Just watched this series from beginning to end again. Such an amazing journey through the heart of America. Cheers for recording it and for the additional bits of candid commentary. Cheers man!
Found your channel three years into the future. Here in 2022, I'd love to be doing what you did back then, you're living the life. Props to you. Looking forward to following the rest of this series. 👍
Thank you Alex. Shanty boating is absolutely the best. I'm finishing up the Beagle Barge this summer and launching into the top of the Mississippi...or at least as far up as possible (just south of Minneapolis) please stick around. ;)
Just found this video. I live 45 minutes north from where you launched. I've never been to Starve Rock. But I have been to the boat launch in Henry. There was a hotel there and a restaurant/bar. I watched guys fishing there. It's nice to see utube videos with places I've experienced.
Just happen to be looking for shanties on the rivers and found your video. Sure glad I did, subbed and clicked the bell. I was thinking on taking a motorcycle trip around the US, but I might do the shanty boat thing instead now. 👍
Blount County, Tennessee tag! Hell yes! From an old Captain from the Great and the Sovern State of Tennessee, May the light Shine On Me and Thee. Blount County.....my old stompin' grounds. Now, an old has-been from the Gulf of Mexico! Ride on, man!
Awesome clip, You make me want to be there!!! Keep them coming. Hopefully soon I'll be home to spend some time on my Shanty. I don't have the time to do the rivers but I'll be on the local lakes here in Central Louisiana.
AL T hi Al, thanks for coming along. I plan on keeping the quality of content as high as possible, especially since the editing is terrible ;) I'll keep working on that too. Amazing what phones can do these days.
I have to go back and look at the series where you build the boat.. I sure like what I see.. and your careful approach to it. I wager you are going to find a way to get into those protected arms, where you can anchor or beach in safety.
Hi Larry, I've found that these side bays are rarely less than 3-4 feet deep. It's almost like that's what the water wants to settle at? I'm able to anchor in as little as 2.5 feet of water, and getting much better at beaching:) I my as well sail this box until it falls apart! ;)
El Gordo thanks for being interested in the trip. It's hard to get lonely in this world anymore when you can bring hundreds of people along for the ride :)
@@backwatersandbackroads I watched your videos backward somewhat. After I ask I saw the video about him sending it to you. Enjoyed your videos look forward to your next adventure
Brenton what a great Video you had a much better first day than me I am so happy you are having a great time I look forward to meeting you at Hannibal can't wait for the next one
LOJO Marine for sure ;) we have an interview to do and some beers to try. That place you went to the first night you where there will work. Maybe the Garth Brooks fella will be there too :)
So far so Good. Hey you made mention of the Cumberland River. Are you not taking the Tennessee River? If you do take the Tennessee River, I know the section known as Kentucky Lake, and can make some possible anchoring or marina suggestions. Keep the heat on as the weather makes a big dip Thursday.
jim2shoes1 hi Jim. I see the weather change happening right before my eyes. 30s and 40s are tolerable, but I'll be heading toward warmer weather. Maybe I'll hit the Cumberland in the spring. I might fight the current back up a ways. Would be interested in Anchorage suggestions.
when you get a little closer to Kentucky Lake (Tennessee River) I will give you some of my anchorages and favorite marinas. Its a great area because on one side it has marinas and the other side is national park land with many protected bays for anchoring. If you choose the right bays there will be rustic campgrounds that you can beach at to refill water, drop trash, use porta potty and have a campfire at night. They will be empty this time of year. Navigation/depth there is pretty easy, but when going into the bays there may be a sand spit the comes out at about a 45 degree angle facing down river. But that is how it normally is in most rivers, but not always.
Eric Chizum thanks Eric. Today was an ideal day for sure. I see that the temps are dropping soon. 30s at night. I'm glad I have a heater and loads of cooks weather gear. I'll keep posting videos. Thanks for all your help too.
todd drews hi Todd. Thanks for the kudos, I will keep them coming. Theres something quite magical about floating slowly down a river. I'm sure some challenges are coming. Be nice to LoJo! ;)
That's funny got me and Eric with one comment Eric and I did not quit the river we are just getting bigger boats and or just redoing the boats we have to do the trip again come do it with us
Enjoyed the video...couple of questions. What size outboard? Also, you mentioned 5mph at close to idle, can you please give me even a rough estimate of miles per gallon at that speed? Thanks
Hi Kenny, the Shanty Beagle had a 2004 Yamaha 60 4 stroke high thrust. Down stream it doesn't take much to keep moving at 5-7 mph. All the rivers are a little different. The Illinois was 3 or 4 mph, the Mississippi really moves (6-9) the Ohio is a 2-3 at the mouth. Etc etc. Going down stream at idle (1100-1500 rpms) got such good MPGs I can hardly remember. Days and days without thinking of fuel. Once we hit the currents on the Ohio and beating up against the dams, then girl consumption went up. Still was very reasonable. I always kept it slow. I never wanted to go much past 5-7 mph. In hindsight, a 30-40 hp 4 stroke would have been even better. Of course it can be done with even less, but currents and turning against the river gets hard without extra HP. Almost done with the beagle barge and trip happening this fall and winter. Please stick around ;)
Hi Brian, yes...the shanty beagle had a Yamaha 60 HP 4 stroke. More than enough power. One could get by with 40...maybe even 30. Turning up stream is the trick. Without excess power it can be difficult to impossible.
Now I remember you saying that you were putting a plate of all the states you were going to pass through. The TN plate is from the same county I live in and there aren't too many hippies here. I am a rare bird. Hahahaha
I ground my boat in little inlets all the time. but my boat is a piece of crap of little weight. , a steel hull would be awesome.. or even just some steel in the appropriate points as skids or shielding.
I work on the tow boats I’m on one right now heading to Brandon road lock in Joliet ..I’m thinking about building a shanty boat next year ... sail on brother
@@poppawasarollinstoneboom9396that's great! It's funny, when I was out there, I thought about what it would take to get a job like.yours, and you're thinking of becoming a shanty boat captain! I love it. We are starting a group right now called "the shanty boat Captain's union" please join
@@backwatersandbackroads 👍🙂 just finished watching the ep 2 Previously I watched till the end but didn't start from the beginning 🙂 I'm planning to build a 40 ish foot blue water catamaran, you gave me an idea about maybe looking into some of the towns by the river to build it. I enjoy your videos very much👍
@@bizim_eller When folks say this trip inspired them, that makes me really happy. It was one of the best times of my enitre life out there on the rivers. It was awesome being able to share it with people here on YT, I would recommend trying to put together a channel, lots of people want to see how it's done beginning to end. Welcome and thanks for finding me man :)
@@backwatersandbackroads 👍 I would like hour opinion as well, when the time hopefully comes for me to look for a place to start building my boat your videos are just fine, and your buddy makes them even better🙂
@thomaswhatley2075 I do. On my channel, there is "The Shanty Boat Beagle Build" series. Approx. 5 years ago. I really didn't know what I was doing editing wise, but it does show the refurbishing of the boat start to finish.
@@backwatersandbackroads Thanks I was particularly interested in what you were floating on. For a while I couldn't decide whether you were using a flattop barge or a pontoon or catamaran type float system.
Hey mate just a quick question, I was wondering how much each pontoon can hold and weather it would be worth putting another one on, im from Australia and have loved the whole idea of this and I would like to build one myself
Hi Joel, adding a 3rd toon down the middle would not hurt at all. This particular boat (catamaran cruiser 26) had fiberglass toons, and they were very deep. Typical pontoon boats don't have as much depth, and thus can't hold up as much cabin. Adding a 3rd toon would be a good idea. Thanks for watching man
What was that boat behind you on the dock? Has push bumpers like a tug but not a tug? Must be some kind of a work boat? Enjoyed the vid. Why in the hell would anyone catch a carp? And if you caught one by accident why would anybody put it on their stringer? You're supposed to throw them high up on the bank so's they cant find their way back into the river.
Howdy Service, that IS a work/push boat with the bumpers. Usually used to push and haul stuff around the rivers, and move crew around also. Carp: well...the way things are going, we better get use to eating them. Sort of like we better get use to eating rice and beans :) merry Christmas buddy
Thanks for the info. Not a worry in the world. We are enjoying the best economy since WWII. We just need to remove the Communist Party USA from the congress. Smooth sailing.
I don't care what you know. It's what you don't know that is painfully obvious. See Rumsfeld Unknown unknowns. You have been warned. Heed my proclamation. What a dip wad.
@John John...It's called an ad hominem attack. If you weren't such a dolt you would know that, wouldn't you? Did you require assistance to extract your foot from your mouth for the purpose of measurement?
Not so long ago (I'm talkin like within the past 3 - 4 years) I enjoyed takin "SHOPPING ROAD-TRIPS" with a former girlfriend of mine (we went together & parted ways in school before I met "MY 1 & ONLY TRUE LOVE, HIGH SCHOOL SWEETHEART, FUTURE WIFE, MOTHER TO MY CHILDREN & UNFORTUNATELY, EX-WIFE) & those road-trips "were" so much fun. We'd been close friends since 1968 when we 1st met in elementary school in the 1st Grade & remained close despite the fact I married someone else & she moved to Los Angeles & lived out there for years. Although we're both 59 years old, I still refer to her as "A Girl"(all you younger people watching this will do the same even when you get "OLD"...No, she wasn't the reason for my divorce. My ex-wife decided to move on with her life without me & someone else), but since we were so much alike, these road-trips became a thing of the past. "ANYWAY", after watching some of your videos, I've come to the realization of what I should've been doing instead of "ROAD"-trips. Building a pontoon boat of some type to just "GET OUT ON THE WATER" has been the subject of so many daydreams or wishes since I was very young, it forced me to draw up countless big sketch pad pages of designs for pontoons & the different types of structures to build onto those pontoons. I've studied so much information about how to build pontoons, including most efficient shape designs, best materials to build with (especially the kind of material that's easy to scrounge for free or just cheap. Whatever floats best at the best cost), & size/floatation mathematic formulas. I prefer driving fast so I may've cruised along at 70 to 100+ MPH during these Road-Trips we took & I felt completely relaxed (totally in my element) while doing so, however, just floating down a river at a lazy 5 to 15 MPH (as seen from your camera) looks like something I should've been doing instead. I cannot begin to comment on how envious of you I am. Take care, Sir.
I'm taking notes. 49 here....50 is probably the new 60. I di believe I missed my chances at a good sweet partner that genuinely likes the same things I do in life, so i got a dog and do my best not to get lonely. Of course the best is to have a good partner, the second best is enjoy doing it solo...the worst is being stuck with an unhappy woman who doesn't want to do anything. I've experienced all 3. Thanks for the comments.
Ep:2/28 Here: ua-cam.com/video/aibAK_5ycv0/v-deo.html
Just love your channel especially having your beautiful beagle
Thank you David, and thank you for being a member. ;)
Just watched this series from beginning to end again. Such an amazing journey through the heart of America. Cheers for recording it and for the additional bits of candid commentary. Cheers man!
Watching all episodes for the second Christmas. Thank you.
Thank you! The next shanty trip will be 10 times more watchable;)
I am really glad to see the lifejacket on the dog. Good job!
She almost fell off during the pickwick dam incident. I now have her wearing it during all lock passes and turbulent weather ;)
Found your channel three years into the future. Here in 2022, I'd love to be doing what you did back then, you're living the life. Props to you. Looking forward to following the rest of this series. 👍
Thank you Alex. Shanty boating is absolutely the best. I'm finishing up the Beagle Barge this summer and launching into the top of the Mississippi...or at least as far up as possible (just south of Minneapolis) please stick around. ;)
Just found this video. I live 45 minutes north from where you launched. I've never been to Starve Rock. But I have been to the boat launch in Henry. There was a hotel there and a restaurant/bar. I watched guys fishing there. It's nice to see utube videos with places I've experienced.
Ahhhhh.......it is extremely magical floating slowly down a river!! Brings back sweet memories. Thanks for posting your adventure.
allhorses50 thanks for coming along. Having a wonderful time so far. Looks like the weather is changing here shortly.
I just started watching you from the beginning and I absolutely LOVE IT!!! ❤
Thank you Melany ;) we have an even better series happening now
I really like the way you showed what you see. Royce.
Ever since reading Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn at the age of 12....And what a sharp companion you have onboard! . Beautiful!
Sean McGivney hi Sean. I brought both of those books along--I've never actually read them. Have you read "shanty boat" by the huddards? Excellent
Hi, Brenton, no I have not, but I will check it out. Thanks.
You’re LIVING!!
J Brat I'm trying! :)
Just happen to be looking for shanties on the rivers and found your video. Sure glad I did, subbed and clicked the bell. I was thinking on taking a motorcycle trip around the US, but I might do the shanty boat thing instead now. 👍
Blount County, Tennessee tag! Hell yes! From an old Captain from the Great and the Sovern State of Tennessee, May the light Shine On Me and Thee. Blount County.....my old stompin' grounds. Now, an old has-been from the Gulf of Mexico! Ride on, man!
This is exciting for dreamers like me!
If I inspire a few folks and make mistakes so you don't have to from this series...I've succeeded ;)
Thanks fer takin the time to include us in yer travels. MUCH APPRECIATED!!
Of course! Y'all keep me company:)
I’m pumped to watch the rest of your episodes!! Well informed video. Thank you!
Just came across your videos.. Awesome so far. So day I will get to build my own and take the trips you and Wayne have taken.. So far, so good!!
I love it when new people come across these videos and get inspired by them :) Thank you, I hope you sub and stick around
the greatest adventure!
I learn some editing along the way. They get more watchable! Lol
Such a chill beagle... I'm going to watch this entire series. (Big Beagle Fan)
Thanks for finding us ;) Wavey has more fans than I do!
Awesome clip, You make me want to be there!!! Keep them coming. Hopefully soon I'll be home to spend some time on my Shanty. I don't have the time to do the rivers but I'll be on the local lakes here in Central Louisiana.
AL T hi Al, thanks for coming along. I plan on keeping the quality of content as high as possible, especially since the editing is terrible ;) I'll keep working on that too. Amazing what phones can do these days.
Way to go. Makes me want to work on mine tomorrow lol. Enjoy the campout.
Don Ferguson thanks Don, There's a good chance I'll pass within a couple hours from you. I might have to go into scooter mode and pop in ;)
That may be the cutest dog on the planet.
Thank you! Wavey is such a lover. I'm so lucky to have her ;)
What a wonderful adventure. I like the hat by the way. I've got to watch all of these.
I have to go back and look at the series where you build the boat.. I sure like what I see.. and your careful approach to it. I wager you are going to find a way to get into those protected arms, where you can anchor or beach in safety.
Hi Larry, I've found that these side bays are rarely less than 3-4 feet deep. It's almost like that's what the water wants to settle at? I'm able to anchor in as little as 2.5 feet of water, and getting much better at beaching:) I my as well sail this box until it falls apart! ;)
Keep your radio on channel 16. That's the hailing frequency. But it looks like you are managing fine. God bless your travels.
Susan bailey thanks for this. I've been keeping it on 16, or popping over to 13 for the pushers.
Ive been there ,, they have a power plant there
Gonna binge this trip for the 3rd time before the new beagle barge trip kinda hoping you'll start that trip at the twin cities
I'm thinking Hudson or Prescott...if the weather is holding ;)
@@backwatersandbackroads Hudson even better
Good luck with your voyage. Safe travels.
Nancy Wolfe thanks Nancy;)
Psyched to watch a redo plus of this trip.
Looked like a FUN First day.
Great start to an awesome adventure. Hope it stays this way for ya. Following and sharing.
El Gordo thanks for being interested in the trip. It's hard to get lonely in this world anymore when you can bring hundreds of people along for the ride :)
have fun and keep making the vids. wish i had my boat on that trip, oh well may be next year if i don't sell it..........
Love it
Thank you Betty :)
Such a good dog
this looks like it would be a blast
Jimbo Holcomb thanks jimbo;)
What's the story of the Tn license plate. Cool to see that. Blount' co is outside Knoxville which is on the Tn river
Hi Shanester, I tried to put a license plate of every state i passed through. Someone sent me that TN plate. Building up a 30 footer now. ;)
@@backwatersandbackroads I watched your videos backward somewhat. After I ask I saw the video about him sending it to you.
Enjoyed your videos look forward to your next adventure
Brenton what a great Video you had a much better first day than me I am so happy you are having a great time I look forward to meeting you at Hannibal can't wait for the next one
LOJO Marine for sure ;) we have an interview to do and some beers to try. That place you went to the first night you where there will work. Maybe the Garth Brooks fella will be there too :)
So far so Good. Hey you made mention of the Cumberland River. Are you not taking the Tennessee River? If you do take the Tennessee River, I know the section known as Kentucky Lake, and can make some possible anchoring or marina suggestions. Keep the heat on as the weather makes a big dip Thursday.
jim2shoes1 hi Jim. I see the weather change happening right before my eyes. 30s and 40s are tolerable, but I'll be heading toward warmer weather. Maybe I'll hit the Cumberland in the spring. I might fight the current back up a ways. Would be interested in Anchorage suggestions.
when you get a little closer to Kentucky Lake (Tennessee River) I will give you some of my anchorages and favorite marinas. Its a great area because on one side it has marinas and the other side is national park land with many protected bays for anchoring. If you choose the right bays there will be rustic campgrounds that you can beach at to refill water, drop trash, use porta potty and have a campfire at night. They will be empty this time of year. Navigation/depth there is pretty easy, but when going into the bays there may be a sand spit the comes out at about a 45 degree angle facing down river. But that is how it normally is in most rivers, but not always.
Great first video! Looks like you had perfect conditions. Hopefully the weather will hold up. Keep the videos coming.
Eric Chizum thanks Eric. Today was an ideal day for sure. I see that the temps are dropping soon. 30s at night. I'm glad I have a heater and loads of cooks weather gear. I'll keep posting videos. Thanks for all your help too.
I've been told the old Adventure Craft small house boats only draw 6 inches!
Look on my channel...I had one recently and tested that ;)
I love it! What an adventure. Take notes, maybe there is a book in this. btw I got the book you sent & thanks. lovelovelove
Ed Buryn hi Ed, glad you got the book. The problem with books is, no one reads anymore! That's why I'm doing it this way. ;) thanks for watching.
carp smells worse than it tastes.. gotta be some striper around eh? I love both beagles. peace and life to you.
keep it up good video nice to see your face . lo jo what a fin quitter
todd drews hi Todd. Thanks for the kudos, I will keep them coming. Theres something quite magical about floating slowly down a river. I'm sure some challenges are coming. Be nice to LoJo! ;)
That's funny got me and Eric with one comment Eric and I did not quit the river we are just getting bigger boats and or just redoing the boats we have to do the trip again come do it with us
The opposite of a ham is actually a CBer.
I remember the old CB days :) I'm THAT old.
Enjoyed the video...couple of questions. What size outboard? Also, you mentioned 5mph at close to idle, can you please give me even a rough estimate of miles per gallon at that speed? Thanks
Hi Kenny, the Shanty Beagle had a 2004 Yamaha 60 4 stroke high thrust. Down stream it doesn't take much to keep moving at 5-7 mph. All the rivers are a little different. The Illinois was 3 or 4 mph, the Mississippi really moves (6-9) the Ohio is a 2-3 at the mouth. Etc etc. Going down stream at idle (1100-1500 rpms) got such good MPGs I can hardly remember. Days and days without thinking of fuel. Once we hit the currents on the Ohio and beating up against the dams, then girl consumption went up. Still was very reasonable. I always kept it slow. I never wanted to go much past 5-7 mph. In hindsight, a 30-40 hp 4 stroke would have been even better. Of course it can be done with even less, but currents and turning against the river gets hard without extra HP. Almost done with the beagle barge and trip happening this fall and winter. Please stick around ;)
@@backwatersandbackroads Thanks much for the detailed and very helpful reply. Take care!
Is that baby wavey >?
Can you please tell me, how many horsepower motor do you have? Thank you, and enjoy your videos!
Hi Brian, yes...the shanty beagle had a Yamaha 60 HP 4 stroke. More than enough power. One could get by with 40...maybe even 30. Turning up stream is the trick. Without excess power it can be difficult to impossible.
SWEET!
You watched it backwards! Lol ;) the editing was so bad.
What is the significance of the license plate? It looks like you are having a wonderful time.
Now I remember you saying that you were putting a plate of all the states you were going to pass through.
The TN plate is from the same county I live in and there aren't too many hippies here. I am a rare bird. Hahahaha
Pidasian Hippie I think we need to redefine the word "hippy" :)
Hahahah. I am old school hippie so no redefining needed for me.
lots of us hillybillys here in east tenn.
so, what happens with the cove you were exploring at 8:20?? I thought you were going to go all the way into this one??
ahh well...
Happy travels! :)
Keep watching please;)
I ground my boat in little inlets all the time. but my boat is a piece of crap of little weight. , a steel hull would be awesome.. or even just some steel in the appropriate points as skids or shielding.
Cannel 16 is the traffic cannel
I figured that out after being out there for a bit ;) thanks!
I work on the tow boats I’m on one right now heading to Brandon road lock in Joliet ..I’m thinking about building a shanty boat next year ... sail on brother
@@poppawasarollinstoneboom9396that's great! It's funny, when I was out there, I thought about what it would take to get a job like.yours, and you're thinking of becoming a shanty boat captain! I love it. We are starting a group right now called "the shanty boat Captain's union" please join
So, did you have any fish for the dinner?
I only caught a handful of fish the entire trip. I thought I would have caught more catfish! I did catch some though :)
@@backwatersandbackroads 👍🙂 just finished watching the ep 2
Previously I watched till the end but didn't start from the beginning 🙂
I'm planning to build a 40 ish foot blue water catamaran, you gave me an idea about maybe looking into some of the towns by the river to build it.
I enjoy your videos very much👍
@@bizim_eller When folks say this trip inspired them, that makes me really happy. It was one of the best times of my enitre life out there on the rivers. It was awesome being able to share it with people here on YT, I would recommend trying to put together a channel, lots of people want to see how it's done beginning to end. Welcome and thanks for finding me man :)
@@backwatersandbackroads 👍 I would like hour opinion as well, when the time hopefully comes for me to look for a place to start building my boat
your videos are just fine, and your buddy makes them even better🙂
@@bizim_eller anytime man. text with questions when ready. The world is going crazy and will only get worse from here :( 5302104128
Where did you get the boat
The Shanty beagle? That was a 26 ft catamaran cruiser. I bought it in Pennsylvania. Cheap
@@backwatersandbackroads Do you have a video of the construction of the Shanty Beagle. Thanks
@thomaswhatley2075 I do. On my channel, there is "The Shanty Boat Beagle Build" series. Approx. 5 years ago. I really didn't know what I was doing editing wise, but it does show the refurbishing of the boat start to finish.
@@backwatersandbackroads Thanks I was particularly interested in what you were floating on. For a while I couldn't decide whether you were using a flattop barge or a pontoon or catamaran type float system.
Hey mate just a quick question, I was wondering how much each pontoon can hold and weather it would be worth putting another one on, im from Australia and have loved the whole idea of this and I would like to build one myself
Hi Joel, adding a 3rd toon down the middle would not hurt at all. This particular boat (catamaran cruiser 26) had fiberglass toons, and they were very deep. Typical pontoon boats don't have as much depth, and thus can't hold up as much cabin. Adding a 3rd toon would be a good idea. Thanks for watching man
@@backwatersandbackroads oh to easy bro cheers for that
👍
welp, I went back to start this series to see the original shanty!
What was that boat behind you on the dock? Has push bumpers like a tug but not a tug? Must be some kind of a work boat? Enjoyed the vid. Why in the hell would anyone catch a carp? And if you caught one by accident why would anybody put it on their stringer? You're supposed to throw them high up on the bank so's they cant find their way back into the river.
Howdy Service, that IS a work/push boat with the bumpers. Usually used to push and haul stuff around the rivers, and move crew around also. Carp: well...the way things are going, we better get use to eating them. Sort of like we better get use to eating rice and beans :) merry Christmas buddy
Thanks for the info. Not a worry in the world. We are enjoying the best economy since WWII. We just need to remove the Communist Party USA from the congress. Smooth sailing.
@John...Please don't tell me what you don't know. Tell it to your shrink. Maybe he can help.
I don't care what you know. It's what you don't know that is painfully obvious. See Rumsfeld Unknown unknowns. You have been warned. Heed my proclamation. What a dip wad.
@John John...It's called an ad hominem attack. If you weren't such a dolt you would know that, wouldn't you? Did you require assistance to extract your foot from your mouth for the purpose of measurement?
Hi
Hi Logan;)
@@backwatersandbackroads how are you
Not so long ago (I'm talkin like within the past 3 - 4 years) I enjoyed takin "SHOPPING ROAD-TRIPS" with a former girlfriend of mine (we went together & parted ways in school before I met "MY 1 & ONLY TRUE LOVE, HIGH SCHOOL SWEETHEART, FUTURE WIFE, MOTHER TO MY CHILDREN & UNFORTUNATELY, EX-WIFE) & those road-trips "were" so much fun. We'd been close friends since 1968 when we 1st met in elementary school in the 1st Grade & remained close despite the fact I married someone else & she moved to Los Angeles & lived out there for years. Although we're both 59 years old, I still refer to her as "A Girl"(all you younger people watching this will do the same even when you get "OLD"...No, she wasn't the reason for my divorce. My ex-wife decided to move on with her life without me & someone else), but since we were so much alike, these road-trips became a thing of the past. "ANYWAY", after watching some of your videos, I've come to the realization of what I should've been doing instead of "ROAD"-trips. Building a pontoon boat of some type to just "GET OUT ON THE WATER" has been the subject of so many daydreams or wishes since I was very young, it forced me to draw up countless big sketch pad pages of designs for pontoons & the different types of structures to build onto those pontoons. I've studied so much information about how to build pontoons, including most efficient shape designs, best materials to build with (especially the kind of material that's easy to scrounge for free or just cheap. Whatever floats best at the best cost), & size/floatation mathematic formulas. I prefer driving fast so I may've cruised along at 70 to 100+ MPH during these Road-Trips we took & I felt completely relaxed (totally in my element) while doing so, however, just floating down a river at a lazy 5 to 15 MPH (as seen from your camera) looks like something I should've been doing instead. I cannot begin to comment on how envious of you I am. Take care, Sir.
I'm taking notes. 49 here....50 is probably the new 60. I di believe I missed my chances at a good sweet partner that genuinely likes the same things I do in life, so i got a dog and do my best not to get lonely. Of course the best is to have a good partner, the second best is enjoy doing it solo...the worst is being stuck with an unhappy woman who doesn't want to do anything. I've experienced all 3. Thanks for the comments.
Carp is nasty I would not waste my time
P