Snake and Columbia rivers on a R21 Tug

[K7MXE]

Clarkston to Warrenton

Nine days and 425 water miles later I arrived at Warrenton Oregon. Little problems yes, but got a lot of knowledge on how the boat operated, how the operator of the boat operated and how rusty some of my skills have gotten. Went through eight sets of locks. I managed to get to Little Goose dam on the Snake river only to find it closed for another three weeks but did some fancy talking and got a rather small bit of space in the rear of the lock for a night time lock. It had been closed to small boats and I did not know it but priority traffic could pass at night. That was three barges, two tugs and a fish barge full of small fish being moved about by the Corps of Engineers. They floated in the lock door on a LCM landing craft and it took about four hours to lock down.
The C80 chart plotter was worth every penny and did a great job and this trip helped me hone my skills on running it
Fuel stops were hard to get so I used my own fuel in cans and still have ten gallons left from twenty taken. I bought fuel from a pile driver outfit in Richalnd Wa and figured my mpg at over twenty miles per gallon. Most RPMS were in the 1200 to 1600 range. Current was fast from Bonneville dam and motor was used for most part to keen on a course. I had problems with leaks in the sky light and used a garbage bag and duct tape to fix that. Also no love for the cook top stove on the R21. For safety reasons it will go away. Burner will go out on it's own on low heat due to the fuel can freezing and a simple task of brewing a pot of coffee took several cans. Rest of the systems on boat worked good. Just on person on board but two could do river travel just fine. I did not use my main anchor up forward but used the second anchor stored in back of the boat of the boat and tied up forward. I used all six fenders in the locks and they are not new any more. I liked mooring to the locks on the starboard side to give me easy access to the vhf radio in the cabin. The rear awning is also nice as trust me dams leak water.
I have ham radio equipment on the boat and it worked ok but I think I will do some changes, as well the antenna is ugly and does not work good enough to make up for ugly. APRS uing the gps and the ham set left my location on the internet when I was in range of a shore station. Cell phone and APRS did not work on most of the Snake as there are no real towns below Clarkston till you get to the Columbia river. Wheat is grown up there and shipped via barge.
A few cruise ships are on the river but mostly tugs and barges. Below Portland Oregon ocean going ships zip along rapidly so you have to keep a keen eye out for them.
The roughest spot on the river is near Hood River Oregon where the winds can really howl and the wind surfers love it. I picked a poor spot to anchor the first night and was a major rock and roll trip with the cabin door opening and closing on its own till I jammed it. I think the only C Dory I saw on the river below Cascade Locks Oregon, and that was from the freeway and that looked like a 16 Angler going down river.
Speaking of the freeway I picked up a friend in Rosburg Washington and he drove the Suburban and trailer back down river for me and that worked out well. Suburban got 11 mpg with a good tailwind. EZ Loader trailer was a dream to load. It towed very good as well.
As a I finish I want to note a thank you to the lock operators for keeping me safe during the lock downs. Crews of the tug Mary B and Clarkson Foss for fitting me in with their barges. A big thumbs up to C Ranger for building such a nice product. I am not the only one liking the little tug , I had locomotives and freight trucks blowing horns as I passed and usual forks on the dock. A thought to promote the C Dory, C Ranger line would to have some sales stuff from the factory to hand out and dont forget telling of this web page.
Hope you enjoyed hearing of the travels of the little tug Lois H

Bob Heselberg Eatonville Wa k7mxe at mashell dot com

[Old Dog]

Bob - thanks for the update and fine report on your trip. Have been wondering if you were underway since I was never 100% sure of when you were starting. Sounds like mostly a lot of fun and that's as good as it gets. Stop by Vancouver next time.

[Chester]

Again, thank's for the update, enjoyed reading about your adventure.
I can vouch for the wind around Hood River. We used to keep a sailboat there, the motor didn't get much use...

[El and Bill]

Thanks for sharing your trip and experiences with the R-21. Sounds like you had a great trip.

[davehogue555]

Sounds like a great trip........thanks for sharing.
Dave

[johnf]

That was a great post...thanks for sharing your journey!!! Love the gas mileage.

John