Heading north

[kartracer]

After 2 great yrs in Madisonville, LA and meeting such great people along with great food as well as working on Luna Sea; we are heading to Knoxville, TN.
We are heading there for viewing the fall foliage.


Day 1: Left Madisonville Monday 9/10/18 headed to Gulfport, MS.
8hr trip- very calm seas and everything going well UNTIL docking at Gulfport Yacht Harbor when port clutch went out. After docking with one engine and a strong wind, needed a strong drink! Called Kennedy Marine; Great people to work with. Corrected the problem over the phone. Good night after long day.

Day 2: Left Gulfport 9:30 AM with 5hr trip to Pascagoula, MS. Docked at Singing River Yacht Club. Very calm weather; great trip today. Now to the BAR!

 

[ragin cajun]

Have a wonderful journey and adventure Kart! Please post up some pics along the way!

 

[FoxtrotCharlie]

Beautiful time of year in the TN river valley Enjoy!

 

[Texan]

Do I see a pattern here? Drinking is mandatory after a hard day cruising?

 

[Steve]

Happy to hear the transmission problem was fixed. Have a great trip, keep us all posted!

 

[Berwick]

Safe travels! Keep posting so we can follow your adventure! Alexis says hello to Kathy.

 

[kartracer]

Day 3:Great meal at Yacht club Tuesday evening (late Day 2) very lively group of people. One guy has sister that lives in Houma; another has daughter in Thibodeaux. Rocky sailed on 2 world cup sailing teams with Dennis Connors.


Tidied up LunaSea. Then went to Bozo's for lunch. Very interesting seafood lunch spot. You ordered food in back, had to go up to cash register in front to pay then back to ordering spot to wait for food. If you wanted fish you had to go buy the fish further in back then bring it to the order counter to be prepared. More food than you can eat once you got it. No separate tables just 3 long tables with holes every several feet for boil seafood disposal.

Back to yacht club for dinner. Different group of members there. One had relatives in New Orleans. Great evening.


Day4: 9/13/18 Thursday Great day on water. Pelicans and seagulls followed the boat feeding the whole way to Mobile. Got to Dog River Marina; put engines in neutral then port engine went out again. So our repairs didn't quite work. Have a mechanic suppose to be here @ 8 tomorrow morning.

 

[kartracer]

09/18/18 Got the bad news today; Clutch has to come out. We will be down for about 2 weeks.

We will back up on posting as soon as we can travel.

 

[wyoboater]

Sorry to hear about the clutch. Good luck! Look forward to your posts.

 

[kartracer]

I have learn one thing in this short trip " I do not use my boat enough", the short trips up and down the river does not cut it. I have found more small, and some large, things not working, others needing repair, and others needing a little TLC. I do run the engines and gen weekly at the dock but that is not like running for hours.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,

Mr. k. Excellent post above (#10) and a great reminder, to me, at least. Unfortunate about the clutch BUT cloudy silver linings and all...

 

[Steve]

Sorry to hear that, will they have to haul the boat, will you be in Gulfport?

 

[kartracer]

The boat is at Dog River Marina near Mobile, they have a large repair facility. They would rather do the repair in water. When the transmission is out I will bring it to Chalmette to be rebuilt with a 2 day turn around.

 

[Berwick]

I had the Dog River people do extensive work on my engines, and they did good work. Sorry to hear about your issues, but you are in a good place to have them addressed. Boating is such a love hate activity, but the love always wins! I guess we are a bit touched....

 

[Choices]

Singing River is a great place! Weather stuck us there a few days.

Great people, bar, and restaurant. Will always stop there when in the area.

Had to come in and out on high tide.

 

[Gray Dog]

We live in Knoxville and are happy to help in any way. Made several trips up and down the TN and Tenn Tom. Contact me any time.

 

[Choices]

How fast is the current? We were thinking about going up river but have no idea how much impact it would have.

 

[oceancrosser]

How fast is the current? We were thinking about going up river but have no idea how much impact it would have.

The current can be a little challenging "IF" you have some flooding. However once you are past Dempolis (northbound) you have 11 locks preventing any real aggressive movement UNLESS... major flooding.



We travel (YoYo'ers) every year from the Tennessee River to the Gulf Coast and you will enjoy the road trip. The Fall Foliage Tour to Knoxville is a "Must See" trip in October/November!



Our departure date for Orange Beach is November 13th (written in sand at low tide), so if we can help, let us know.


Rusty

 

[Choices]

We can not make this fall, we are headed to Fantasy Fest in Key West, then want to stay South and warm. I swore I would not be cold this winter.

But we will head that way in spring, and give you both a shout.

 

[Al]

09/18/18 Got the bad news today; Clutch has to come out. We will be down for about 2 weeks.

We will back up on posting as soon as we can travel.

Hummmmm could you expound a bit on the reason for the time frame? Where are the parts coming from? Iran? Good gosh even here in the netherlands of Sunny Southern Southeast Alaska a clutch in and out repair is spoken to in a couple of days. Just saying, it caught my eye reading the time involved.

Al-Ketchikan

 

[Juggerknot]

2 weeks?

09/18/18 Got the bad news today; Clutch has to come out. We will be down for about 2 weeks.

We will back up on posting as soon as we can travel.

couple weeks for a clutch seems lengthy, better stock up on liquid refreshments or the bartab may exceed the repair bill

smooth sailing

 

[Gray Dog]

How fast is the current - You can count on about 1 statute MPH on your nose. It will probably be more between Mobile and Demopolis. It can get quite strong if heavy rains. Maybe 2-2.5 MPH but I have seen worse. The upper Tenn Tom and the TN will vary a bit but usually mild. Heavy rains will make it worse of course. Call or search US Army Corp of Engineers to see flow rates. Calling the various dams will give you water levels and flows. Also calling marinas will often give good flow information.

 

[kartracer]

Juggerknot only 2 days to rebuild the clutch,,,If I could get someone to take it out the boat

 

[kartracer]

HERE WE GO AGAIN !!!!!! Trans is being installed today, plan on leaving in the AM heading back to Dog River then North. Trans was rebuilt but showed no signs of oil leak. Seals all in good shape, disc packs showed signs of wear from slipping. Was told oil could have been boiling out of trans due to slipping.

 

[Steve]

Good news! and good luck on the rest of the trip. Please let us know how it is going .
Where did you wind up having the work done?

 

[kartracer]

Left Kennedy Marina Saturday 10/13/18 headed to Dog River Marina. Made it there in 9 Hrs. everything running great.
Left Dog River this morning 10/14/18 headed to Mobile

 

[kartracer]

Docked at Mobile Civic Center on the river. Mile marker "0" of the Tenn-Tom.
So we are really heading north in morning. River is alittle rough due to ship activity. must call ahead for electricity.

 

[kartracer]

FINALLY GOT INTERNET SERVICE.

10/15/18 Let mobile early Monday morning. Once we left port the scenery changed. Railroad to port side and Marsh to starboard. Passed a few boats that were leaving the Rendezvous at Joe Wheeler Park. Anchored at Upper Sunflower Bend behind red buoy line for the night. Had 8+ ft of water. Great place to anchor. made 80 miles today.

 

[kartracer]

10/16/18 went thru our 1st lock at Coffeeville without problem. Kathy still has all 10 fingers. Arrived at Bobby's Fish camp that afternoon Restaurant is only open Thursday thru Sunday. Had to fin for ourselves for dinner. Grilled Redfish on boat. Met very , very interesting people from St Louis. They were heading to Florida but not sure just where. Had everything on boat from suit of armor to Harley on back. Oh also their pet parrot Powder.

 

[Pack Mule]

10/16/18 went thru our 1st lock at Coffeeville without problem. Kathy still has all 10 fingers. Arrived at Bobby's Fish camp that afternoon Restaurant is only open Thursday thru Sunday. Had to fin for ourselves for dinner. Grilled Redfish on boat. Met very , very interesting people from St Louis. They were heading to Florida but not sure just where. Had everything on boat from suit of armor to Harley on back. Oh also their pet parrot Powder.

They came thru Paris Landing about a month or so ago.