Enki Boat Model

It has been a busy few weeks here in the great state of Montana. Along with furniture projects and river trips I started to work on the Enki in ernest.  In order to properly estimate material needs as well as double check the boats shape I always find it important to build a model. So here is that process.

I have seen folks build boat models that are perfect representations of the finished boat, including seats decks and even oars. For the purpose of material estimates i don't find that entirely necessary. I start by building a strong back with the station lines marked out.

Then I cut out all of the frames and glue them to their corresponding locations on the strong back.

Finally i use thread to follow the sheer and chines. This last touch isn't necessary but it helps to visualize the finished shape.

Once the model is done you can really get an idea of how its going to look from every angle.

The next step in the process is to cut paper to scale 4x8 sheets and figure out how much plywood will be needed to complete the hull. Then write out the build order including the materials list. This process is necessary but really boring so I doubt there will be a blog post about it.

Well till next time,
Cheers.

High Muddy Water

I'm sitting in northern Wisconsin writing this post about the last two floats on the Yellowstone. It all seems really far away compared to the quiet lake outside but it wasn't more than a week ago. The first trip was sunny and clear.

Brian, Heather, Lea, Nelly, and I did a stretch at fairly high water.

The birds were out in force, I always love seeing Pelicans on the water and Brian got a fantastic photo as we scared some out of a eddy.

Nelly had a good time checking out some of the camping spots we use through the summer. As usual the spring runoff is changing many of the beaches and gravel bars, hopefully for the better.

Heather paddled a ducky the whole trip (see the video at the end of the post) but she and came aboard for a bit of lunch.

Sunset on the drive home was mind blowing.

Two days later and I was back at it with my friend Mike and his son Eric. We went a little further up stream and the water was still on the way up. This trip saw the beginning of some serious wood movement on the river.

As we headed out a huge storm formed up right over head then got out in front of us.

It was great fun to follow it all day.

The storm and the huge cottonwoods floating with us kept the whole trip interesting.

So the spring high water trips are here, I hope they are still around when I get home.

Till next time,

"Enki" camping and fishing dory

Hi all.
I have been wanting to design a new boat ever since finishing the IRH. I've given it a couple of goes but nothing i really liked came out of it. Finally after several attempts and a lot of coffee i found a shape i like.

So let me introduce Enki.
Enki is 16'6" stem to transom, 7'6" between oarlocks, and 4'6" chine to chine. Wider and higher sided than many river dorys to accommodate the heaver loads associated with family camping and extended trips. When lightly loaded the boat should ride high enough in the water to cruse over gravel shoals and other shallows, in fact with the nice big flat spot in the hull she should ride fairly high when loaded.

I have no idea when this build will get going but when it does you can be sure it'ill be here.

If you have any thoughts on the design feel free to leave them in the comments below.

2015 Snake River Wooden Boat Show

Before i get going on this post this needs to be known, i have never been to Yellowstone National Park (YNP), or the Teton Valley despite living very near Silver Gate off and on for quite some time.

I have been looking forward to the Snake River Wooden Boat Festival since last fall. So despite the rainy forecast i was very excited when Lea and i loaded the gear up on a rainy Thursday morning and headed for Cody, the East Entrance of YNP and beyond.

Before we even hit the entrance to YNP we found the recreational vehicles.

These RVs are thicker than road tar and move just as slowly. We cleared the east entrance and stopped for a boat photo opp.

We decided to drive around the park loop past the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, River Old Faithful and then down to Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) giving us a chance to see some of the splendors of YNP.

The above photo and below photo are what the National Park Service (NPS) and most people wish YNP was like.

The below picture is what it's really like. Tourists foreign and domestic getting in each others way to take the two above pictures in a attempt to convince themselves and everyone else that YNP is not an over crowded amusement park.

On we drove... We arrived at Old Faithful. Had a snack and in light of the late time and crowd decided to keep on going to West Thumb and the South Entrance. After about a mile on the road we found it was closed. Completely shocked and confused, we never noticed any signs, we turned around and headed back the way we came. YNP did a terrible job of posting that the road was closed and we would find that their constant excuse was, "sorry its early season".

Tired and grumpy from our YNP detour we drove into GTNP and were greeted with this amazing sunset.

Soon after we hooked up with AJ and Greg at AJ's Tipi Camp. It was fantastic to get to our destination and have a good nights sleep. Looking at my photos i never took any shots of the camp. It is beautiful, here is a link Jackson Hole Vintage Adventures.

Friday arrived, coffee was consumed and Lea, Greg and i found ourselves at a put in.

For Lea, our unborn child (aka Fredna Stubegge) and i it was the first float of 2015.

The Snake River Valley is a breath taking place. Here are some snaps of Greg and the Tetons.

Upon arriving at the camp eddy we were able to use the boat elevator to move the boats up and into the pond. Very slick.

Saturday dawned wet. Pouring rain followed us to the coffee shop and the festival location.

As the coffee switched to beer our little campfire (candle) and big tarp couldn't keep us from heading to the Stagecoach Bar for food, drink, and warmth. The discussion at the bar centered around the float scheduled to begin around 4pm. The forecast was grim. Showers, thunderstorms, possible hail but we held on. 

4pm arrived and some of us headed to the water. The rain threatened until we hit the water. Almost like we ordered it a blue hole sprang up and lit our way down the river.

After basking in the surprise sunshine we arrived back at the camp eddy and slid the boats up and into the pond.

Burgers and dogs were on the menu as the rain returned but the cozy tipi camp and good conversation made it disappear into the background. 

After dinner Greg, Lea and i decided to get up early and float a section of the snake in GTNP. This section begins just above the spot where Ansel Adams shot his iconic Teton Photograph. Sunday morning we got up early, grabbed some coffee and headed to the park.

Have i mentioned how beautiful the Tetons are? With this back drop we pulled into Moose Junction to inquire about the proper tags and inspection. If you go to Moose Junction don't expect any answers at 9am as they are not open yet or not awake enough to be bothered with customer service. So we headed over to the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center. Here we got some answers from folks in National Park Service Hats. 

We were informed that we had to go back to Jackson for the tag or had to drive 45min into the park for the boat inspection. "Sorry its early season" was the reason given for all the running around needed to get cash in the proper hands and proper permitting on the boat. Rather than spend a few hours dealing with the red tape of the NPS, Lea and i decided to help Greg set his shuttle then head home. (Greg was smart enough to get all the permitting ahead of time).

We all stopped to take one last photo with the Tetons in the background and then took Greg's boat to the put in.

With handshakes and hugs we left Greg at the put in and made our way back through the jungle of YNP and home. Greg continued on, you can follow his adventures here.

**I don't usually put this sort of thing in but here you go,

If you go be prepared for the fantastic hospitality of AJ and the Teton Valley folks. If you plan on floating in the park be sure to allow yourself a day of puttering around to acquire the correct tags and permitting. Go into YNP/GTNP with the attitude you would enter a busy airport. If you have the time and patience i think the payoff is well worth the effort.

Finally to add some more content to this already huge post here are two quick videos from the weekend.