EP10. Storms, Rain and alligators. Houseboat cruising upstream on the Tennessee River towards home.

[@tquick648]

In my back yard. Looking forward to the next episode

[@TheKBK2]

Very nice setup you have, been enjoying your adventures. Thanks for taking us along.

[@DualTasticToday]

Moma said there would be days like this. Thanks for posting 😅

[@carlpresley9097]

Really enjoying your videos. Keep up the adventures

[@jeb533]

I really enjoyed all your river videos. Thank you

[@justkeepgoing]

Thanks for watching!

[@LawrenceBroussard]

What is incredible is how many times your on anchor and there are no other boats around you. It seems like your completely in nature with not other soul around. Most of the time I do not even hear man made noise.

[@justkeepgoing]

Hey Lawrence. We try and travel early or late in season for that reason. Also, having a boat with shallow draft opens up more opportunities to get up small streams and coves, away from most traffic.

[@larry78cj7]

Thanks! Excellent editing too!

[@justkeepgoing]

Thank you, Larry!

[@markbroussard7394]

Great to come home and relax while watching. Thanks for sharing.

[@justkeepgoing]

Thank you, Mark!

[@amyheltonwalker]

Just wonderful!! Great job.

[@justkeepgoing]

Thank you very much!

[@billyhacker2268]

When can we expect EP. 11?

[@justkeepgoing]

Hey there Billy, I hope to get one up this week. Thanks for the nudge!

[@ncwomanparker1708]

I just discovered you guys. Now I got to go back and binge watch your videos.

[@justkeepgoing]

Welcome aboard! We hope you find it interesting.

[@ATAP...AnotherTime]

Such a great experience you guys had... Explore you day away, right.

[@bbmoroski9396]

So beautiful, thank you for sharing. I was wondering about your fuel consumption at cruise.

[@justkeepgoing]

In ideal condition, no wind, current, we get about 5mpg at 6mph, being the most economical speed. This is with full fuel and water, two people, etc. Of course, ideal conditions are rare on the river, and for the entire trip we managed about 4.5mpg. Headwinds having the most impact.

[@bbmoroski9396]

@@justkeepgoing Seems pretty good, thanks.

[@tomcrowe9146]

Love your videos!! So calming.

[@justkeepgoing]

Hey thanks, Tom!

[@mrbr549]

Looks like you all had some smooth travels. Lots of wildlife to see too.

[@justkeepgoing]

Yes, especially on the second day in the video. The Wheeler NWR is a large area and was a nice change after the busy area around Decatur. Thanks goodness we still have these areas to get away and relax. We were surprised to see gators this far north. I guess as it gets warmer, they will keep moving north.

[@alancruse1384]

Bank fisher people mess up every body of water.

[@justkeepgoing]

I think this might have been a local party area too. We have an area like this close to where we live and they do the same thing.

[@doingitwithnothing]

Just found your channel… following…

[@markbroussard7394]

Could you please post some information on your remote pilot steering?

[@justkeepgoing]

Hello Mark, the remote steering unit is called an Intellisteer, Here is the model I purchased----> www.hodgesmarine.com/istinttypes-intellisteer-type-s-fstraight-shaft-helms-fcab.html It's a little pricey, but if you're going to cruise extended periods of time it will allow you to relax out on the deck. One thing to be aware of is, since it has no throttle control, for safety considerations, you need to be in open water and cruising slow. I'm glad we had in on this trip, it sure made it nice to be able to relax out on the deck.

[@erickohl3968]

Another lovely section and video. What book were you referencing when trying to contact the lock?

[@justkeepgoing]

Hi Eric, the book is called Tennessee River Guidebook by Jerry Hays. The book is currently out of print, last revision being 2018. The book is online now on the Google books site. For the most part, the 2018 data was accurate but some of the numbers had changed at marinas. books.google.com/books?id=9y8D8pj-xGgC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

[@RebelCowboysRVs]

I have always wondered the Geography of that saying. Here, storms come at you from the west but as you get closer to the equator, it spins to the east. So seems like sun rise vs sun set sky color predictions would too. I wonder if that saying comes from the Caribbean where hurricanes consistently come from the east. Exploring the creeks is a nice change from what the looper channels do. Didn't expect to see gators though. I know they can live this far north, but I have never seen one on the Tennessee River.

[@justkeepgoing]

I would say it's truer in the middle latitudes. The first mention of red sky at night and morning, as far as I know, goes back to the Bible, in Matthew 16:3-5. I don't know where the rhyme originated but surely old sailors traveling the trade routes come up with it. The gators we saw were only about 4-5 ft long, maybe that's as big as they can get this far north, but we saw several of them. It might be something unique to Cotaco creek, as didn't see them anywhere else. I bet there are some in the lower Guntersville reservoir too.

[@RebelCowboysRVs]

@@justkeepgoing Thats why I though it was interesting. I spend a good bit of time on Guntersville Lake, though mostly on the northeast end. I have never seen one anywhere on it or its creeks. But I do know a rather large one lives on sand mtn just south east of it. Between Flat Rock an Higdon Al. It made its way there with human help. But it has lived there for something like 20 years now. It was 6 feet long when it ended up there. I would guess that those you saw got there with help as well. But maybe some could have made their way up the TN-Tom to Wheeler but have not migrated east yet. The current is pretty strong up stream past Cotaco creek as the river gets narrow. The fast moving cold water may have stopped them? Its interesting anyway.

[@justkeepgoing]

@@RebelCowboysRVs , good point on the conditions above Cotaco. That area is an ideal location for them to thrive - swampy back waters with plenty of wildlife. I bet you are right about the human help, that sounds more plausible than making their way upstream as I'm sure they would be all over Wheeler and Wilson if that were the case.

[@sammy-slamminpadgett2470]

We are looking for a lil Hobo to cruise around Fl. I have watched bunch of yalls videos but haven't found one yet of boating in rough water. How does the boat handle rough stuff? like if get caught in a thunderstorm or bad wind against current.

[@justkeepgoing]

Hello Sammy, we've been in some rough stuff, but I wouldn't go offshore with one. They are fine on most lakes. It tracks pretty good into 2 ft waves if you're hitting them head on, likewise if it's following, but requires more corrections in that case, as do most boats. Being flat sided it does sail a bit, but we have been out in 30 mph winds, and it does okay. It will heal over in huge gusts but nothing frightening, yet. We were in a pretty bad storm back in early September and we just pointed it into the wind and rode it out at idling speed to keep control. I was more worried about the lightning more than the wind. There were 40mph gusts that day and some water lapped over the bow.

[@randyjamesrobertson]

Very nice. What hp is your electric outboard? Electric outboard used in case of problems with big motor?

[@justkeepgoing]

Hi Randy, the ePropulsion motor is rated at 3 hp. I didn't set up a way to mount it on the houseboat. If worse came to worse, I would tie off the dinghy to the side and limp along that way. In ideal conditions it might get us several miles that way. Our plan was to get the boat to a safe anchorage and take the dinghy to a marina for help. Luckly we never had to do that.

[@randyjamesrobertson]

Do you hand catch your drone or land on top of houseboat?

[@justkeepgoing]

Hi Randy, it depends on the conditions at the time. I have a Mini 2 and it's pretty easy to catch, but I actually prefer to launch and land from the front deck. I wait for a good GPS lock and just manually fly it. If it's calm and the boat still, I'll bring it in and drop it in my hand, but since this little drone has to be piloted, I like to have both fingers on the sticks due to the dynamic nature of a moving boat. I guess I have more faith in my piloting ability over my catching ability :)

[@jag5798]

10:50 - don’t like alligators. People can’t swim these days. Have to watch the little ones and dogs.

[@Kevin-bz7hj]

It’s so sad people are so lazy. They won’t even pick up their own trash.😢

[@justkeepgoing]

Yeah, it really gets under my skin. I don't know what the solution might be, wish I did. It seems plastic is what we see mostly, and it's found its way into the food chain.