Comment

Comment by Kelly Neu on August 15, 2010 at 5:39pm

Beautiful!!

Comment by Rick Newman on August 9, 2010 at 12:33pm

I remember standing nipple deep in an Avon Pro on the Main Salmon when my kayak buddy signaled a different route down the left side of a unremembered rapid. The bailing was both vigorous and long. When we floated the Middle Fork in Lower Main Salmon style, too much gear, almost enough adult refreshments and deluxe camp setups my passengers saw more of the bottom of the boat than the scenery. However the majority of the time you are absolutely right and a deck is not needed. Part of the desire is just the need to build something from scratch to see if it could be done. Much like Mallory on Everest. I'm sure you have other such monuments to a person's irrational desires to accomplish something! When doing an initial sketch I thought about a double ender with transoms at either end. I will build my Tatman 16'6" x 48" and enjoy that soon. As I am back in college in late September it would probably be next summer before I get any extra funds.

Thanks again for your input, I appreciate any and all comments.

PS I was thinking about your comment to someone about using water as ballast, I haven't used it in a drift boat but it sure made me feel better one time on Slide Rapid on the Lower Main Salmon at about 13,000 cfs in a lightly loaded Miwok with only one passenger.

Rick Newman

Comment by Brad Dimock on August 9, 2010 at 11:21am

For the Salmon and such, I really don't think a decked boat is worth the expense and weight. Inundation is unlikely and, although you may have to bail vigorously a few times, an open McKenzie or something like that is just fine up there. You can build the Woodie Hindman 16-foot Double Ender with Transom, out of Roger Fletcher's book quickly and cheaply. It is light as a feather and rows like a dream.

The fully decked boats are appropriate for Grand Canyon, Cataract Canyon at high flows, or in situations where you're doing extensive boating (or commercial boating) and need to stow a lot of gear out of the way. Otherwise Id say don't bother.

Comment by Rick Newman on August 9, 2010 at 11:11am

Thanks! I am looking for an alternative wooden boat for Salmon River and similar whitewater rivers that could stand up to inundation of water and yet not be too heavy for an old guy to move around. I'll Google the Ouzel and see what I can find. I will also look into Exploritas.

Thanks once again,

Rick Newman

Comment by Brad Dimock on August 9, 2010 at 10:52am

People have built scaled down decked dories. A fellow named Randy Fabrese (deceased) made a slew of tiny ones called Ouzels in the early '80s. But I am not sure if anyone has scaled down Jerry Briggs's actual Rogue River style hull. It's funny--a design that may be perfect in one size may not scale up or down all that well.

Yes, Elderhostel (now renamed Exploritas) does charter trips in Grand Canyon. I was lead guide for one a couple years ago.

Good luck getting back to boatbuilding and boating!

Comment by Rick Newman on August 9, 2010 at 9:51am

As I looked over your Fretwater Press web site and looked into the books you publish and so on, especially the Grand Circle Field School it reminded me of the times I have spent in the river canyons of Idaho. I may have joked that you were suffering in the Grand Canyon, but I know better. For many years as single guy I canoed, kayaked, commercially river guided, skied and worked in the outdoor industry just so I could go outside to experience life. Things changed and I made decisions that drew me away from the places I loved. I would do almost anything to continue those activities in those days. Perhaps it is time to do this again!

Today will be spent applying primer and paint and cutting wood to fit. However it is not on my drift boat! It's to my house, to complete a siding and window project of several years running. then it is on to sorting through my pack-rat accumulation to reduce my load and hopefully acquire some funds for boat building. My Tatman kit is almost within reach. Both literally and figuratively. Another multiyear project as I needed a space to accomplish the build. My packrat tendencies provided a full garage, which then precipitated a need for a new place just to sort it out, for some reason I think there are still items of value within the boxes and such. I know that I have found numerous tools that I have been missing for years!

Last summer the garage got insulated, wired, sheetrocked and painted. It is almost converted into a shop. Last winter a 10' x 20' shed provided a reuge for the overflow, now I'm organizing that and still finding tools.

Anyway the point of this discourse is to thank you and other like Tom Martin for rekindling my desire to get back to the solitude and beauty of the West's river canyons. I have spent time fishing from drift boats but haven't undertaken a multi-week river trip for too many decades. Time to change! Are there any Elderhostel like trips or opportunities in the Grand Canyon? Like some of your associates at Grand Circle I also completed college studies in Outdoor Recreation Education many years ago. I am a great cook that has unfortunately enjoyed too many of my own meals. But I am working on that.

Thanks again for the inspiration and motivation. I keep you informed on how things are going. By the way has anyone ever built a mini-Briggs boat? Something for less weight, one passenger, yet still covered decks and such. I had the pleasure of rowing Tom Martin's GEM on the McKenzie and to view Tom Mortenson's models of early Grand Canyon boats.

Happy Waves to You,

Rick Newman

Comment by Brad Dimock on August 9, 2010 at 8:05am

In 1871, Major Powell's crew named a little rapid on the Green River, in Desolation Canyon, Fretwater Falls. I always liked the name. Here's the whole story: http://www.fretwater.com/Fretwater_Press/About.html

About ten years after I took the name for my publishing company, I ended up with a galfriend who is a great fiddler. She lured me into playing stand-up bass and washtub bass with her gang. That's my first encounter with stringed instruments, but unfortunately, they have no frets! Anyhow, here's a shot of the band on the Salt River, with boatbuilder Andy Hutchinson on badass banjo. This is a very Fretwater shot.

Yeah, deep suffering in Grand Canyon. Six trips down, three to go.

Comment by Rick Newman on August 9, 2010 at 7:22am

I like your plaque, it adds a touch of subtle class to your build. I have seen the "Fretwater" sign hanging on the wall in your shop and have often wondered exactly how the name came about. My supposition is you are involved in the playing of music or perhaps even the construction of instruments. I would love to know!

Keep up the good work. I have to presume that you have been suffering in the Grand Canyon. I hope that you didn't suffer too much!

Happy Waves to You,

Rick Newman