Bye Bye Boat

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Flutterby

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Doug, my son, just before leaving on his one-way-journey to Fairbanks Alaska via the AlCan Hwy.

DougsNewBoatSummer2010.jpg


He, his niece and her BF are driving all the way from Sacramento to Fairbanks. There, they will launch the boat and take it down the Yukon River to its summer home in Nome where Doug lives.

The three of them are taking turns driving, often all day and night. After they cleared Customs in Blaine Washington, they camped out overnight in the boat outside of town in Canada! Last night they stayed at Laird Hot Springs for a nice break. Today they are back on the road.

So far nothing has broken down! That 19 yrs old trailer with new tires, brakes and lights is holding up much better then Charlie or I expected. Let's hope his luck continues.

Once the boat gets to Alaska, it will get a good waxing and look much better!

Boatless in Pioneer, Liz
 
nice to see it is getting a good home. we need lots of PIX of the adventure.
 
Well it's close to 1000 miles to the Canadian border. The rough stuff starts along the AlCan where they have to do the repairing during the short summer.

Maybe I was a bit too sqeemish about towing on the cracked 19 Y/O tires and bad bearings. She looked better from the sidelines than in the cab.[:I]

Yeah, It's be nice if Doug could document their progress...or at least report their progress along the way.

Come to think of it, if I knew he was going down the Yukon, I'd have given him a couple extra props and hooked a drive reservoir. The distance from fairbanks to Nome is 500 miles as the crow flys...and the Yukon is anything but straight.
 
What is a drive reservoir? My boat has a spare prop in the bow of the V berth. Along with spare nuts and a couple of that funny-looking washer thing Merc used.

His progress is being documented on Facebook. Mostly just the name of the town he is passing through. But there are some pics I can upload to photobucket and post. I'll see what I can done.
 
Liz,

You now have the perfect excuse for a vacation. Jump on a cheap flight to Fairbanks and let Doug knows that he needs an experienced navigator for the adventure down the Yukon. It sounds like a serious good time! It's nice to see the boat staying in the family and on to ever more adventures. Have a great weekend.
 
The hell with the road trip! I want helm cam for the 500+ miles on the Yukon. :)
 
Liz, come on down for the weekend; I've got enough spare parts etc to build a nice little pirogue fer ya ( you supply the paddle ). Then we can go to the French Quarter for some jazz and a muffaletta.

( I am suffering for ya, being boatless and all. )
 
A drive reservoir will allow you to monitor and add
drive fluid and prevents a vacuum in the drive that can suck water in the drive.

Doug may not even have a place to check the drive along the 1000 mile trip.
 
Wow! All these great ideas of how to spend my non-existent money! LOL
Dave, I actually did consider your idea, but Doug already has a boat full going with him. If it was just he and me, and maybe his wife, I'd definitely do that!

I'll start a new thread with pictures and sort of a log of the trip......
 
I just followed their planned route down the Yukon on GE. That is a long way with not much in the way of support visible on GE. How do they plan to get gas and supplies?
 
I haven't a clue. He has lots of contacts up there. Perhaps a friend will fly fuel in and land on a sand bar along the river. I'm sure Doug has a plan; he just hasn't shared it with me. He is very resourceful and knows the area very well.
 
I looked too, Bruce. There are small landing strips all along the way but some are 100 miles apart. Being pilots, they probably have a good fuel drop system set up. Trouble is lack of places to work on the boat. No telling just how navigable the waters are. One spare prop just ain't enuff IMO.
 
The stuff I read about the river indicated a lot of moving gravel bars that even trap canoes. However that may not be it the part of the river they intend to run. Apparently the river is not considered drinkable but side streams may be sounds like a great adventure I hope they keep in touch. Oh, I wonder how they plan to keep in touch?
 
Remember he will have the current most of the way. And the rivers up there are used like hwys. Communication is via VHF radio. Even land-locked folks have VHF as well as the pilots. Right now I am getting cell-generated info as he passes through villages, etc. That will probably end after Fairbanks.

Doug has the dinghy and paddles so that he can leave the boat along the river w/o getting in that cold water! He might be planning on getting an elec motor for the motor mount. He doesn't give away his plans very much. That way he doesn't have to listen to all the family "should do's" he gets otherwise! He does use me as resource for the boat.

Ya know, I learned when he was 19 yrs old that he was a very capable man and that has been reinforced over and over again in the last 20 yrs.
 
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