Big Duck's Nesting Places

Lake Hartwell SC

Lake Jocassee SC

Lake Keowee SC

Tennessee River @ Chattanooga

Lake Kerr NC

Lake Monroe on St Johns River @ Debary FL

Lake Strom Thurmond SC/GA

Charleston SC - Camping

Lake Powell, Utah

St Lawrence River @ 1000 Islands NY 

Harris Chain of Lakes - Florida

No Shower Camping

Some of us have trailers that are so tiny they don't have showers.



I can't imagine towing something this small when I can have all these features in my passenger van and I don't have to rearrange furniture to lie down.




But neither of these options include a shower.

So, when we're boon-docking, Wallydocking or on the Big Puddle, we use these...

We buy them by the case so we always have some on hand.

Why Didn't I think of That?

Well, now you don't have to think of that.

It's raining and I'm waiting for some epoxy to kick so I thought it a good time to share.

Have you ever wanted to solder some wires for a good connection but found when you stripped one that the copper was not bright? Tarnished copper simply will not take solder. This is especially evident on boat trailer wiring that can 'corrode' back a yard or more inside the insulation.

 You can scrape it with a knife or run sandpaper over it, but odds are you'll still strike out with the solder.

But there is a solution...a wire brush on a drill or Dremmel will do the job in a hurry...I just use a battery tool.

Roll the wire as you try try make it longer with the rotation of the wire brush. You'll end up with shiny copper that will suck up solder like...well, never mind.

And speaking of solder...heat shrink tubing makes very clean insulation for small wires that are soldered together. Twist the bare wires together, lay them back against one of the feeds and give them a tidy drop of solder. Slide the heat shrink over the joint and give it a shot of heat from a heat gun or your wife's hair dryer and you've got a clean connection.

It's not so easy with larger wires though. In order to get a good mechanical twist, the exposed wire is long and laying it back against one of the feeds gives one a a knot that heat shrink cannot accommodate. So we rely on our trusty magnifying glass alligator clip gizmo to hold the wires while we solder them.

The trouble is, that the minute we get the soldering gun next to the splice, the wires come apart and we're trying to hold the gun, solder and wire placement with only two hands. You could strip the wires back more for a sound mechanical twist, but that would lead to a long bulky splice.

Here's the solution:

Make yourself some long pieces of fine stranded wire.

Take one strand and wrap the would-be splice.

Solder away with no fear of the wires separating.

And now we can slide the heat shrink over the joint for a very nice clean splice.

And, for those very small wires that you want to but splice, make yourself a cradle and use a couple small clamps.

1000 Islands NY - St Lawrence River

I started to do a blog entry about our 7 days circumnavigating Wellesley Island, but discovered that Google+ did one for me while I wasn't looking.

Suzy, Merlin and I towed Big Duck from SC to Watertown NY to meet Doug and Elaine who had towed their Parker from Chicago. From there it was 24 miles to the ramp and once on the water we met up with some Canadian houseboaters in their newly acquired shell of a Hobo. Gaetan and Michelle had stopped by our home in SC a while back on a run from Canada to Florida and were excited about spending some time on the water with us.

The three of us rafted for meals and overnights and all of us had an absolute ball. We especially got a kick out of Gaetan, buying his Hobo only 3 days before our outing; it was stripped inside and without a motor. He scraped together two motors - one for running and one for slow speed maneuvers, switching propulsion for rafting/docking. They slept on a camping mattress on plywood supported by 5 gallon buckets which also served as storage for their stores. Gaetan rigged an inverter to run his CPAP machine at night. They surprised us with food that we never would have thought to bring aboard. They were a joy and inspiration as boating companions.

The waters and scenery were like no other we've ever encountered. 'Big water' with ocean going freighters transiting the St Lawrence Seaway regularly blocking views of elaborate houses on only a stitch of island... with bridges leading to boat houses on large nearby rocks. Beautiful vintage wooden boats were everywhere.

It was a comfort to have the Gentry's and their Parker along. Not only does the 40mph capable Parker give us a sense of security (Qbo and Big Duck are both over 40 years old) but Doug did all the shopping and cooking and Elaine took care of all the other associated chores. Doug was point for the cruising and safely navigated us through the tricky 'Rift". Come to think about it, I didn't do jack except drive the van and boat, eat and drink beer. No wonder I had such a good time.

Click here for Google's Story