Dear Mary

and Rainer,

Gosh it has

been a long time since I have written. Your Mom and I

just completed our first cruise in our new (secondhand)

boat. It went well.

This was

more or less a check-out of all the systems and how well

we could adapt to living on the boat.

No major

problems. My big worry was launching and retrieving the

boat from the trailer. We picked a state park on the

Chattahoochee that has a good not-too-steep launch ramp

with a coarse surface for good traction. I backed down

until the trailer was completely underwater and the

Jeep's rear wheels and exhaust were in the water and the

boat floated off and your Mom pulled it over to the dock

as I drove the Jeep up to the parking area.

We then

started the engine and motored over to another dock to

take on water. Twenty-four gallons in the tank and ten in

the rooftop solar shower bag. Bought ice and we were off.

Went south

to the wildlife preserve at Eufaula and under a low

bridge and up the small river that comes in there. What a

difference from the sailboat. Even with its shoal keel,

we couldn't take it in shallow water like this boat, and

that 35-foot mast kept us from going under most bridges.

We went

three or four miles up this creek and found a place to

anchor for the night. Spotted an alligator right off

which didn't make your Mom want to go in the water to

wash up, but I went in first and didn't get eaten so she

finally went in.

That was

our drill for the next week. Wash in the river and then

rinse off with fresh water from the solar bag. This bag

has a built-in thermometer and it got up to 120 degrees

F. Nice to rinse off in hot water after being in

70-degree river water.

Mom did a

great job of cooking meals; we ate well and it was cozy

inside the cabin at night. We didn't have a TV but we did

have a radio that picks up the TV audio, so we could

listen to the local and world news and keep up with

things.

Slept well

too, I was surprised. It got cooler than we expected

along about dawn. I got up and put on a sweatshirt one

night it was so cool. I was sleeping with a fleece

sleeping bag with sheets inside and your Mom had a

regular bed made up.

We spent

time birdwatching around the various dikes and ponds

- lots of birds, especially water birds. Also saw

ospreys in the air and feeding their young on the nest.

Saw a mature bald eagle in flight over the river, and

Mississippi kites which we couldn't identify at first but

figured out when we got home.

We

proceeded north up the Chattahoochee for the next three

days doing much the same as I have described. We did get

blasted by a very strong storm front that roared through.

The radio had been warning about it all afternoon so we

had gone up a small creek and anchored in the lee of a

bluff but when it finally hit we still dragged a well-set

anchor about 150 yards.

Two nights

we just ran the boat up on a sandy beach and threw out

the stern anchor to stabilize us for the night.

We arrived

in Columbus the third afternoon and tied up behind a fake

paddle wheel tourist boat for the night. Walked in to the

historic district and found a nice (but pricey)

restaurant and had a good meal, the only meal we ate out.

Spent the

night with people all around us fishing off the dock we

were tied to. People are certainly attracted to this

boat; any number came down and stared at it and asked

questions. They've never seen a river trawler I guess.

Then we

slowly started back down the river. On the way back we

spotted a bobcat that came down to drink at the water's

edge. The crows were just having fits - that's what

got our attention.

We got back

to Florence Marina the following day. This was the big

test - I figured we could get the boat in the water

OK but I was concerned over pulling it out.

I backed

the trailer into the water and your Mom powered the boat

straight as an arrow onto the trailer. I winched it

forward about a foot, dropped the Jeep into low and took

my foot off the brake, and the car just pulled the boat

and trailer right out without any trouble whatsoever. No

wheel spin or anything.

That's all

for now. I'm sure Mom will add some.

Dad

Hi guys!

Of course I

will. Daddy's right - we had a wonderful week and I

can hardly wait to do it again. The little boat just does

everything we want it to do. And it's fun to have a boat

people turn to stare at everywhere we go.

That canopy

was worth every cent; shades the whole back of the cabin,

and provides a cool place to sit when at anchor. The

modifications we made - some cosmetic, most to take

advantage of hard-to-reach storage space, curtains, door

screens - worked out well too.

We did find

out we're going to have to add another water tank. Seemed

like I washed dishes in mere spoonsful of water, yet we

had to refill every two or three days.

(Beats

having to refill the other tank. Spent a week on the

river, traveled about 150 miles in all, and used only

about half a tank of gasoline.)

Next time

I'll tell you about the boat's log and my communication

with the National Weather Service.....

Lots of

love, Mom

<!--##############