Houseboat - 2,000 Miles to Lake Powell

My previous boats were all relatively new. Getting ready for some road miles to get to a new cruising ground meant little more than checking the trailer tires and loading things up. This was pretty much the case for the more than 100 different ramps we used from New England to San Diego and Key West to Homer Alaska with our smaller boats.

But this time it was different. I would be towing a 40 year old, new to us houseboat, 2,000 miles to meet family who had flown in for a joyous vacation on Lake Powell. If things didn't go according to plan, my wife Suzy, daughter Sara Jane, son-in-law Trey and 2 year old grandson 'Packy' would have flown into Grand Junction CO from SC, rented a car for the 200+ mile drive to Lake Powell and then wouldn't have a place to stay because of full bookings for the Labor Day weekend there. It could be a total disaster if there was any glitch in my plan to tow Big Duck to Lake Powell to meet them on schedule.

Big Duck, a 28' 1972 Land-N-Sea trailerable houseboat, wasn't totally new to us. I'd purchased her about 3 years ago sight unseen on eBay. My wife's MS was progressing and I knew if we were to continue boating we'd need something bigger than the 18 foot cuddy we had been using. All the comforts of home had to be included with the next boat and it had to be trailerable.

Big Duck behind the One Ton V10 van.

I bid on Big Duck for several reasons. Work orders showed she had a new updated engine with less than 10 hours. The trailer had papers to show it was 'road ready'. The boat was in the water and pictures showed the boat had been reasonably maintained. I knew there would be considerable work and money needed to turn her into the boat that would fill our needs, but being retired and looking for a satisfying and rewarding project, Big Duck, with this pedigree, was just the ticket.

Double sink - full galley

Setee/double forward.

Nice bunk beds

The trip to SC towing Big Duck home from Lake Mead at Las Vegas after the winning bid was a miracle. With the help of a friend, it was 2 days out and 3 days back for the 2,000+ miles each way.

Big Duck on her way home from Lake Mead

We just hooked Big Duck up to the Ford Van and brought her home...after realizing the trailer tires had only 35# of air and needed 115! We checked the tires about 50 miles into the trip and found from a roadside construction worker that the nearest gas station was at least that many miles away, but, he said, "We have a water truck with a compressor. I'll radio them."

He did. They came, and we were on our way in a little over an hour.

The first thing we learned about Big Duck when we got her home was that both belly tanks leaked. The fix meant pulling the outdrive, then the engine and then the tanks... About this time, plans for a family vacation at Lake Powell were beginning to materialize and I began to feel pressure to get the boat water ready.

I removed the outdrive to be able to get the engine out, and in the process found the outdrive needed work. This was not a big deal as I had anticipated not only the leaking gas tanks but also the need for mechanical work on the drive. This was all routine.

Outdrive - ready to go to the shop

 Then I pulled the motor,

I pulled the motor out of Big Duck's bilge with a deck crane.

but to my dismay, found that modifications to accommodate the upgraded motor prevented the gas tanks from being removed. I sent the outdrive off to be overhauled and when it came back, I put the motor and outdrive back in the boat. The leaking gas tank issue was resolved by the addition of a 3rd, plastic tank "to get us out on the water", and it did.

Big Duck's new plastic fuel tank.

Our first outing on Big Duck was a joy to behold. Her mechanical systems were satisfyingly reliable, but we quickly realized that she needed a generator to run the air conditioner, and the plastic gas tank (40 gallons) would not come close to being adequate for a Lake Powell adventure where marinas were 50 miles apart. About this time, dates were being discussed for Lake Powell...I had plenty of time -- a year and a half. Yikes! Only a year and a half.

The generator installation was relatively simple. The Honda 3000i remote start generator was moved from the travel trailer to the roof of Big Duck.

Generator on trailer.

Generator on roof of Big Duck.

But during the wiring process we discovered that the insulation on all the 120 volt wires in the boat were cracking off. A total rebuild of the boat's electrical system was in order.

The gas tanks were a monumental project requiring dismantling the cabin sole,

Leaking tanks separated by sink drain pipe.

then digging out the old foamed in tanks and wrestling them loose.

I tried an electric knife, chisel, hacksaw - the claw hammer worked best.

The old tanks were not fixable so I carefully measured and came up with a plan to replace the two 50 gallon leakers

Leaking fuel tanks, finally out of the bilge

with a new single 85 gallon custom aluminum tank. This meant rerouting some plumbing, but simplified the installation because it eliminated the second fill hose and gas gauge for the second tank. About this time it became apparent that all the plumbing fixtures needed replacing as the jostling from the rerouting created leaks everywhere.

Under sink leaks

Galley faucet leaks

With the new tank in hand, I realized that I'd need a platform in the bilge for the new tank. This meant fabricating and glassing in a' shelf' to set the tank on, then working up a means to secure the tank because foaming in an aluminum tank is not recommended.

Glassing in platform/shelf for new tank.

Preparing to see if new tank will fit

New tank had to be shoehorned into bilge

Hooray - new custom built tank fits!

 Then winterizing needed to be done to protect the new plumbing and the motor.

Forty year old guard rails and cleats needed attention.

There should be a stanchion here, but this corner was rotten.

We'd need a 'fence' around the open stern area to keep the baby and dog(s) aboard.

Playpen

The bilge pump(s) and bilge blowers needed replacing. Bimini tops needed to be added. Fenders, ground tackle, galley supplies and beddng needed to be tended to.

OK so you get the idea of things that need to be done to the boat before embarking on a 2000 mile trip.

But wait, there's also the boat trailer. Is it in shape to make the trip. And will the van be up to the job with over 100,000 miles on it?

Just the week before my dog Merlin and I were scheduled to leave, I was still working to pull things together. The shift cable froze up and after replacing that 34' cable thru the bilge, the control cables to the flybridge suffered the same fate as the jostled plumbing and needed to be renewed. And after replacing the bearings on all four trailer wheels I came to think that it might be a good idea to have an additional spare tire along for the trailer. Instead of a spare tire, I bought 4 new unmounted tires and threw them into the bilge of the boat. The replacement tires were inspired by their size of 8 X 14.5. These tires are available via the internet, but are not stocked by any tire store.

Tires stacked up in the bilge.

I also put TPMS modules on the trailer wheels. These would tell me the tire pressure of the trailer tires while we were driving. I'd expect between 100 and 110 psi during the trip. I'd had a blowout on a trailer tire with the small boat, and didn't even know it until someone pulled up next to me, pointed and blew the horn.

Hand held display that can cycle through trailer tire pressures on the fly

Then Merlin and I were off. We planned 7 days to go the 2,000 miles...an easy 300 miles per day. This would give us plenty of time to get to Lake Powell before the family flew out to meet us. We were like a couple school boys with our first car, heading west on our own -- eating junk food, singing and relishing our freedom all along the way, but always wondering if we'd tended to all the details that would allow us to get  there on time.

Merlin says, "Let's get on the road"

Merlin says, "This is the life - just us boys on a cross country road trip."

The GPS told us to take a northern route that would put us on I70 through Denver. This I70 route had some serious mountain roads between Denver and Utah so we opted for a slightly longer route staying on I40 and going to Gallup or heading north out of Albuquerque to Farmington. We'd decide which way from I40 when we got to Albuquerque.

My brother-in-law Doug, and his wife Elaine have a Parker 2120 and enjoy much of the same kind boating that we do. They live in the Chicago area and would meet us somewhere en-route so we'd each have a boat on the lake. This would also allow for a bit of security in case either of us had a problem, either on the road or on the lake.

Merlin and I enjoyed solo travel for the first 3 days. I'd stop about every 50 miles or so to empty Merlin and stretch my legs. And of course I indulged in my regular 100 mile nap...pulling over and getting horizontal for 20 minutes every 100 miles. Nights were spent Wallydocking - sleeping aboard Big Duck in WalMart parking lots.Walmart parking lots are a safe/easy place to overnight, with access to 24 hr shopping.

Wallydocking is always a comfort.

About the 5th gas fillup at a Truck Stop, I noticed an empty truck scale convenient to our way out so I pulled Big Duck on the scale. Wow! Eleven thousand pounds. No wonder I was only getting about 7 miles per gallon.

That's a might heavy rig.

Merlin and I met up with Doug and Elaine near Reno Oklahoma. Their boat isn't quite as accommodating as Big Duck so they like to spend the night in a motel. Merlin and I Wallydocked nearby. We discussed which route to take, Gallup or Farminton, but never made a decision.

The next day, Doug and I played Tortoise and Hare. We started out together, but because of my casual schedule and better mpg at slow speeds, I'd come to like about 52mph; Doug's boat being smaller and lighter allowed and encouraged him to go faster. We'd ended up at the same place that night - where there was a motel next to a Walmart. We discussed the route again and decided to go the Farmington route because it would mean we could stock up on perishables/ice at a Walmart that closer to the lake. The next night we spent in Tumcumcari - they stayed in a motel and Merlin and I stayed in the motel parking lot.

Tucumcari

Am I supposed to go potty on tumbleweed? Where's the grass?

On the way to Farmington, my TPMS showed I had a slow leak in one of the trailer tires. When we got to Farmington, I put the spare on the trailer in the Walmart parking lot. If the TPMS hadn't warned me of the impending flat, the tire would have eventually self destructed the next day on the road and could have caused schedule and/or safety problem.

Tire pressure should be around 100psi

Spare tire in place with Merlin's help.

Doug and Elaine couldn't find a room in Farmington because they were all taken by construction workers. They overnighted with Merlin and me in the Walmart lot after we shopped for the groceries/ice we'd need for the week on Powell. This Walmart had a shopping cart burial ground...

There had to be over 100 dying shopping carts here.

The next morning, Doug and Elaine set out for breakfast at McDonalds and I went off with Big Duck to find a place to fix the flat trailer tire. I saw a place on the other side of the road and as I made a sharp turn to head back, I heard a chunk of iron hitting the pavement, then a grinding noise. I figured I could get the couple hundred yards back to the tire place and check it out, but a passing driver blew his horn and yelled, "Your tire!".

I stopped in the middle of the road to discover that the top of one of the trailer tires was rubbing on the fender. Also, the trailer fender had been pushed up to be in contact with the hull. This sandwich mess was causing blue smoke and enough heat to burn paint off the fender and make the fiberglass hull soft. It was a good thing that passing motorist flagged me down right away. What would have been worse would have been for this to happen out on the road in the middle of nowhere. I crawled under the trailer and found the cause - a broken trailer spring. The broken spring allowed the frame to settle on the axle, squeezing the tire to the fender and the fender to the hull in the process.

Broken spring

What a disappointment, 200 miles to go and now this. I texted Trey about the problem.  Trey comfortingly responded that he'd help in any way possible and if we couldn't make it to Bullfrog he'd come to wherever we were. Then I called Doug to let him know what had happened as Merlin and I set out on foot to a truck repair place that showed up on my GPS.

The repair shop was too busy to listen to my problem, but sent me across the street. Across the street was busy as well but suggested that there was a frame and spring shop less than 5 miles away. By now, Doug had caught up with me and he drove me to the frame/spring shop.

I'm not used to the kind of treatment I got at the frame/spring shop. Instead of the hedging and head scratching I'd grown to expect, the fellow behind the counter listened intently, then matter of factly asked whether it was a 26 or 27" spring...but he had them both in stock.We took the longer spring back to where Big Duck's trailer lay injured.

Doug had all the tools and equipment to install the new spring but as I started to remove the broken pieces I realized that I'd need to break off the U bolt nuts and would probably need other parts besides just the spring and this would mean trips back and forth to the spring shop and longer delays. I decided my best bet would be to get the trailer to the shop and have them do the repair.

Doug's mobile repair - including a compressor

I jacked the frame up away from the axle and put a 4 X 4 piece of wood between the two. When I released the jack I still had clearance between the tire and fender and the fender fell away from the hull, so with Doug following me, I carefully towed Big Duck about 5 miles and backed up the rig to the front door of the shop.

Never thought a Spring Shop would be so inviting!

The fellow behind the counter casually looked out the window and said, "I can't get to it today, maybe tomorrow."

And I thought this might take weeks to fix!

Resting easy, but knowing I'd miss the family at Bullfrog by at least a day and the inconvenience it would cause, I explained my dilemma to the guy behind the counter. I then suggested that if he had a worker who would stay and get the job done tonight, it would be worth a hundred bucks to me, but I'd like to have all 4 springs replaced.

I was out of the spring shop by 6pm that day and back on schedule, especially since I had made some time by doing 350+ miles/day.

We'll have you out of here in a jiffy.

The last 200 miles had the most challenging roads of the trip. Narrow two lane roads with no shoulder made me wonder what I'd do if I had a problem. The first steep winding downgrade caught me off guard and I found myself using the brakes too much - being pushed downhill by 11,000 pounds of Duck can overheat brakes if one is not careful and hot brakes fail. The van is a true one ton with huge brakes so we never experienced brake fade but on subsequent downgrades I was sure to keep the speed down from the start and use the engine for braking.

Not that it had been a harrowing experience or anything, but it was a big relief to finally know there was nothing except the ferry between me and meeting the family on schedule.

Finally at the ferry.

We were the first in line to board the ferry at Halls.

We had a nice reunion when the folks arrived in their rental car.

Elaine, Trey, Sara Jane, Doug, Suzy, Patrck and Merlin - all together at last.

Suzy asked me if I'd had any problems on the road...Trey had not shared my potentially devastating happenings with them. We all then spent the night aboard Big Duck in the parking lot.

Trey sacking out after bringing the family from Grand Junction

The next morning we put Big Duck into Lake Powell with ease largely due to Trey's expertise in backing and braking just the right amount to slide The Duck off her trailer. Things would have been easier for me if in my excitement I hadn't forgotten to remove the covers from the windows before trying to get out of the harbor...but we did OK. Doug splashed then too, and brought Trey out when he came, so I didn't have to go back into the launch area to pick Trey up after he parked the van/trailer.

Then out onto the lake for some sightseeing, swimming and playing on the beach. The days were spent leisurely traveling/exploring the lake at about 6 mph. By early afternoons we had found a place to beach the boat, bow to and with a couple anchors from each of the rear corners, we secured ourselves for water and beach activities as well as overnighting.

Doug and Elaine on their way down the lake.

Beaching with stern anchors.

Meals were a delight thanks to Trey's experience planning and preparing thousands of meals at Boy Scout Jamborees - he cooked on the stovetop, microwave and even the oven. Thanks to the refrigerator and freezer aboard Big Duck, we had fresh vegetables, salads and meat every day.

Suzy had me pick up 5 containers of salad in Farmington.

About halfway down the lake is Dangling Rope Marina. It's accessible only by water - all the fuel and supplies are barged in from Page, 40 miles away. Fuel is pumped directly from the barges to your boat and a gallon is about the same price as a bag of ice - $5.50. One of the workers told me it's the busiest gas station in the US during prime season. They also have minimal supplies, including beer. We stopped there to top off our fuel tanks and get ice cream.
http://www.nps.gov/rabr/faq_dangling_rope_marina.htm

Big Duck at Dangling Rope.

Here are some of the sights and activities along the way.

Sara Jane says every direction is a postcard.

Merlin loves everything...the van, the boat, the beach and the water and all living things.

Sara Jane and Suzy

Packy

Big Duck and the Mokee Dugway...and Packy in the hole Merlin dug.

Thanks for the nice hole, Mer-mer.

Swimming was great. Note Mokee Dugway's bow ladder -- we could just sit and slid off the bow of Big Duck.

Where's the ball?

The Packy bucket got a lot of use, as did the combination deck wash hose Daddy soaker.

One of the reasons Packy stayed so happy was the careful selection of activities for him (toys).

It's not far from Dangling Rope to Rainbow Bridge. The way up the canyon to the Rainbow Bridge dock has some narrow passageways but is readily navigable and well marked. There is a nice dock for folks who want to walk about 1/2 mile to the monument. On a previous trip, we hauled Suzy up the gravel trail to the 'Bridge' in her wheelchair, so this time we sent the 'kids' on up by themselves. Doug and Elaine also made the pilgrimage up to the monument.
http://www.utah.com/nationalsites/rainbow_bridge.htm

The dock for Rainbow Bridge

Sara Jane, Trey and Patrick (Packy) after coming back from 'The Bridge'.

Look! A marker.

There's something fishy here - or it it a carp tree?

Oh oh! We're not alone out here.

On day 6, Doug and Elaine put their boat back on the trailer and drove to San Diego for a wedding.

Mokee Dugway heads off into the sunrise.

We stayed on the lake for another night. This was the only night we would be at anchor instead of bow to the beach. Trey had an important conference call that evening and try as we might, we couldn't find a spot to beach the boat that had cell coverage. There is a Verizon tower near Halls, across from Bullfrog, so we eventually ended up in that area and found a place to drop the hook. I was glad we used the big anchor because that night the wind blew through at better than 30mph and pushed us around quite a bit.

We got blown around a 270° arc, but overall the night was peaceful.

The next afternoon was bittersweet. It was time to put Big Duck back on the trailer, but the week on the lake had been an overwhelming success. Everyone enjoyed every minute, there was no unbearable weather and all Big Duck's systems performed flawlessly - well, except for the 12 volt refrigerator biting the dust, but with the freezer aboard we could even make ice for the cooler so no problem.

The kids left early enough to drive the 200+ miles to Grand Junction and still get some sleep for their early flight the next morning. Shortly after they left, Merlin and I got a visit from a fellow I'd only know via the Internet. You can thank Scott for this write up as he was the inspiration for creating this blog. Scott, Merlin and I had a very pleasant get-together over a couple beers (I only had two in dog beers), swapping sea stories and other life happenings. The next morning, Scott let me crash his RC plane several times before we headed our separate ways.

Scott retrieving his plane after I crashed it in the sagebrush.

 As I prepared Big Duck for the road, I realized that the trailer tires had seen better days and I needed to get the new 'skins' on for the trip home. There is not however, many places to get this type of work done in/around Bullfrog, so I figured I'd find a place on I70. I'd decided to return on I70 because there wasn't any urgency in getting home and it would allow for different scenery.

I guess I was a little anxious about the tires when I finally pulled off the interstate into Green River. Now if I could just find a place that could mount the new tires. I was about to the end of the Business Loop before I found a Truck Stop with tire services. The fellow there said he couldn't get to me right away. I thought, no problem, I'll wait until tomorrow or the next day if I have to.

So I climbed aboard The Duck, opened a cold one and settled in. The next thing I knew there was rattling outside and the boat started listing. I peeked out to see a tire coming off the trailer. A couple hours later I was on the road again. Now Merlin and I were home free...well at least until we got to the mountain passes in Colorado.

Gettin' new skins in Green River

I'll do 55 mph on the flats, I'd rather go 52, but I'll do 55 if there's traffic, but I don't push her going uphill. I take whatever speed she'll give me at 3,000 rpm or so, and going up those I70 passes, sometimes that was 15 mph. But you know what? It was never a problem - there was no horn blowing or close calls and most important, no problems with the van or trailer. We kind of grew to like the charm of the Colorado Interstate despite the hills and turns, but we did notice a stark contrast. Almost the minute you go from Utah into Colorado, the feeling changes from wide open West, to Yuppie, and I was sad to see the West go.

And then there's Kansas. What I remember about Kansas from my last trip was the single lane oncoming Interstate traffic in construction zones and sure enough it started right at the state line. Surprisingly, that was the only stretch tho, all across the boring state. Even without the construction I was joyous to get to that Latin Missouri city of Kansasbehindus.

Then there was St Louis

and finally a place that had real grass instead of cactus and sagebrush for Merlin to go potty.

Finally - some grass to go potty!

Then on past Kentucky Lake where we'll be visiting in late October, then home.

What a marvelous and somewhat miraculous experience. We had freedom and fabulous family adventure with excitement and challenge that only enhanced the enjoyment. 'Couldn't have been better, including the company of Doug and Elaine and the visit with Scott. 'Talk about memories - we really put some together!

We don't need these details for our purposes, we keep them only because you may be curious.

We towed Big Duck over 4,000 miles at about 7 mpg or 50 cents per mile.

We burned about 80 gallons of gas in Big Duck, covering about 170 water miles with 30 engine hours.

We sent 40 gallons of gas thru the generator to keep the a/c running and the freezer functional.

We were on the water 7 days and 6 nights - with no overnights in marinas.

Left Spartanburg Aug 25 - Returned Home Sept 13 -- All nights were spent aboard Big Duck either on the water or on the trailer.


Next up, a trip in late October to Land Between the Lakes to meet up with a couple other housboaters I've only known via the internet.