C Dory history

Hunkydory":2tpki8b3 said:
Mark, we had made plans to do this same stretch of the Missouri River, but pre C-Dory. We drove the dirt roads to where the Judith River meets the Missouri & camped there with later going to Fort Benton. We were going to do it in a 12.5 inflatable with 18 hp 4 stroke Nissan motor. The same combination, we later explored rivers & lakes in British Columbia & Yukon & Northwest Territory. What stopped us was the regulations for the time periods, when powered boats could be used on this area of the river. Not being able to do it switched our attention to the further north Canadian waters & Alaska. The draw to the Missouri Breaks for us had nothing to do with Riverhorse, but rather the descriptions of the area from accounts during the Lewis & Clark Expedition.

Jay
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I planned a trip for my son's Boy Scout troop and their families in 2006, I think about 150 miles total, with kayaks and canoes, 12 boats, 21 people. Fort Benton to just shy of Fort Peck Lake. We made the trip with the 200th anniversary of Lewis and Clark, and may have camped in areas they did, though I believe they were in a hurry going back in 1806 after they stole the canoes and killed a young native. There was no inherent reason except for regulations that a C-Dory couldn't have made the trip. Steamboats used to go upriver all the way to Great Falls. Regs I think were why William Least Heat Moon (River Horse) did this section in a jet boat with a Park Service volunteer, if I remember right. In other cases along his trip from New York to Astoria a C-Dory wasn't the right boat. The Park people told me I could take my 2.9 hp outboard (Cruise-and-Carry), but I could only use it to go downriver, if I motored upriver in the Wild-and-Scenic section I would be fined. William LHM was going upriver only at this point. On our trip, I would motor downriver quickly and claim good, shady camping spots while the rest paddled or floated, about 2-3 knots steady. It was typically >100F. I did use the outboard illegally once to go upriver and rescue two teenagers who dallied until after dark. It would have been impossible for us to make any headway paddling though we probably could have waded, This is a trip I hope to make again. No C-Dory, but a Sea Kayak would be perfect. No real whitewater, just a steady move with few rocks and some riffles. Beautiful scenery, and warm water to swim in that we just don't get in the PNW much.
 
Bob, I don’t think it would matter if electric or gas. The regulations just state motorized watercraft. In that 150 mile stretch of river some areas you can motor both up & down, others just down & another section only down & just on certain days of the week. A great place to float down, but for motorized, when I was still working trying to time my trip with the regulations, not worth it to me.

Jay
 
For those searching for a travel adventure aboard a CD22, you cannot do better
than to read "Landfall along the Chesapeake i In the Wake of Captain John Smith" by Susan Schmidt. Ms Schmidt circumnavigated the Chesapeake solo, beginning in the cold of March, through one of the hottest Chesapeake summers on record, completing her adventure in early August, a voyage of 100 days. The book is well researched and conveys history, ecology, and personal observations of relationships and seamanship without a touch of overt judgement or unearned authority.

I read it, and then read it again. Hope you will too.
 
I did end up planning a complete "reverse River Horse" cruise on the upper Missouri. I planned on leaving Coal Banks Landing and cruising down to the reservoir marina at Fort Peck, about 7 to 10 days. I even had a couple of friends agree to run the shuttle (the most difficult aspect of the plan). It didn't work out for a couple of reasons, but I did get to stay a week at the Virgella Mercantile (in old rooms above the store) and found a local who could run up and down the river on the last day motor boats were allowed for the season. Not the same as a cruise, but I got to see a lot of remote country and all the "famous" landmarks.

After the boating trip, we did some exploration on dirt roads that come close to the river. After a little hike down to the river, we returned to the truck and the thermometer read 117F. We weren't prepared for that and carefully returned 28 miles to pavement. Didn't see another vehicle. Apparently the locals know better.
 
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