, and generally made us feel like family. And of course there was no end to those who wanted to comment on the cute little boat. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever.
Day 11
Breakfast at Dockers, then south to the end of the lake and the beginning of the Cumberland River. Today on the lake would be the first and only time I was passed by a tow. He was cruising about 1mph faster than me and the process took some time, and was somewhat demoralizing. As he came within about a quarter of a mile off my port side I raised him on the radio and asked if he’d mind if I cut in behind him to surf his wake. Reportedly, a displacement hull can achieve speeds higher than their theoretical maximum by surfing. He responded with what sounded like a grunt, which I took as the lack of any kind of objection. So with good timing I was able to cut in very close behind him as he passed. Unfortunately, the wave shape didn’t lend itself to surfing so I just rode out the wave train and accepted the things I cannot change. We left Kentucky for Tennessee. At dusk we found the entrance to a small cove. We inched through barely 2 feet of depth into what opened up into the cove of paradise. There were a few fortunate souls with homes near the mouth, but the remainder was perfectly manicured by nature. This time there was plenty of room to drop anchor.
Day 12
Up the Cumberland, through the Cheatham Lock, and tied off at a park ramp dock for the night.
Day 13
We made Nashville early afternoon. There are city docks on both sides of the river. The one on river right was closed for construction. The one on river left was full with a police boat, fire boat, and a few others. There was a barge docked along the riverfront pier and park, with a giant stage being setup on it. There were concessionaire stands being prepared. It looked like quite the party about to happen. Then it dawned on me. Surely they had heard about our arduous journey and the Mayor and half the town were about to gather and present us with the key to the city! I pulled over to the dock to announce our presence to a police officer and he just stared at me with a blank look on his face. He kindly explained that this was part of the annual Country Music Award Festival. As I left the dock heading downstream, I put my tail back between my legs, wiped a tear from my cheek, and cruised off into the sunset. Nashville wouldn’t have the Chilidog to kick around anymore.
At this point a decision had to be made. It was Tuesday and my chase vehicle wouldn’t be meeting us until Saturday night. Although we lacked nothing, I was ready to wind down the cruising and crank up the resort living. The only potential problem was that Green Turtle Bay is in a dry county (I didn’t know they still had those). We took inventory of the beer cooler and liquor cabinet and that’s when I realized… the Chilidog is a diesel powered bar! So back downstream we continued.
We docked at the Riverfront Restaurant in Ashland where they serve catfish 43 different ways and encourage transients.
Day 14
As we cruised through Clarksville I couldn’t get that Monkey’s song out of my head. We arrived at the public dock at Fort Donelson where we spent the night. I had Internet and the opportunity to study the history. It was sobering.
Day 15
Back to Green Turtle Bay.
Day 16
Debauchery.
Day 17
More debauchery and puttering around the lakes.
Day 18
Haul-out and drive back to Kansas City.
Day 19
Drove Kansas City to Denver. Chilidog went back in the barn until the next adventure.
Statistics
1000 river miles
15 river days
5 rivers
4 locks
155 engine hours
39 gallons of diesel
2200 towing miles
We had rain every day the first week. Chilidog doesn’t care. Nights around 70 degrees, most days in the 80’s, 2 days in the 90’s. The custom mounted 12” ceiling fan provides great comfort in the pilot house. No-se’um bug mesh in the camper back provides comfortable sleeping in a bug-rich environment. The R21 is a competent and capable micro-cruiser, and properly configured is no longer just for overnights or weekends.
And a “two thumbs up” for the Green Turtle Bay Resort and Marina who only charged me $10 a night.
Day 1
Left Denver before dawn towing boat to Kansas City.
Day 2
Filled 3-5 gallon water containers, 4-5 gallon diesel cans, and fuel tank, rigged boat and put her in the water at mile 352 of the Missouri River. Cruised upstream and down for a few hours testing all systems. Anchored for the night behind a wing dam.
Day 3
Cruised back to the ramp and met my brother who would be joining me for the trip. We quickly got him on board with his gear (in the pouring rain) and wasted no time heading downstream in what was a very full river. Had excellent current of about 3-4 mph so covered 102 miles and tied off in the mouth of the Grand River for the night.
Day 4
Today’s destination was Cooper’s Landing at mile 170. Cooper’s Landing is the only quasi-marina on the lower Missouri River and also serves those traveling the Katie Trail. We arrived at 4:30pm, met a friend I hadn’t seen for 30 years, enjoyed local BarBQ, swill, and live music.
Day 5
The 3 of us had breakfast and departed about 9:30am with a destination of Hermann, MO at mile 98. Hermann is a great little river town with a very minimal dock, well developed riverfront park (with flush toilets and running water), and many wineries. We docked and said goodbye to our friend, walked into town about a block, and enjoyed dinner at what was the oldest continuously operating saloon west of the Mississippi (so they claimed).
Day 6
Cruised to mile 11 just north of St. Louis and tied off for the night on Pelican Island.
Day 7
We quickly completed the remainder of the Missouri River and dumped into the Upper Mississippi at mile 195, just north of the Chain of Rocks rapid. We scurried across the river to the channel that would take us to the final lock on the Upper Mississippi, Lock 27. This would be my first locking experience. Once the lock was in sight I attempted to raise the lock operator for instructions on channel 12. No answer so I got in line behind a commercial tow. Only one of the 2 locks appeared to be operating. Once the lock opened out came Mimi, a 40 meter pleasure craft heading upstream. This was the first cruiser we had seen.
Once again I attempted to communicate with the lock operator with no response so I decided to make him aware of my inexperience with the procedure… still no response. As the tow in front of me entered the lock the captain asked the lock operator if he had heard me to which the operator responded “yes”. Exercising patience, I sat through another lock cycle and was then instructed to enter the lock. He requested that I just float in the middle rather than attaching to one of the bollards as it was only a 4’ drop and he’d have me out of there in no time.
So my first experience was quick but gentle and one I’ll always remember.
Once back in the Mississippi we were treated to the realities of the commercial nature of the river in a very busy port, and a ripping fast current of 6mph, and tow wakes! Having come from the whitewater world I am not intimidated by the wakes but after 5 days of placid water we needed to become accustomed to the constant rocking of the boat. She is after all, a very small craft. Next stop - Hoppies at mile 158.5.
We arrived so quickly I barely had time to raise Fern on the VHF before docking. I had originally planned on stopping for the night but it was only 1:30, and Hoppies really doesn’t have anything to offer beyond fuel and ice. So we filled 2-5 gallon diesel cans (that’s all we had used in 400 miles), and listened to the brief lecture regarding debris, wing dams, and buoys. At this point I was not certain as to where our ultimate destination would be. I was thinking Nashville, but I had unanswered questions regarding the speed of the current coming down the Ohio. My best guess based on Internet research was perhaps 2mph, but of course that would vary based on volume which was swinging wildly this time of year. I quizzed Hoppie and I was surprised that he didn’t really have an answer. He thought it might be about the same as the Mississippi. Were that the case, I could only imagine the pain of trying to work my way upstream in the Ohio the 47 miles to the Tennessee. It could take 4 days!
Plan B was to continue down the Lower Mississippi to Memphis and up the Arkansas which I knew to be a relative trickle. You readers must remember that the 18 hp R21 Classic is a very slow boat. At full throttle I can achieve a top speed of 7.9mph but a realistic cruising speed for 1 or more days is about 6mph. Thus far I had been cruising at a relative speed of 5.3mph (1850 rpm). So, off we went into the unknown.
AIS became my new best friend. I quickly learned that the path of least resistance was to yield the entire channel to the oncoming tows. Although radio communication was possible I found most of the tow operators were from the deep south and that created somewhat of a language barrier. Basically I couldn’t understand a word they were saying. It reminded me of watching “Swamp People” where they subtitle the english language. I only wish my VHF had that feature.
Now a word about the wakes from the tows traveling upstream. A typical tow on this leg of the river system is 10,000 hp pushing 42 barges in a 6x7 configuration, creating a craft over 6 acres in size. They are pushing into a 5-6mph current with a SOG of around 5mph. This produces a massive wake initially consisting of rollers about 6’ in height creating a wave train about a quarter of a mile long running down the center of the V shaped wake you would expect. This initial wake bounces of the river banks like sound waves creating wave frequencies that, while not completely random, can hit you at normally unnatural intervals. Occasionally this would result in cresting a wave peak only to immediately submerge the entire bow into one following at a surprisingly close spacing. Hit ‘em strait on!
After about a half hour the river would finally reclaim its relatively placid self only to find ourselves greeted by the next tow coming around the bend. And so this went on and on, mile after mile.
Now a word about debris. There was a lot of it this time of year. One could almost always spot a tree floating out there somewhere. Occasionally we would come to debris fields that we could not pass through without constantly hitting floaters. The challenge at that point was to avoid the big stuff, and for the most part we were successful in doing so, avoiding the big stuff that is. We hit hundreds of mainly harmless pieces. There were a dozen or more strikes that made me wince, one rudder strike was particularly loud and disturbing.
The plan at this point was to get through the Upper Mississippi by the end of the following day as the rocking ride was becoming tiresome. I had charted an anchorage (thanks to Active Captain) at Rockwood Island which we made at dusk. It was a day full having traveled 104 miles with a lock and a fuel stop in 13 hours. 102 miles remained between us and the Ohio.
Day 8
Same as yesterday without the lock and fuel stop. We pulled into Angelo Towhead just above the mouth of the Ohio and were surprised to see another boat already at anchor. We pulled along side for a brief conversation. They had come down the Ohio and were about to head up the Mississippi for Michigan. He asked us if we had come from Hoppies and where we had spent the night. I was a little hungry and river weary so I did not engage in further conversation. Once at anchor and well fed I thought twice about what challenges they had in front of them… I mainly wanted to convey information regarding debris but I had no luck raising them on the radio and they were out of sight, and it was after dark.
I set my alarm for 4am as I wanted to get an early start on the day. If I was correct about the speed of the current we could make Paducah by nightfall. If Hoppie was correct we would turn about and begin the trip down the Lower Mississippi to Memphis.
Day 9
It was very dark at 4am… no moon. The Navionics charts are very good. The channel is clearly marked. But the tows run at night and I became concerned about visual perspective and my ability to hit the wakes straight-on, so I decided to sleep for another hour. We left at 5:15am. No one was awake on the upstream bound pleasure craft so we turned up the Ohio. We revved her up to 2200 rpm, a noise level we could live with for the day. I was relieved to find we were making about 4mph SOG. There are no wing dams on this section of the Ohio so I hugged the river left bank and was able to eek out another quarter of a mph. So 4.25mph SOG it was for the day (a harsh reality after 10-11mph SOG) with 47 miles to go.
I wasn’t totally clear on the lock situation. I knew there was a new lock under construction that was to (reportedly) be completed in 2014. As we passed the construction site it was clear they were years behind schedule. Lock 53 was decommissioned. I called ahead (on my cell phone) to lock 52 for a report. I was told the dam was lowered (however they do that) and to just proceed with caution. The river was constricted here by the dam into 2 sections. One was the commercial lane which I was trying to avoid, and the other was conveniently on my side of the river, so that’s the way we went. That is until the Chilidog came to a complete halt. The trusty Yanmar was still humming away, in fact nothing was different but our SOG which was zero. I was somewhat amazed that the constriction of the river, in conjunction with the water feature created by the submerged dam, had created a current of 6mph. But so it was, I eased the throttle up to 3000 rpm, inched over the feature and soon all was back to normal.
We made Paducah and the mouth of the Tennessee River at 4:30pm. I had planned to stop at the city dock for the night but it was gone. With 22 miles left to Kentucky Lake, and 4 hours of daylight, I began to develop this fantasy of reaching the Kentucky Lock and Dam, being locked through before dark, and finding safe harbor for the night on the Lake, if not a marina with a hot shower and a restaurant meal.
And fantasy it was. We reached the Kentucky Lock and Dam at 7:45pm. There was a commercial tow in front of us but I thought it might still be possible. That is until the lock operator went incommunicado. He wouldn’t answer the phone or the radio. At 8:30pm, out of frustration I gave up, ran the Chilidog up onto the muddy riverbank with a tow running 100 yards behind me to the left, the loud highway bridge to my right, and this was home for the night. I was so tired that the very loud environment, and the smell of diesel exhaust went unnoticed until morning.
Day 10
At 6:30am to my surprise I raised the lock operator. He told me he would get us through in about an hour-and-a-half. We made coffee, had breakfast, and about 7am we decided to putt around the dam while we waited. I had noticed that we were at a somewhat steeper angle than we had been the night before. We pulled the slide hammer stake and tried to reverse out but it was clear we weren’t going anywhere. No big deal. I pulled the fuel cans off the bow and moved them to the back of the cockpit, then the water jugs and a few other heavy items. Normally a little weight shift is all it takes. Not this time, and the clock was ticking. I had less than an hour to resolve this before our turn through the lock. And typical protocol is to allow a pleasure craft through once every three lock cycles. As this is a very busy commercial route, if we were to miss our opportunity we may very well be here all day.
Now I know better than this. I’m at the bottom of a dam with releases controlled by hydroelectric requirements (typically peak during the day), and whatever comes through with each lock cycle. I was tired and cranky, and not thinking clearly when I put myself in this position. I emptied the pockets of my shorts, put on the Chaco's, grabbed the shovel, and started digging. First we cleared the suction from the keel. Then I dug out the rudder. Then we rocked, and rocked, and heaved, and rocked, and dug some more. Then when the lock emptied we got a slight rise in the river level, and inch by inch the Chilidog was free again. As it turned out we didn’t get into the lock until 10:30am. Then up 57’ to Kentucky Lake (tires for fenders worked as planned). We took the channel that connects Kentucky Lake to Lake Barkley and then went directly to the Green Turtle Bay Resort and Marina. Shower, shave, lunch at Dockers, dinner at the Yacht Club, and a bunch of very friendly people on Pier 4. They provided a slip with afternoon shade, and generally made us feel like family. And of course there was no end to those who wanted to comment on the cute little boat. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever.
Day 11
Breakfast at Dockers, then south to the end of the lake and the beginning of the Cumberland River. Today on the lake would be the first and only time I was passed by a tow. He was cruising about 1mph faster than me and the process took some time, and was somewhat demoralizing. As he came within about a quarter of a mile off my port side I raised him on the radio and asked if he’d mind if I cut in behind him to surf his wake. Reportedly, a displacement hull can achieve speeds higher than their theoretical maximum by surfing. He responded with what sounded like a grunt, which I took as the lack of any kind of objection. So with good timing I was able to cut in very close behind him as he passed. Unfortunately, the wave shape didn’t lend itself to surfing so I just rode out the wave train and accepted the things I cannot change. We left Kentucky for Tennessee. At dusk we found the entrance to a small cove. We inched through barely 2 feet of depth into what opened up into the cove of paradise. There were a few fortunate souls with homes near the mouth, but the remainder was perfectly manicured by nature. This time there was plenty of room to drop anchor.
Day 12
Up the Cumberland, through the Cheatham Lock, and tied off at a park ramp dock for the night.
Day 13
We made Nashville early afternoon. There are city docks on both sides of the river. The one on river right was closed for construction. The one on river left was full with a police boat, fire boat, and a few others. There was a barge docked along the riverfront pier and park, with a giant stage being setup on it. There were concessionaire stands being prepared. It looked like quite the party about to happen. Then it dawned on me. Surely they had heard about our arduous journey and the Mayor and half the town were about to gather and present us with the key to the city! I pulled over to the dock to announce our presence to a police officer and he just stared at me with a blank look on his face. He kindly explained that this was part of the annual Country Music Award Festival. As I left the dock heading downstream, I put my tail back between my legs, wiped a tear from my cheek, and cruised off into the sunset. Nashville wouldn’t have the Chilidog to kick around anymore.
At this point a decision had to be made. It was Tuesday and my chase vehicle wouldn’t be meeting us until Saturday night. Although we lacked nothing, I was ready to wind down the cruising and crank up the resort living. The only potential problem was that Green Turtle Bay is in a dry county (I didn’t know they still had those). We took inventory of the beer cooler and liquor cabinet and that’s when I realized… the Chilidog is a diesel powered bar! So back downstream we continued.
We docked at the Riverfront Restaurant in Ashland where they serve catfish 43 different ways and encourage transients.
Day 14
As we cruised through Clarksville I couldn’t get that Monkey’s song out of my head. We arrived at the public dock at Fort Donelson where we spent the night. I had Internet and the opportunity to study the history. It was sobering.
Day 15
Back to Green Turtle Bay.
Day 16
Debauchery.
Day 17
More debauchery and puttering around the lakes.
Day 18
Haul-out and drive back to Kansas City.
Day 19
Drove Kansas City to Denver. Chilidog went back in the barn until the next adventure.
Statistics
1000 river miles
15 river days
5 rivers
4 locks
155 engine hours
39 gallons of diesel
2200 towing miles
We had rain every day the first week. Chilidog doesn’t care. Nights around 70 degrees, most days in the 80’s, 2 days in the 90’s. The custom mounted 12” ceiling fan provides great comfort in the pilot house. No-se’um bug mesh in the camper back provides comfortable sleeping in a bug-rich environment. The R21 is a competent and capable micro-cruiser, and properly configured is no longer just for overnights or weekends.
And a “two thumbs up” for the Green Turtle Bay Resort and Marina who only charged me $10 a night.