Tennessee River

Fog so thick you could loose your dog. On a boat, that's some thick fog.  We anchored behind an island on the Tennessee River about 10 miles south of I-40 in Decatur County.  As you know the T. River runs north at that point so we are going upstream.  That means we are only able to travel about 6mph since the river is pushing against us at about 2mph.  Makes for long days.  We are now working on only getting about 40 miles each day because of the fog.  We were able to get under way at about 9 this morning.  Of course the engine died at 2pm.  No, I have not found the air leak but I've got bleeding the engine down to a science. Denniese goes to the lower helm and I dive into the engine compartment, she gives me a 2 second crank on the engine and I bleed the injector motor.  We usually do that twice before it will keep running.  Meanwhile the boat is drifting on its own.  That's not a problem as long as the water is deep, no traffic and the river bank is not too close.  I'll let you know when I get it fixed.  Otherwise, this is the most beautiful trip I have ever taken on the river.  The banks are real high and full of Autumn trees. The colors are great. We meet boats every day going south for the winter but nothing is better than Tennessee in the Fall.  This afternoon we anchored behind another Island South of Clifton, TN.  We may be out of the state in just a couple of days.  We will be on the TN-Tom which flows South between Alabama and Mississippi.  Tonight we are lucky to have a strong signal on the cell but not strong enough to send pictures.  Wish you could see.  All is well otherwise. 

New Johnsonville

Many people know New Johnsonville for the raid on the supply depot mastered by Nathan Bedford Forrest during the civil war.  Others know of the quality DuPont plant located here.  For boaters it is Pebble Island Marina. A short distance from the site where the Depot sat and across the river from where NBF located his cannons is a great little marina that serves the best catfish for several counties.  We just finished dinner and since there is no cell service here we are having our dessert and sending out our blog at the same time.  Dinner was great but the dessert was a hot brownie covered with ice cream and whipped cream with caramel and chocolate syrup on top.  Boaters have to keep up their energy level!!  We are sitting next to a table of folks from Middle TN and deciding that we know a lot of the same people and we are talking about them.  We departed Paris Landing this morning and it was a wet cold morning but we didn't have any problems with the fuel until about 2pm.  Then it started the same thing as it did yesterday. Well, so much for my analysis of a stopped up filter.  My new theory is an air leak in the fuel line.  Another couple of hours work and I may have it solved.  Did I mention that I wish I had taken a diesel mechanic course before taking the trip.  That's OK.   I'm a hands on learner anyway.  Tomorrow we depart for Pickwick, which is a couple of days away and we may not have connections until we get to the State Park.  Keep up the good thoughts, well wishes and prayers. 

Paris Landing Marina

We departed Clarksville City dock Tuesday to a beautiful day on the river.  The trees are in full color at this part of TN.  The river is wide with high banks that show off the fall foliage. The temp. was 42 at sunrise and fog but by 0900 it had warmed and the fog was gone. By 1600 we had made the 48 miles to Bumpus Mills.  We walked Maggie and cooked supper.  After seeing only a couple of boats the entire day, we had a large cruiser park next to us just as the sun was setting.  They spoke but I got the feeling they (2 men) were just moving the boat for someone.  Wednesday morning the temp was warmer and with the southern wind we had another beautiful day.  We made the turn onto the Barkley Canal at 1400, the one that connects Lake Barkley to the Tennessee River.  It is only about a mile long but very narrow, we had no traffic so all was good.  At 1600 we had the anchor down in a cove off the river.  It was a rare evening.  No one in site, no houses, no lights.  Just us and the trees and the birds.  A front was expected so I made sure the anchor was down and by the time the sun was down we were on the aft deck enjoying a veggie burger off the grill.  We stayed on the deck till almost time to go to bed.  No bugs, only a candle for light and the temp was just right.  One of the best nights on the trip.  About midnight the front passed and rain and wind followed.  By 0700 the temp was down to the mid 40's and damp. Did I tell you we don't have heat on the boat. We  do have a camping heater and it came in handy to warm our hands.  We were smart to leave a day early and not have to buck the north wind on Lake Barkley.  With the wind to our backs is was doable. About 10:00 we moved to the lower helm because it was too cold on the fly bridge.  All was good until about 6 miles from our destination when we spotted our first commercial tow.  I called and ask for directions to pass, as you are suppose to do. When we were about a quarter of a mile from each other and closing, our engine stopped. Restarting was not an option since I felt it had air in the fuel system. I called the tow and told him of our dilemma and quickly checked my depth.  We had lots of water so I let the following wind push us ahead.  Denniese took the helm as I dived into the engine room to bleed the engine. Within 3 minutes of the call to the tow, we had the engine running and maneuvered out of the way of the tow. The engine ran for about 5 minutes and stopped.  It continued to stop but after bleeding it would start.  I finally got smart and switched fuel filters and it ran better and we were able to get to the Paris Landing dock. The wind held us off the dock and no one was willing to come out in the rain and help with our lines so the boat drifted off the dock while I tried to motor to the dock and Denniese tried to lasso the cleat.  We got it all tied down after several tries.  Some day are just better than others. As I write this, the sun is trying to come out and it seems it is a little warmer.  I will let you know how the fuel filter change goes.

Keep Your Bottom Clean

We departed Nashville's Rock Harbor Marina this morning at 0845. We had been up since 0500. Jay picked us up at our home in Murfreesboro and drove us to the marina where we packed away the last of the food stuff before departing.  He went on to work and drove our car back home. The month we spent at Rock Harbor was worth it. The boat was pulled out of the water and the bottom cleaned, new bottom paint and the prop tuned. The boat runs so good it is like having a car with a new set of tires.  Wonderful!!.  The trip down the Cumberland to Clarksville was great.  The trees and the landscape are beautiful.  We arrived at Clarksville at 3:45 and while Denniese made supper, I worked on the new piece of bow rail.  It should be ready for paint in a couple of days. All is well on Lifestyle II.  We are eating a piece of pumpkin bread that Jeanne gave us and drinking a cup of coffee and our "Bottom is Clean".  Now that we are on the part of the trip that will take us to Mobile, we should have cell phone coverage and should be able to send a blog each evening. Thanks for all the well wishes while we were home.  Keep up the positive thoughts and prayers.  We miss you guys already.

Life Groups

At Third Baptist Church here in Murfreesboro we call Sunday School our "Life Group".  Our group has had us on their prayer list from the start of our trip.  Our teacher Sam Wrather ask Denniese and me to teach the class this morning from the perspective of how God was a part of our adventure called the Great Loop. Last week as we prepared for the presentation, we felt it would be good to tell about the people that came into our lives at certain times along the way and especially when we needed them.  The boating community that joins the great loop adventurer each year is a very special group of people and tend to be very helpful of one another.  Even after they have completed the loop many still stay active within the group and act as advisers along the way.  It seems most boaters are very willing to help another boater so it is not surprising that all along our trip we found people willing to give advice, loan a car, or offer help in some special way.  In our presentation we mentioned a few that stand out.  The first were our friends Jim and Beverly that went with us on our maiden cruise from Key Largo to Stuart, Florida.  They gave us advice and reassurance that we could do the trip.  Michael was a sailor that was sitting aboard his sailboat in lower Biscayne Bay waiting for a part to arrive from the mainland so he could continue his trip to the Bahamas when he came to my rescue. An oarlock broke on my new used dinghy and the tide was pushing me, the dinghy and the dog toward Cuba. Micheal rushed out and captured us and even took Maggie to shore.  In Stuart, Niel Adams came to our rescue and took me to West Marine to purchase a new outboard motor. The dinghy with the broken oarlock did not have a motor and our recently purchased used outboard motor arrived in Stuart and then was quickly stolen. Louis and Diane Wade, Gold Flag loopers, (Gold Flag means they have completed the Loop) from Morehead City gave us advice about where to stay and loaned us a car for the weekend. They even took us to their house for a visit before we all went out to eat. The membership at PYC, Poughkeepsie Yacht Club, adopted us for a couple of weeks.  We left the boat there and rented a car to drive home for a July 4th reunion. Pete and Cheryl Carr loaned us a car to go to church and pick up some needed supplies.  Pete took us to Hertz rental the next day so we could pick up a car to travel home in. On the Erie Canal at Amsterdam on Sunday July 10, we were walking to church when a stranger ask if we needed a ride.  Richard Conti was retired and a local resident.  He took us to the local Baptist Church and then picked us up afterward and gave us a tour of the area. We didn't even get the fellow boaters name that yelled a danger call to us as our anchor broke loose during a high wind at Bustard Island and we were being pushed toward some rocks.  We did get the names of the two volunteer fire fighters that took soundings for us when we were aground on the Upper Mississippi.  They are Gene Chrestman and James McWilliams from the Cairo Volunteer Fire Department. Martha Nicholson is the Emergency Manager for that area and was the help we needed when no other agencies were available.  We thank God for all the people that helped us along the way and know that we will need help as we continue our voyage and we also know  our prayers will be answered.

Maintenance

Lifestyle II sits out of the water, on the hard, at Rock Harbor Marina in Nashville, Tennessee. The crew is enjoying the time off the water to catch up on home duties and celebrate the marriage of B.J. and Tiffany. We chose to take the boat to Rock Harbor for a couple of reasons.  The main reason is that it is only a 30 minute drive to our house and second, the folks at Rock Harbor are easy to work with.  Boats, like anything, need maintenance.  But because boats sit outside and are exposed to various types of water, they require continual care. The work required to keep a boat in top notch condition is significant.  We are 2/3 of the way towards completing the loop and to date Lifestyle II has been through over 100 locks and is  approaching 4000 miles under her keel since we started this adventure in May. We have logged almost 700 hours on the engine and transmission. We have bumped bridges, locks and run aground twice. All this has had an impact on the boat and must be taken care of.  The cost of taking care of a boat is worthy some discussion.  The bigger the boat, the bigger the cost and most are cost are multiplied by the length of the boat.  To spend the night at a dock in a marina it will cost from $.50 per foot to $2.50 per foot depending on where you stay and the time of year. On our boat that could be $20.00 per night to $100.00 per night in Chicago.  Some even add electricity to that charge.  Pump outs (pumping out the holding tank) have been anywhere from free to $35.00 paid in Canada. Hauling a boat out of the water is $10.00 per foot and a power wash is another $4.00 per foot.  The list is endless.  Unless you have a very small boat or a very fat wallet you have to shop around and plan on doing as much work as you can yourself.  That's why it is important get an agreement from the marina as to the cost and how much work you are able to do yourself.  To pull the prop off our boat, the hourly rate is $90.00 per hour. The reworking of the prop will be around $700.00.  I can't rework a prop so it is necessary to send it off.  But there are lots of things Denniese and I can do.  While the prop is in the shop, the marina has allowed us to wash and wax the boat, touch up the bottom paint and repack the stuffing box.  We also gave some much needed attention to the aft head where the caulking had to be pulled out and the teak trim had to be be sanded and primed for new varnish.  Cabinet doors were showing wear and needed minor repair before we re-varnish.  Once the boat is back in the water, we will paint the bright work, repair some canvas, change the oil in the engine and the generator and clean the dinghy.  On the TV gambling shows they always say, "What's the buy-in?"  For boats, the cost of the boat is the buy-in.  The upkeep and the maintenance are the real cost.   Just some food for thought, before you go out and buy a boat take some boat courses on MAINTENANCE.