Raft down the Mississippi

Discussion in 'Boatbuilding' started by qwist04, Jan 18, 2005.

  1. troy2000
    Joined: Nov 2009
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    troy2000 Senior Member

    Dang, djwkd. Looks like no one wants to talk to you. I'll post this, just to break your string of talking to yourself....:p :p :p
     
  2. bigriverraft
    Joined: Aug 2009
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    Location: new york

    bigriverraft Junior Member

    for those of you who may be interested...my brother-in-law has just put up a site that has the journal he kept while we floated down the Mississippi last summer...a lot of photos too....here is the link

    http://www.mississippi-raft-09.com/
     
  3. Draht Dog
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    Location: Texas Gulf Coast

    Draht Dog New Member

  4. Cannibal Jack
    Joined: Aug 2010
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    Location: Puxico Mo.

    Cannibal Jack New Member

    Homemade Pirate Ship Mississippi Trip

    Hi I am almost complete with a Pirate Ship that I am building to sail the Mississippi from St. Louis area to the Gulf for a benefit to help with Habitat & Wildlife Restoration in the Gulf due to the oil spill. The Crystal Skull is what I named it. I have never been on the Mississippi river and any info you can give me would be appreciated.
     
  5. bigriverraft
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    bigriverraft Junior Member

    See post #164
     
  6. rafter
    Joined: Jun 2006
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    Location: Minnesota

    rafter Junior Member

    Hi wanted to update my email. I'm now at natter2002@yahoo.com It's been 7 years since I built and piloted a raft down the mississippi and re reading these old posts almost brings me to tears. Such an experience. Amazing. If any young folks out there need help or want help, as I was desperatly seeking when planning my trip, shoot me an email.
    Nathan
     
  7. Boston

    Boston Previous Member

    well dont be a stranger Rafter
    post some pictures of your trip eh

    cheers
    B
     
  8. brian eiland
    Joined: Jun 2002
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    brian eiland Senior Member

  9. WickedGood

    WickedGood Guest

    Mekong Raft Trip.


    This would be a big hit on Some lakes in New England.

    A Tiki Bar and Steel Guitar would make it perfect

    You Build them and Ill Run them.


    I tried to give you some positive Rep points but my clicker is not clicking?? Wierd.



    [​IMG]







    You got me on that one. Cameras make things look so pretty

    I clicked on expecting to see pictures of Swift Boats.

    [​IMG]
     
    1 person likes this.
  10. djwkd
    Joined: Jul 2006
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    Location: Newcastle-Upon-Tyne

    djwkd Senior Member

  11. mons_
    Joined: Oct 2009
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    Location: Oregon

    mons_ New Member

    Good year for rafting

    HOT DAMN! This is going to be a hell of a year for rafting. They're talking about floods in MN and that means a hell of a runoff into the river, which, of coarse, means a hell of a current!

    When we took our trip in '09, we were struggling to make time. Our raft pushed at 5mph top water speed, and we never saw a current faster than 5mph. So 10mph was our top speed of the whole trip. I bet bet the current will do a hell of a lot more for any one making the trip this year than it did for me. Just make sure you have the power to move out of the way of barges in those kinds of currents.
     
  12. pjssailor
    Joined: Jan 2011
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    Location: Pensacola, Florida

    pjssailor Junior Member

    Rafting

    Just discovered this Thread. Wonderfull. All you need is a few bucks and time. A few more bucks and it might be a bit more fun. If I were to do it, I would consider making it look like a sailboat. It really does not take much to rig a sail that will help any time the wind is from the West or North west and your course is more than about 45 degees from that. YOu can even rig a bit of a lee board or shallow keel and rudder so you have a bit of directional control. Now call it a homemade boat and register it and hang the registration numbers on it and the river police will leave you alone most of the time. They just don't seem to bother a sailboat. And don't hang a fishing line overboard if you have not got a liscense for the state you are in at the time.

    Consider trying to go upriver from the Mississippi on the Ohio to Paduca and then down the Tenn/Tom Bigbee to Mobile Bay. A lot less traffic, and the people just get freindlier and freindlier.

    fun stuff.
    Lloyd
     
  13. willdeh2
    Joined: Apr 2011
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    Location: Iowa City

    willdeh2 Junior Member

    I have been reading this thread for several months now, trying to figure out what to do. I am planning a trip in 15 days on a pontoon boat with two other friends. Thanks to rafter I feel almost prepared for the trip. Thanks so much to anyone who has posted on here.
     
  14. cor
    Joined: May 2008
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    Location: Alaska

    cor Senior Member

    My wife and I took an old pontoon boat down the Mississippi a few years ago. We started in Minneapolis, went down to the Ohio river, turned the corner and went upstream and made our way into Kentucky Lake. We wanted to continue on down the Tenn-Tom but we ran short of time. We spent about 30 days on the whole trip.

    Most nights we camped out in a tent on one of the numerous beaches. Other nights we would pull the boat into a marina and get a hotel for the night.

    Our boat would run about 6 mph in still water. I would not want anything slower than that. You need to be able to maneuver in the current, and simply floating along would take way to long anyway.

    It was a great trip, I would recommend it to anyone. If you have any more questions I would be happy to answer them.

    C.O.
    http://whatsintheshop.blogspot.com/
     

  15. Boston

    Boston Previous Member

    how buggy was it, nothing worse than getting eaten alive in a small boat with another ten miles to go.
     
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