After returning from the rendezvous, we took a day to visit the Shiloh Battlefield where Generals Grant and Johnston traded bloody blows during a rainy couple of days in April, 1862. It was the first of what would be many gruesome battles where armies ground against each other in a state of total war. I've … Continue reading Shiloh

We did something that Loopers are not supposed to do... we made a schedule. We needed to be at Joe Wheeler State Park for the AGLCA Fall rendezvous by Sunday. Between us and Joe Wheeler were about 61 miles of water and two locks. Normally, that would not be a concern, but one of the … Continue reading Grand Harbor to the Wilson Lock: Testing Our Lock Luck

We took off out of Clifton at first light. We only had about 63 miles to go, but the Pickwick Lock was between us and our destination at Grand Harbor on Pickwick Lake. The main lock was undergoing an unscheduled repair, so they were using the secondary lock. Plus, some rain had increased the flow … Continue reading Clifton to Grand Harbor: Swimming Upstream

Okay, it wasn't wild. It was actually pretty chill. But it was wet. We pulled out of Pebble Isle at 0700 and turned into the current of the Tennessee River. It was a calm, cool morning with some high clouds. We spent most of the day cruising at between 9 and 10 mph and dodging … Continue reading Pebble Isle to Clifton: Wet ‘n’ Wild

Today we learned about sacrificial anodes. Well, we already knew about them in theory, but we learned about them for real today. Last week, as we were looking ahead at getting to the Gulf and introducing Our Dash to salt water for the first time, we started thinking about replacing our anodes. For the uninitiated, … Continue reading A Little Sacrifice Goes a Long Way

We got up early to get a 0700 start on the 94 mile trip from Clarksville to Green Turtle Bay resort. There was a dense fog on the water, so we went back to bed for a little while. By 0800, the fog was mostly clear, so we set out. Clarksville was good to us, … Continue reading Clarksville to Green Turtle Bay: Cruising with the Current

Okay, we didn't have a flotilla, but it sounded funny. We planned to leave at dawn again to make the 60ish mile trip to Nashville. We had one lock, the Cheatham Lock, and the nice folks we met at the dock the night before said that they had to wait three hours. It's a smaller … Continue reading Clarksville to Nashville: Flotilla in the Mist

We learned something today. For two days, we have periodic tapping coming from somewhere in the boat. The tapping varied in intensity and volume. Sometimes it would go on for quite a while and then go away for hours. It sounded like it came from different areas, but that can be hard to tell on … Continue reading Things that go bump in the night

We spent about a week enjoying Green Turtle Bay Resort. It's a wonderful resort with wonderful people. But I also highly recommend that you check out Grand Rivers and the Land Between the Lakes. It's a short walk to Grand Rivers. There is also a shuttle, you can rent a golf cart, or borrow the … Continue reading Exploring Grand Rivers and the Land Between the Lakes

Remember how I said that being a boater means fixing stuff all the time? This time it was the vacuum flush head. We had a slight vacuum leak that required us to replace the seal. NBD, right? It wasn't, but in the process, the shaft that connects the petal to the clam shell, or "ball," … Continue reading This is not what people think about when they buy a boat