Adventerous soul....

Mississippi at downtown St Louis is about 3 feet above flood stage today, and here sits this adventurous soul beached on the steps of the Gateway Arch. These two photos don't do the state of the river justice - it is dangerous to navigate past downtown when the river isn't above flood stage! If you can't tell, he's got all his earthly possessions in a camouflage canoe.

in a camouflage canoe[/U].

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Better that than a Walmart grocery cart.

Near us was a bum camp on the river. They would take turns using a wheelchair and crutches to beg at the 95 exit until the police finally chased them away.

I doubt if that gentleman is a bum.
The Mississippi and Missouri Rivers call a lot of folks to make the journey from from their source to the Gulf every year.
It's not an uncommon sight around here.

I fill that bill too for a minimalistic approach to marine travel. I also have a kayak that I enjoy camping trips with. The difference is I've rolled my own, electric propulsion with (8) 100 a-hr lithium cells giving it a 80 nm range.
MOV02923 - YouTube

Bob, I like your posts and I like the innovative approach to propulsion, buttttt if you did what you did in your video down here (Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas and Maybe Florida) you would likely get a shotgun hole to the canoe. Do you have some post of your kayak?

???

What did he do?

swampu said:

Bob, I like your posts and I like the innovative approach to propulsion, buttttt if you did what you did in your video down here (Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas and Maybe Florida) you would likely get a shotgun hole to the canoe. Do you have some post of your kayak?

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You mean silently slipping up on another vessel? That is why I called out about those fickle winds, to ascertain if they were friendly folks. I wasn't planning on stealing a crab pot from under their noses.

Do you have rod holders? I've seen some jet skies equipped with t-top piping to mount gps and rod holders. That would be an interesting rig to troll for speckled trout. Are kayak's with motors common? I'm not sure if your familiar with my area but there are hundreds of miles of barrier islands to be explored or fished. My boat is going to be a mother ship so to speak but something like what you have would be great for exploring all the coves and shoreline. I think you should start a thread just on your kayak. I for one am interested in learning about it. I always equate kayaking with work, but I think you have managed the work out kayaking.
Paul

swampu said:

Bob, I like your posts and I like the innovative approach to propulsion, buttttt if you did what you did in your video down here (Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas and Maybe Florida) you would likely get a shotgun hole to the canoe.

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I'm baffled too? He pulled up and spoke to another person?

My boat would be filled with holes.

swampu said:

Do you have rod holders?..... My boat is going to be a mother ship so to speak but something like what you have would be great for exploring all the coves and shoreline. ..... I for one am interested in learning about it. I always equate kayaking with work, but I think you have managed the work out kayaking.

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Check out the Hobie site! They are absolutely perfect for fishing!
Hobie Fishing : Fishing Kayaks & Accessories : Hobie Fishing

You never know without sauntering over and asking, but maybe it was someone retracing Don and Dana Starkell's 12,180 mile canoe trip from Winnipeg Manitoba, Canada, to the mouth of the Amazon;

http://www.amazon.ca/Paddle-Amazon-Ultimate-000-Mile-Adventure/dp/0771082568

Gentlemen, I may have jumped the gun. I didn't listen to the you tube I just watched it the first time. I am sorry Bob, you would not offend a sailboat or maybe a trawler that was underway. I think more as a fisherman, and nothing is more aggravating than someone buzzing your spot. Again, sorry Bob

swampu said:

Gentlemen, I may have jumped the gun. I didn't listen to the you tube I just watched it the first time. I am sorry Bob, you would not offend a sailboat or maybe a trawler that was underway. I think more as a fisherman, and nothing is more aggravating than someone buzzing your spot. Again, sorry Bob

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No worries mate, I'm guilty of missing things too watching a video and forgetting my sound is off.

As to the other questions, 1st Hobie, what a great kayak, I had planned to buy it but the Torqeedo electric drive for it was back ordered. My set up is the Ocean Torque model, designed for a group 24 battery. I'm not a fan of 60 lbs of lead that on its best day would give 16~18 nm of range. I rolled my own battery using Winston LiFePO4 100 a-hr cells into (2) 30 lb 12 volt (13 volt nominal) packs. One used as the outbound battery, the other used as the return battery, each good for 40 nm, thus 80 nm roundtrip.

One of the packs bound together.




This is a 8 lb 50 amp charger that will recharge a pack during a lunch break at a marina.


Both packs.


I will be building four more packs for the dinghy.

Very cool, deckofficer! Any pics of the entire ship - out of the water so we can see the running gear?

I picked it up late in the season (late October) and haven't been out in it much. I'll have many pictures of it this summer.