Mississippi Cruising

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Yes, I know it's not *really* the upper Mississippi, but it is if you're talking about the river within the beltway.

The original plan involved lots of charts, maps, schedules, complicated drop off and pick up, and an actual timetable. Unfortunately that got delayed until next spring, but I had a couple hours and a desire to go boating.

I headed for Boom Island. I had never been there but the images of the landing looked promising. I was not disappointed. Nice smooth pavement ramp, steep enough to get the trailer wet without much trouble, but not so slick I have to worry about the car getting stuck. Ample parking (when there are no events, obviously) and a very short walk from parking to landing are always a bonus.

Just off the ramp is a small rectangular pool that looks as if it normally has a couple piers in it. Really nice to have smooth, calm water for launching, especially on a river! I floated a bit while prepping the boat once I got it on the water and got the engine running. I usually use the electric trolling motor for "impulse power" before and after trailering, and this was an excellent place for it.

I didn't have any detailed maps, just the GPS maps, but I had studied this section of the river from Boom Island up to Coon Rapids. I would motor upriver for 3/4 of my time on the water and back downriver for the last 1/4. Or so.

The motor pushed me upriver quite nicely at about 3 or 4 mph. I didn't mind the noise so much, but when you're on a river you have to pay a LOT more attention to what you're doing. Between the eddies, the debris in the water, and the other river traffic it can get pretty busy.

I did get the chance to see some interesting sights on the river. There was even a cute little shanty/house boat docked at a house. They also had a huge houseboat looking thing, but I'm pretty sure it would get through the bridges upriver or the locks downriver.

When you're on the river you get to see a lot of things that you don't see from the streets:

I had no idea that was where garbage trucks lived.

The river definitely has some character to its current. I'd love to have a really clear understanding of what exactly is on the river bottom at any given point. The swirling vortex of doom in the picture above is a common sight. Quite often it means there is a wing dam down there somewhere, but I have a feeling it could also indicate other obstructions or imperfections underwater. These and other less visible currents can make the boat wiggle side to side, drift slowly in a lateral direction, or even surge forward suddenly. It's not a major issue, but it absolutely affects how attentive you must be to minor course corrections.

This trip was also my first sighting of a barge/tow vessel underway. I'm glad it was a small one. The wake it kicks up is obviously a big one, but if you quarter nose into it you cut right through it. What I didn't expect was the "echoing" of the wake off the shores. For a while the water gets choppy and unpredictable as the wake bounces around on itself. Fun!

I had been setting something on the phone/gps and hadn't been looking ahead for about a minute when I looked up and saw barges bearing down on my fairly quickly. I had a lot of time to get off to the side, but it was a very vivid reminder to Always Pay Attention! I had topped off the fuel tank just minutes before (a distracting activity) and will take more care to move to the edge of the river, anchor well, and be ready for anything coming up or down river.

Again, you see things on the river that sometimes surprise. This drain pipe was just sticking out over the water, ready to dump whatever may come. I'm sure it's a storm drain or something like that, but when I think of the dirt, fuel, tar, junk, litter, chemicals, etc. on a regular street just dumping straight into the river it makes me wonder just how nasty it is way down south. It just gives one pause.

Just before the Camden bridge is a railroad bridge with a rather threatening sign on it. I was curious to know what a hazardous channel was -- I'm assuming it just indicates the end of the navigable dredged channel. Unfortunately, the current between the quite wide bridge supports picked up quite a bit. By the time I crossed over the "wake" from the bridge and started to pass beneath it the boat had slowed to a stop. I could maintain position with the motor, but it just wouldn't get past. I was going through the middle of the channel, and I suppose I may have had better luck on the sides, but decided I'd had enough and would have to explore this further some other day.

Popped back downriver quickly and found myself having to hold my hat on. I think it was more of a headwind than a wind from the crazy 9-11mph speeds. Trailering up and getting home was wonderful due to the landing, and I called it a short but successful day.

Random things:

• The "wellingtons" Jill got me for our anniversary were wonderful! Dry feet even when standing in ankle deep water at the landing!
• The river was quiet and I saw very few people, which was nice
• I rarely touched the motor handle and steered mostly by shifting my weight on the pilot's bench. A controller for trim would be nice but not needed.
• Still need a device for holding stuff on topdeck, and would like a phone charging adapter onboard as well.

More photos available here

After You - Mississippi River

The After You is a river cruiser. And we live near the Mississippi. We cross it weekly, the land "Up North" is by the source of the river. I've read Twain and various travelogues of folks who have gone down the river in canoes, bass boats, riverboats and more. I've read the history of the river and the lands around it. To say I am drawn to the Mississippi is a safe bet. I built the boat with the Namekagon in mind, but it didn't take long for me to turn my sights to the Mississippi.

After the success with the Namekagon I wanted to try something bigger. The plan was simple: Jill drops me at Hidden Falls and picks me up a couple hours later at Lilydale. It was decided the night before that Lily wouldn't be joining me on the first Mississippi run. Everyone wanted to know if I could make it. I'm not really sure what they thought would happen..

Launching went well and I headed UP river! The motor seemed quieter given that the river was a bit wider. It's possible the current was less than the Namekagon, but I'm not sure. I moved upriver at a walking pace that might not lend itself to long upriver trips, but certainly affords enough speed that I don't feel like I'm completely at the mercy of the current. I made it up to be able to see the lock and dam - but I certainly wasn't going to try locking on my first trip out.

The upper portion of the river was fairly busy with everything from motorboats to Caddyshack-sized yachts.

Wakes on passing boats were an early concern, but eventually became just another part of the ride. I got pretty good at taking the waves right on the bow corners and we slipped right through them. There is some side to side rocking but nothing alarming. I headed downriver and eventually got to the Minnesota river "riverlets" down by Fort Snelling State Park. The Minnesota really does dump a ton of mud and silt into the river. You can literally see the color change. It's a bit disturbing.

When I got to the main channel of the Minnesota I headed up. The current was stronger, so I wasn't making much progress. Combine that with the additional twigs, sticks, branches and logs coming down at me I figured I'd wait til I ran out of gas and turn around when that happened. When it did indeed I dropped anchor and refilled the tank with the auxiliary gas can and headed back down. I anchor from the rear, so it aims me downriver automatically. Handy.

After fighting the current upriver the trip down felt like I was flying. The power of the motor is just enough that I can steer by simply shifting my weight, so it felt a bit like I was surfing down the river. Really felt connected to the current somehow. Nice.

Coming up the river was the Anson Northrup, one of the Paddleford packet fleet. I rang my bell at them and they were literally cheering at me. It was a lot of fun, and nice to see one of the old-style boats on the river.

Had the opportunity to see barges, but no towboats. I can wait on that. They're big, wakey, and can be dangerous.

Near the landing was this shanty-looking boat. It's been there for weeks and I thought it might be storage, but there was smoke coming from the stack, and later on I noticed movement on the boat. Was too far away to see well by then.

I like how the river seems forgotten and how remote and "old" it feels. These old pilings had some pretty intimidating signs on them, but looked quite old.

I landed with time to spare and spent some time with (yes, of course) the traditional "old man come to look at the boat" and his daughter. They were actually visiting from down south, so it was interesting to wonder what they thought about these crazy Minnesotans.

Found some pretty large paw prints in the mud. They didn't look like dog prints, but what do I know? Just prefer to think it was some sort of mountain lion or something.

Taking out went well, though I had to have Jill sit on the hood of the car to make sure we didn't slip the wheels on that stinky Mississippi mud! The next time I pulled the boat I could still smell it even though it was dried and caked a bit on the trailer tongue. Beautiful, beautiful stinky.

Can't wait to go on a longer trip!

More photos here

(I'm already planning to take the After You down the river to the Pepin Messabout in June. Sweet!)

After You - Namekagon

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When I was young my father used to take us on canoe trips on the Namekagon river. We went with the Boy Scouts, we went with friends, we even went with some teachers from my school! I don't know how many times I went down that river, but I have a lot of fond memories. When he died there was talk of his ashes going in the river, but it was decided that some seedlings from the memorial tree we planted for him would be a better contribution to the area.

Many years later I have taken my family down the Namekagon on day canoeing outings. Rather, my wife motivated us all to go. I was so happy that she shared our love for that river! While the stretches we've come to know are up a bit upstream from where the canoe trips were, it's absolutely the same river. Winding, narrow with lots of sand bars and a seclusion that makes you feel like you really are out in the "the wild and the wooly" as my dad used to say.

So when I built the boat I did so with the Namekagon in mind. When I tell people it's a minimalist river cruiser I always add "think canoe trips without the tent!" Launching the boat on the river was very exciting and I was thrilled, to say the least. Launching on a river was a new experience, but lessons were learned pretty quickly. It was also one of the first launches with the newly refitted trailer. I could walk out on the skids and she slid right in easy as can be. I hopped in and ran the electric motor to get her out into the river so I could start the outboard motor in deeper water.

The motor fired up quite nicely (once I opened the fuel valve) and I headed up river. Jill took the kids and the car/trailer to the other end and got a ride back up with the canoe outfitter and a rental canoe. Meanwhile, I headed upriver. The new motor took me against the current nicely, but not really "fast" by any stretch of the imagination. And it was loud. I was used to the electric, so blowing upriver with the outboard running seemed sacrilegious.

I turned around and headed back down to the launchpoint just as Jill and the kids were re-arriving. I pulled the outboard and went on electric for the rest of the trip. It was all I needed to keep my direction and keep up with the canoe. I was able to pass them and move ahead, but kept them in front of me as much as possible. I didn't want to be fighting a current sideways and worry about them coming up on me from astern.

It was a lovely trip, and waters were high enough that I grounded out only once and not even very much. An oar pushed me over the sandbar. The "rapids" we did see were minor and easily handled. I was happy to know she could make it through a bit of bubbly water, though I did ride one rock all the way down her and waited to see if it would take out her transom. It didn't. Didn't even scratch up the hull, just the skegs a little.

We stopped for a picnic lunch on a sandbar and I channeled my father by scrutinizing the maps. Eli wasn't feeling well, so he transferred into the After You for the last half of the trip.

As it happens, he also became the first person to sleep aboard the After You while underway. I had a nap in it on the trailer once, but that's another story.

Taking her out was fairly easy, attracted the usual "old man" come to look at the boat. It did rain for a bit while Jill brought the car to the landing, but Eli slept through it and I enjoyed being out in the rain -- with no serious clouds in sight!

Notes for future trips:

• Downstream only, like the canoes do. No need to prove anything anymore
• A little higher water level would be ok, but it was doable.
• Less rocks, more width. The Saint Croix past Riverside landing, maybe
• Next time: Camping in the boat!
• Awesome!

More photos here

After You - Harriet (night)

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The Twilight Hours were playing at the Lake Harriet band-shell one Friday night, and Jill was going to take the kids to the concert which I putted around on the lake. I got my lights hooked up and arranged in a much safer and more efficient manner than I had before, and they worked great. Launching solo was easy and I got to hear the soundcheck while I did it. When Jill and the kids arrived I met them at the dock and said hi, but nobody wanted to ride. That was just fine by me, as I really enjoyed going out into the inky darkness and being out there all alone on the boat I made for myself. Not even scary!



By the time the music came on it was full dark and without the lights of the bandshell and surrounding paths and lots navigating would have been difficult, but it was easy with them. Next time I'll bring the 2 million candlepower spot, just in case.

Taking the boat out was ok, although folks were trying to go through the boat landing to leave after the concert, which was annoying, but dealt with. I look forward to taking the boat out after dark again some time!

More photos here

After You - Keller

(I didn't turn on the GPS until we were halfway through the ride.)

Gervais Lake on a beautiful September afternoon. After launching from Spoon Lake, the little bubble in the middle of the map, we headed north.

Lily, my awesome first mate, apparently heard there was a cold front moving in. She was bundled up and as it turned out that wasn't so bad. Sunny, but cool. Here she's enjoying a mid-cruise snack. We like to have snacks on the boat.

One of the many reasons for going out this time was to try out the new motor! It's a Gamefisher 3.5hp motor I picked up used and cheap. She fired up quite nicely and pushed us around the lakes on just a splash of gas. Her top speed wasn't quite 10mph (ok, by a couple) but it ran solidly. It has twice the power of the electric, but there's a lot less "give" - so when that prop spins, it spins! No slowing down for hills! As a result the push is considerably stronger. In fact, it's fast enough that "steering by weight" really comes into play. By standing in my usual spot in the cockpit and just shifting my weight left and right, I can get the boat to turn left or right by degrees. If I walk to one side of the boat I can get a strong turn out of it, without even adjusting the motor. Quite nice not to have to keep a hand back there. I am always within reach of the motor, however, and understand the risks. So don't start.

The motor is loud, so conversation on the boat dwindled. Lily eventually ended up doing some reading and hanging out in the cabin.

After the last bridge passing into Keller Lake, I let Lily try her hand at navigating the boat using the electric motor. She can't do much damage, and I was Right There in case she needed help. But I think she enjoyed it, and when she's legally old enough to drive a boat I'll let her take over a whole cruise. For now it's stolen moments like these to keep her interest!

We spotted a few birds and the electric motor let us get fairly close. We were going to try and get around the island in Keller Lake, but there's a walking bridge that we wouldn't have been able to clear - by inches!

All in all a wonderful expedition, the motor worked great, and launching/recovery both went quite smoothly.

After You - Mantrap Lake

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For our second outing Up North it was decided that Mantrap and it's connected lakes might be interesting. Were they! Grandpa lent me his battery as a backup, which was good as mine was apparently not fully charged. As a result we got down the lake, through a channel and into another lake when the motor slowed. I swapped batteries and headed back. Ended up using all of our alloted time doing that, however. So we didn't lose much travel in the process. But it just gave me a taste of the lakes and their potential.

Hanna and Eli were along for the ride and halfway we had the traditional candy bar snack. It was cloudy, threatened rain just a little, but never did.

Given the beautiful landing (with dock!) and parking area, not to mention the core beauty and length of the lakes -- I will definitely be back! And next time I'll bring the new gas motor, which should give me a much, much longer range. Can't wait!

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After You - Lake George

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Our first outings on Lake George were a success. Launched at the public landing across the lake and Jill and niece Brooke and I took the boat across to the dock on the land. Lovely. Brooke didn't speak the whole time, but she did get a chance to sample some of the books in the After You'd children's collection. First mate Lily maintains that.

You can see the newly installed curtains. They're a hack job but meant to be placeholders for the real ones. I really wanted to get the curtain up under the lantern so I could keep junk in the bow and not worry that it looked messy. Ship shape!

Later that afternoon I took Lily and niece Hanna out on a ride. We discovered a previously unnoticed bay, saw at least three eagles waaaay up in the sky, Loons, and had a lot of fun. Lily introduced Hanna to the joys of sitting in the "front spot" that she enjoys so much.

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After You - Bear lake

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An epic voyage. With a full battery I took the boat downlake to the channels which lead to the dam at the end of the lake. The goal was to see how far one can get on a single battery charge.

When my parents first got the cabin it came with a small motorboat and a 6 or 9 horse motor. Just enough for fishing. We once took the boat down to the end of the lake through the channels - rowing a bit, poling a bit, motoring a bit. Jim was in charge, I just remember thinking it was super awesome cool. We'd never been down there since. We took the latest, new, big motor speedboat down there this spring just me and my family, but only entered the channel and turned around. A taste to inspire.

So while I needed to know how far I could go, I also figured this would be a great opportunity to see how well the After You could manage in thick weeds, winding channels and an electric trolling motor. I was expecting every kind of trouble short of flipping or sinking. I came close.

Heading downlake was awesome. Another epic voyage across a massive sea -- well, it feels like that with a small motor on a good lake. Only took 45 minutes or so, if I recall correctly.

Entering the channel was exciting. The boat slipped through like it was built for it, and the motor was holding up just fine. Being near-silent, sneaking up on wildlife was a routine matter and this trip was no exception. I followed the Great Blue Heron down the channels for about half an hour. Every time I got closer he'd move down another hundred yards. On the way out I saw two of them together in the same spot. Sorry for spoiling your date, dude.

By the time I got to the second (last) bridge the battery was already running slower. I was tired of pulling it and dropping weeds off the prop - though that was really quite easy. All I had to do was bend over the motor a bit, tilt it forward, back, forward and then wait for the boat to drift over the massive pile of weeds I left behind. Once it cleared I dropped it and we were off again. Sometimes for another hundred feet, but more often just another ten feet.

I took a turn rowing through the weeds as well. I wanted to see how feasible that was, as well as preserve even a bit of battery. I was thrilled (but not surprised) to find the motor simply lost power gradually. If I turned it off for a bit it seemed to come back a bit stronger. But it definitely was starting to slow to a speed that wasn't completely efficient.

Under the last bridge there was some semi-submerged pilings and I decided that was enough to turn back and call it a success. Maybe I'll head down there again some time, but probably in the spring when the water is clearer. And operation "underwater cam" would really apply nicely here as well.

So I turn back and head back up through the weeds. But the time I got to the part of the channel which was fairly clear and just a long run up to the lake I was running short on travel hours. The plan was to call Jill from the boat radio and she'd come down in the big boat and give me a tow back up the lake as much as I needed it. It depending on the staying power of the motor, really. Cell phone was backup, as this was a bit of a stretch for the boat radio, as well.

The radio was barely getting static so I reached for -- oh wait, where's my phone? Console box, right. No... it's not there... Maybe I dropped it in the cabin. Not in there. Frantic search later and I'm realizing that my Super Awesome Nexus One Android Phone was lost at sea! Had I seen it go overboard I would have gone in headfirst after it. Looking at the GPS track later it appeared to be right by one of the bridges. I will go visit the spot from time to time as a memorial.

Finally got Jill on the radio as I coasted into range. All I had to do was cover about a hundred yards of channel, but it was uplake and into the wind. So I spent most of my power on keeping in the channel and out of the lilypads. Jill showed up and had to wait for me to limp out to her in the bay. We hooked her up to the big boat and we were towed up the lake at record speed. Well, record for the After You. Was kinda fun to see this wake behind her:

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After You - Bear Lake

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An impromptu spin around the shore near the cabin as the girls went canoeing at dusk. Quiet, calm water, beautiful evening light and a full battery spinning me silently around as they canoe for a short while. More bliss.

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