MPBoatDoc Boat Repair and Maintenance Services

April 29th, 2003 (Day 1) MP-BoatDoc and The Wix's(Craig & Dan) left Parkersburg Wv via Rental Truck for Guntersville, Alabama to Alred Marina where the 36'Gibson is located. (Alred Marina - Tennessee River Mile 357.5 Left ascending bank. Follow the marina channel markers in and be sure to stay in the channel. It's prone to silting. Well protected from weather. No restaurant, but ship's store and boat repair available)

May 2nd, 2003 (Day 4)Once again they have left Alred and our on there wave~~~~~. They are going to try and go as far as possible today to try and make up some time. They are going to stay at Joe Wheeler Marina at mile 277 tonight. This is a state-maintained park.(Joe Wheeler Marina - Mile 277.0 Left ascending shore. Well off the main river and well protected from weather. Turn into First Creek, then watch for the marina on your starboard side. State-maintained. Lodge, restaurant, and pool on premises. Large well-maintained park area for hiking or just stretching your legs.)

May 5th, 2003 (Day 7) Last night,Bruce and I made the Marina around 8 PM central time and I was very glad to see MP-BoatDoc. They guys were in great spirits. The boat is very pretty. Lots of nice teak wood inside the cabin and it is fully equiped with all the nice gadgets and is completly covered on the bridge with canvas, screens and plastic. It was a ruff night weather wise, a Tornado touched down just about 30 miles south west of the Marina in Jackson, Tenn. and this was a deadly tornado. We had alot of rain and wind at BirdSong. One of the pontoon boats tied there broke loose and was floating in the middle of the creek. This morning before I left the harbor master was able to retrive it from a cove and in a tree along the bank, he towed it back to the marina. The people at the Marina were very nice and helpful. A couple of guys who set up a food trailor stayed open late for us and fed everyone. I had some ribs and coleslaw. The guys pulled out this morning around 8:30 am Central time. I headed home for Parkersburg. (570 Miles) to go for me. The guys are heading to the Cumberland River. They are going to cross over at Tennessee Mile 25 to the Cumberland mile aprox 34 and will stay at GreenTurtle Bay Marina Tonight. (Green Turtle Bay - Mile 25.3 Popular resort marina on Cumberland River. From the Tennessee, take the Barkley Canal at mile 25 over to the Cumberland. Turn to port, go to second red channel marker, then follow the marina channel markers in. Ship's store. Click here to visit their website. Restaurant on premises, and several in the town of Grand Rivers provide pickup and return transportation. One of them, Miss Patty's is locally famous for it's grilled pork chops. Be sure to ask locals about the history of "Miss Patty".)

May 6th, 2003 (Day 8)Now on the Cumberland!!! Mark and the (Wix) have cleared the Barkley Dam and Lock early this morning(5/06/03). Had to change some plugs in the engine but she is still running fine. They expected to make the Ohio River(Point of Entry aprox OHIO RM 920) before noon today and will be heading for Smithland Lock and Dam at (OHIO RM 919). Last 2 nights have been ruff the weather has been very bad, however they have manage to stay about 30 miles north of all of the tornados so far. So far these guys are just having the time of their life. They are hoping the trip will generate a new name for the boat. I suggested "Rollin on the River". They have stopped and topped off at the Golconda Marina(RM 903). The guys have moved along well that even made it as far as JT Meyers L&D at Ohio River Mile 846. Tonight will be another bad weather night. They had to moorn along the bank just above the Lock. Tornado Warnings have been posted for the county that they just came thru right before the lock. I spoke with Mark via cell phone and he has promised me that they are tied off very well. The river is running very fast and has alot of debris in it. The BoatDoc was cleaning the screens when I called. There are now concerned about the gas consumption, the current is very strong and they are pushing against it and it will take more gas now to get upriver. There plans are to leave early am and head for the Newburgh lock,(Which is closed to traffic 12 hours a day until May 28th, 2003) and get gas as soon as possible. There are no Marina's to stop at between Meyers at 846 on the Ohio until you reach 797.5 Mile Marker hopefully they will not run out. I hope to hear from them in the morning after they have moved on upriver. If I am correct they have traveled aprox 446 miles since leaving Alred Marina in Alabama.

May 7th, 2003 (Day 9)Ut OH!!! It is 1Pm central time and I just now heard from those guys, I was begining to get real worried. And for a good reason! BROKE BOAT ALERT! They escaped another tornado last night and headed out early this morning to only get about 20 miles and lost an engine, the seawater pump burn't up, not just a bad impellar but they need the whole pump. So, the game plan is to limp in on one engine to Inland Marina at Ohio River Mile Marker 791.5 and possibly find a pump there or order one in by next day service. I have contacted the owner of the Marina and he is there waiting for them. Gas is a big problem also with the current beinging so strong, they do think they have enough gas to get to the Marina. Hopefully I will hear from them later today or possibly tonight and update some more for Day 9. Keep your fingers crossed, and keep them in your prayers tonight. NOTE: They made Inland Marina and are there for the night. The pump is suppose to be delievered before noon tomorrow. Mark will replace the pump and they hope to set out again by mid afternoon tomorrow.

May 8th (Day 10) All is good. The part came in around noon and MP-BoatDoc replaced the pump and they took off Mid Afternoon today for Newburgh Lock. They was able to lock thru right away, since the water is so high the Lock Work has been halted for now. Dan tells me that the lift was, get this just (18 inches), that is how high the water is. WOW now that is high! So they continued upriver for Owensboro Marine which is not in operation at this time, however the Owner (Dave) was nice enough to invite these guys to come to his house and spend the evening with him. MP-BoatDoc is just havin way toooo much fun for this to be a job. I am going to have to have a talk with him about that. Ha . They seem to think that the river is running about 10 miles a hour and they are going about 6 against the current. This is going to take a lot longer than expected. I hope to join them this weekend in Cinnci, hopefully they will be there by Sunday. I guess I will be picking up Bruce and dropping off 2 others who will be joining the trip up river. This could turn out to be a 3 week tour instead of a 3 hour tour, ha ha....Gilligan's Crew.

May 9th (Day 11) This is not a good day for the guys at all. Fuel Stops are very scarce from Cannelton Lock(RM 721) and Dam to McCalpine Lock &Dam(RM 607.5). They stopped at Rocky Point Marina at Mile Marker 718.9 and was able to fill up there. However, with the current so strong they do not have enough to get to Louisville at McCalpine Lock with is in the middle of town, and after you pass the lock you have all you will ever need. So ground control here in Parkersburg had to let her fingers do the clicking and I was able to locate a BAR...that is suppose to have a dock and no gas but there is gas close by than can be carried to the boat!! Wow they might have to actually work today. Well guess what the Dock that is there is under water! So now what, these guys must stay here and get gas somehow or they will never make it to the next lock. I spoke with a lady at (Ramsey Tavern Dock Mile Marker 692.5 Phone # is 812-836-2685) and some guys are going to try and help them to tie off to a tree without tearing the prop up and get them to shore. Now they do have a dinging on board but hmmm current so bad not sure how that would work. Maybe they can get close enough to tie of to a tree and rig something up. Ut Oh! That did not work. No way to tie off or get to shore. They are going to continue upriver as much as they can until dark and go on anchor. Hmmm Huston we have a problem. Check back will update later.

May 10th (Day 12) Well the guys ended up staying out on anchor last night around Alton, Indiana. There main concern today was GAS. After searching I was able to locate a dock and gas pump operated by the Mayor of BrandenBurg, Kentucky (OHIO RIVER MILE 646).You can Dock there and at the Ice Box there is a Phone and beside the Phone is a list of Numbers call any one of the numbers and someone will come and help you. Also they run Joiners Backyard Barbecue (270-422-7700). I found this by calling the sherifs dept in Brandenburg..and asking questions about the area and low and behold the Mayor had a place on the river. Wow what luck. Cause there is just not anything else around there. So the guys were able to dock there and fill up, they are back on the river and heading to Louisville, Ky and hopefully will make McAlpine Lock today before dark. And once again they have escaped severe storms that just went thru Cinci and Louisville this afternoon, this time they were 30 Miles South of the storms. These guys have got some pure luck on there side today. Depending on where they stay tonight and how far they get tomorrow I hope to drive and meet them in Cinnci or just below there. I have to pick up Bruce and bring him back and drop of Craig's Father and young son (11yrs old)who will be joining them on their trip. Once they get thru the lock at McAlpine the world opens up to them, they will have a ton of choices for gas and docking. I do suggest to anyone that is considering traveling the area between Canelton Lock and McAlpine Lock that you take in to serious consideration that there just is simple no options for dockage or gas. Now maybe if the water was not so high they could have gotton into Ramsey Tavern Dock at Derby (812-836-2685), and maybe during the summer they could have stuck the boat on a bank and walked to get gas or heck you could even carry on plastic containers with extra gas if you even had a thought you might run out. Well hopefully tonight they will be able to dock somewhere where then can get a good meal and rest peacefully. Will update when I know more. :)

May 11th (Day 13)Well alot has happened Today. The trip has come to a stand still at this time. The River is just too high and to much debris to continue on at this time. The guys felt that it just made no sense to continue beating against the current and drift, they were only getting about 5 miles per hour. So they manage to dock at Heathers on the River (RM 589) just above Louisville, KY. They made arrangements with the owner to leave the boat for a few days. I drove down today and picked them up. They are all home for a few days and will attempt to go back and start the trip again when the river has settled down a bit. When I got there I could understand then what they was saying. There were white caps and waves of about 3 feet, for all of the flood waters heading down river. This made good sense to me to stop and continue another day. It was hard for them to come to this decision, did not want to give up but after talking and evaluating the situation they had no other choice but to stop at this time, it was the only thing that made any sense. I will pick up the Trip Log once they start again. See you soon.

May 31th (Day 14)The guys left this morning to go to Prospect, Kentucky to the boat. The water has went down considerably and they will attempt to pull out tomorrow morning. I will resume the trip log tomorrow once again. It looks as though they have good weather and river conditions forcast for the next 5 days. They have aprox 400 miles to travel yet and expect this remaining part of the trip to take aprox 5 days.

June 2nd (Day 16) UT OH!!! Still NO CONTACT with the guys as of 4 P.M. Today. Not since yesterday around 6 am..Soooo I called Greg's Wife and she too has had no contact. We both have left messages on the cell phone. I have come to the conclusion that the phone is either in the River or it has been left behind some where along the way. So now, we have to wait until they either get home or call collect from somewhere I guess. She did speak to Craig yesterday afternoon and the had past Cinnicinati and had said that they were making good time and had good weather and expected to be home Wed. See what happens when there are no womem there to take care of those guys and keep them straight(ha). I certainly hope that nothing else has happened and I do not even want to think about that just yet. Will update as soon as I hear anything myself. UPDATE: MPBoatDoc finally called this evening, they have had no signal for the cell phone he called it a dead area. Things are going good. They had made it through Medhal Lock but had to wait two hours to lock thru. The current picked up as soon as they got into the next pool they are now traveling around 7 knots. Greg's son (11yrs old) is having the time of his life and Greg's Father (83 yrs old) also is having a great time. Tonight they had planned to stay at Shawnee State Park at Mile marker 363 on the Ohio. Mark did say that they are seeing a big difference in the fuel comsuption since the other carb was replaced before leaving on this leg of the trip. Once again they do expect to be home sometime late Wed evening.

June 3rd (Day 17) The guys are doing great, they have made Gallipolis Boat Club tonight. Mark said it was ruff they traveled 16 hours today. The current was fast and alot of debris again. But this will be there last leg of the trip. They will arrive in Parkersburg tomorrow late afternoon. This has been one long and tuff trip for them all. I am sure though it has been a great experience for all of the guys. MP-BoatDoc has been able to see parts of the Ohio River he has never seen nor traveled. I am sure he would jump on the opportunity to do it again some day. Ha maybe Mrsboatdoc can go the next time...See you again tomorrow.