Here we go

As you've read we were first timers on this trip.... so I hope this info will help others. Here's how our trip went.

The couple that was going with us backed out at the last minute so my girlfriend and I had my boat to ourselves. It would have been nice if they had went with us to share the expenses but it was OK. If you plan to take someone with you make sure you get the money for the trip up front when you are making plans, that way if they back out they are only hurting themselves.

We all got excited on the 28th and decided to leave around 11:00 pm to be at Eufaula at first light instead of waiting until the next morning. We loaded the clothes and personals in the boats hooked up and pulled out. We stopped by the local Walmart on the way to get the rest of the provisions (food, beer, and ice) packed the coolers down and hit the road.

You know...it's weird the people you run into going through life. While I was loading the coolers in the boat in the Walmart parking lot, a fellow came over and starting talking. At first I thought he was some kind of weirdo approaching someone at midnight in a Walmart parking lot. I was close to my gun and I admit I did look over at it for a second wondering, but the more he talked, the more he seemed harmless, so I just talked with him. He was talking about how he liked my boat and asked where we were heading so late at night. I told him about our trip and he said that he had done the exact same trip a couple of years back in a smaller ski boat with a tent to camp in. It's amazing what a small world it is. His advice was to follow the buoys, and not to anchor close to the bank as they had a run in with an alligator smelling their food and being nosey. I thanked him for his advice and we left out for the Interstate and Eufaula.

We were going along just fine and were only about 25 miles away from Eufaula when I felt the trailer drop on the left side and saw an explosion of sparks behind the boat. I eased on the breaks and pulled over on the shoulder. When I went back to inspect the trailer, both tires were missing on the drivers side!! Apparently the forward tire had blown out and had came off the rim and wrapped around the rear tire and ripped it and the wheel off breaking the studs and the U bolts holding the axle on. We searched and searched at least a mile back up the road but never found the other wheel and tire. At this point the friends with the other boat came back and helped us get our boat off the road a little better and to trace down a broken wire to get the lights on the trailer back working. A local sheriffs deputy stopped in a patrol car and asked if we needed any assistance. We told him of our plan to fix it the next morning and he said that it would be alright. With no way to fix it we decided to just crawl in the boats and spend the night until we could get some parts to repair it the next day.


The next morning we inspected the damage and got a parts list to take to town. We were going to unhook one of the trucks, but one of the other couples that were going to drive one of the trucks came up and took us to town to get the parts to repair the trailer. We repaired the trailer and were back on the road by 10:00 am.

When we came into Eufaula we stopped at a local gas station to fill up the boats. I already had around 40 gallons in mine so it took 99.5 gallons to fill it up It cost $208 dollars to fill up at $2.09 a gallon. That much gas is heavy weighing 845 lbs, so it is best to wait to fill up the boat in the last few miles to go. We got some snacks and cigg's and refilled the beer stock as we had depleted some of it on the side of the road. It was just a couple of miles to Highland Park where we put in at. We put the boats in, loaded the crew, and waved at the people driving the trucks and headed out for the dam and lock.

We could just barely see the lock on the other side of the lake from the boat ramp so it was just a short 15 minute run to get there. Randy called the lock operator on the VHF and let him know that we were coming and at that point the lock operator said "Roger Captain Randy" and from that point on through the trip when we talked to each other on the VHF, I hailed his as "Captain Randy" and he hailed me as "Captain Eddie". We got a kick out of it as we are just a couple of good ol' boys with boats.

The locks are amazing things. I have been through one as a child but this was the first time I had piloted a boat through one. This is the way you go through a lock. When you pull up call the lock operator on your cell phone, you can find the number online before you leave, or hail them on the VHF. They monitor channel 16. There is also a rope with a big sign over it to "Pull for the Lock Operator" if all else fails. It blows a huge horn that I'm sure can be heard from miles away as it sounds like the horn on a freighter ship. That will defiantly get someones attention! Then you wait till they open the front doors of the lock and you drive in. There are light grey floating can like things built into the wall on a track that lower and raise with the water level. These are what you tie off to. Then the close the doors behind you. They blow a horn to let the people downstream know that they are releasing water and the water level will slowly start going down. I've read that the lock at Walter F George is one of the deepest locks in the US with a drop of over 90 feet. While the water is going down it helps to have fenders deployed and to help push the boat off the wall from time to time as the boat will move around some when the water is dropping. When you get to the bottom the large doors on the other side of the lock will open and you drive out into the river and you are on your way.

Pictures and a continuation of the trip to follow.

Eddie