It’s been smooth sailing. I anchored at Henry Island at yesterday at dusk. Nice spot, I’ve stayed there before. Today was a leisurely cruise down to Peoria. Clear, calm and sunny. Rain is forecast for the next day or two, then another nice stretch is here. Nights below freezing but sunny days. I can happily live with that.
I may stay here for a day or two. I visited the Caterpillar Museum five years ago and could happily return. But it and the nice restaurant close by are closed until Tuesday. We’ll see. I’m still waiting for insurance coverage to go south, and am nearing the limit for my standard policy.
One project I may take on while here is getting the generator operational. I’m not getting much from solar, and use a lot more power running the furnace. I figure I can stay put right now for 36 hours before I have to charge the house battery if I’m frugal. I don’t expect to be plugged in this winter. Last time I ran it properly was over three years ago. Then I installed it on Escapade and never ran it. I need an electric water pump I think, as it’s above the waterline and I couldn’t get the water pump to prime. If I’m ever going to use it now is the time.
Today I was running at my slow canal speed, a little under 7 mph, with less than 1/2 mph tail current. The river is low and slow. Not leaving any wake, burning about 2l/hr. I think I’ll stick to that pace.
What else? A new bridge, a height guage on a bridge – record flood is about 18 ft above current levels. A post that in my imagination got taken out by a tow, and others reinforced against collision. The tows here are 15 barge max. Big enough to do some damage.
Boating Adventures 