I was out walking off Easter dinner with my brother and we spotted a
large sailboat on the hard in the middle of a field in St. Cloud,
Minnesota, not a usual spot for such a boat. We began to look around and
found it to be a 37' steel sailboat that a real craftman had spent 18
years building in his back yard so he and his wife could sail around the
world when he retired. What a boat, everything new and first class.

As it turned out, they launched it last fall in the Mississippi River
heading south, went a few miles and got hung up on a wing dam. The
builder broke his hand, they turned around, brought the boat home and
put it up for sale. They never even got the mast up....

Capt. Jeff

On Mon, 11 Apr 2005 06:54:40 -0500, Tamaroak wrote:

I was out walking off Easter dinner with my brother and we spotted a large
sailboat on the hard in the middle of a field in St. Cloud, Minnesota, not
a usual spot for such a boat. We began to look around and found it to be a
37' steel sailboat that a real craftman had spent 18 years building in his
back yard so he and his wife could sail around the world when he retired.
What a boat, everything new and first class.

As it turned out, they launched it last fall in the Mississippi River
heading south, went a few miles and got hung up on a wing dam. The builder
broke his hand, they turned around, brought the boat home and put it up
for sale. They never even got the mast up....


Not at all questioning your veracity, but this story just doesn't sound
right. Would you let a broken hand put an end to 18 years of work and
dreams? I wouldn't. Perhaps, there is more to the story.

On Mon, 11 Apr 2005 09:47:24 -0400, thunder
wrote:
Not at all questioning your veracity, but this story just doesn't sound
right. Would you let a broken hand put an end to 18 years of work and
dreams? I wouldn't. Perhaps, there is more to the story.

==================================================

My guess is that Mrs. BoatBuilder realized that there was more to
sailing around the world than building a boat, and decided it wan't
for her after all.

Waht's a wing dam?

I gotta think there's something else going on here. A broken hand
would not end an 18 year dream if there wasn't.

A wing dam is a small dam park way out from the shore. Stops erosion of the
banks. Some are covered at highwater and you need to watch for the buoys
marking them. Maybe the SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed) decided sailing the
world was not the thing to do. Boat building yes, crusing the world no.
Bill

"Camilo" wrote in message
ups.com...
Waht's a wing dam?

I gotta think there's something else going on here. A broken hand
would not end an 18 year dream if there wasn't.

They turned out to be in their early eighties when the boat was finally
completed, which is part of the issue. The boat, a Roberts 37, took a
lot longer to build than they thought it would. It's quite a project,
multi-chined steel, very heavy and very well crafted. Look for their
story and some photos in "Soundings."

Capt. Jeff

Calif Bill wrote:
A wing dam is a small dam park way out from the shore. Stops erosion of the
banks. Some are covered at highwater and you need to watch for the buoys
marking them. Maybe the SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed) decided sailing the
world was not the thing to do. Boat building yes, crusing the world no.
Bill

Wonder if the builder turned into a 'Captain Bligh' as soon as the
anchor was weighed. Has been know to happen. Wife probably felt it was
better to bail now before she had to mutiny on the high seas.

A wing dam on the Mississippi is a
submerged or semi submerged rock
structure put in place to direct the river
currents to the main channel. These serve to
help flush the towboat channels clean
during the spring run off and keep the
main channel from silting in.

Wing dams can be found both along the
main channel and in deep sloughs off the main
channel where they serve the same function,
to direct the out flow of the slough toward the
main river channel.

Wing dams are great places to fish, but rather
nasty things to hit with your keel or even a
outboard during low water.


{{Kennebecriverguide{('
wwwdotkennebecriverguidedotcom
"Careful with that Axe Eugene."


"Camilo" wrote in message
ups.com...
Waht's a wing dam?

I gotta think there's something else going on here. A broken hand
would not end an 18 year dream if there wasn't.

On Tue, 12 Apr 2005 13:47:57 -0400, "Mudfish\(Co30\)"
wrote:

A wing dam on the Mississippi is a
submerged or semi submerged rock
structure put in place to direct the river
currents to the main channel.

==================================

I assume they are charted?

The builder probably didn't get much previous chance to fine tune his
navigation skills (or learn his limitations).

Wayne. B wrote:
On Tue, 12 Apr 2005 13:47:57 -0400, "Mudfish\(Co30\)"
wrote:

A wing dam on the Mississippi is a
submerged or semi submerged rock
structure put in place to direct the river
currents to the main channel.

==================================

I assume they are charted?

The builder probably didn't get much previous chance to fine tune his
navigation skills (or learn his limitations).

They might be charted, but most people don't use charts around there.
In a lot of places they will be every 100 yards more or less and they
are not marked and most are submerged. You can usually see them by the
ripples on the water as the current goes over them, and most of the
time you can motor over them, but sometimes you can't, so it's best to
go slow.