Wes Modes
The Goodmans, Brett and Andi in the Felton Remembers Parade
The Goodmans, Brett and Andi in the Felton Remembers Parade
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Evidence of at least five different shantyboat projects on the Redwood House lab workbench
Evidence of at least five different shantyboat projects on the…
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Benzy and I host an impromptu all-night solder party to work on various projects including an intra-boat telephone system for the shantyboat
Benzy and I host an impromptu all-night solder party to…
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Extracting Miah from the notorious aft port hold
Extracting Miah from the notorious aft port hold
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Workday impromptu twist party
Workday impromptu twist party
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So many things still to do before we can leave in a week. Oh god
So many things still to do before we can leave…
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Incremental improvements on the shantyboat. New urinal pipe and blocks to support the gangplank
Incremental improvements on the shantyboat. New urinal pipe and blocks…
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I broke my vow not to do any more plumbing sweats for the shantyboat plumbing. Not great, but not bad
I broke my vow not to do any more plumbing…
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Shantyboat Dotty control panel finally finished
Shantyboat Dotty control panel finally finished
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Santa Cruz Sentinel: “A Secret History” at Ebb & Flow River Arts Festival
Artist Wes Modes leaned against his shantyboat’s helm by the…
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Art for the shantyboat gallery from Jessika and Jimmy Gallop https://jessikagallopart.weebly.com
Art for the shantyboat gallery from Jessika and Jimmy Gallop…
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Morning on the shantyboat at the Tannery Art Center
Morning on the shantyboat at the Tannery Art Center
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Secret History shantyboat at Ebb and Flow
Secret History shantyboat at Ebb and Flow
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Maximum capacity 425 adults
Maximum capacity 425 adults
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Shantyboat looking shipshape for exhibition on Cooper Street
Shantyboat looking shipshape for exhibition on Cooper Street
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Previous shipmates will know the terror of towing the shantyboat, this 7000 pound swaying trailer barreling down the road
Previous shipmates will know the terror of towing the shantyboat,…
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The shantyboat library of ToDo Lists Past
The shantyboat library of ToDo Lists Past
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New additions to the Jeremiah Alexander Daniels Executive Washroom Gallery aboard the Shantyboat Dotty. Thanks to supporters who sent new art
New additions to the Jeremiah Alexander Daniels Executive Washroom Gallery…
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Join us at Ebb and Flow in Santa Cruz tonight and tomorrow. Santa Cruz MAH Friday, Tannery At Center Saturday
Join us at Ebb and Flow in Santa Cruz tonight…
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Whew. New shantyboat electrical control panel
Whew. New shantyboat electrical control panel
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Shantyboat wiring. Oh god
Shantyboat wiring. Oh god
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Amateur machinist work on the shantyboat control panel
Amateur machinist work on the shantyboat control panel
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Re-wiring the shantyboat control panel
Re-wiring the shantyboat control panel
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Modifying the new boat stairs for Secret History exhibitions. An angle grinder will improve anyone’s day
Modifying the new boat stairs for Secret History exhibitions. An…
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Visitors on the boat after the parade
Visitors on the boat after the parade
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Forgot something? Felton remembers
Forgot something? Felton remembers
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Proving that the project is not above child labor, we have helpers preparing the boat for the next two weekends of exhibitions Photo by @hickeyblvd
Proving that the project is not above child labor, we…
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On Friday and Saturday, June 1 and 2, The shantyboat & Secret History project will participate in at @tanneryartscenter. Find us on Cooper Street on Fri and Tannery Sat
On Friday and Saturday, June 1 and 2, The shantyboat…
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What This Means
Sometimes as the world falls apart, as the drumbeats of…
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Rediscovering our secret cache of Dr Thunder’s Peachy Fire Whiskey during a shantyboat workday. #shantyboat #secrethistory #firewhiskey
Rediscovering our secret cache of Dr Thunder’s Peachy Fire Whiskey…
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Join our Spring Fundraiser!
We are trying to raise $8000 by Saturday May 26…
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I live on a shantyboat and float major American Rivers to hear people’s stories. Ask me anything
Our Reddit AMA is live now at https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/8fd7y9/i_live_on_a_shantyboat_and_float_major_american/ We wanted…
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Shantyboat Flyby [VIDEO]
An exterior tour of the Shantyboat Dotty on the Tennessee…
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New York Exhibition Walkthrough [VIDEO]
In July 2018, WhiteBox Art Space in New York is…
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Vintage 1880s albumen photo of a young family living on a houseboat
I recently bought a vintage albumen photograph of a young…
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Where we’ll be when on the Hudson River
As you know we are busy preparing our journey on the…
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Furgary Boat Club & Shantytown [VIDEO]
In the city of Hudson, known to tourists for its…
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Ashworth shanty boat trip
Nancy E Buell shared this story with us about her family:…
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Norwegian Shantytown located in Red Hook, Brooklyn
This is the Norwegian Shantytown located in Red Hook, Brooklyn.…
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BBC Slow Radio – Life on a shanty boat [AUDIO]
A 20-minute watery odyssey - idling down the Tennessee River…
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BBC Outlook – Building my own ‘shanty boat’ [AUDIO]
Wes Modes has spent the last few summers sailing along…
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BBC Between The Ears – The Shanty Boat [AUDIO]
In a rich tapestry of watery atmosphere, frustration, intimacy, fear…
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We’re Headed to New York
The Hudson River: Environmental fights. Mahican, Munsee and Wappinger removals.…
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We’re Headed to New York
The Hudson River: Environmental fights. Mahican, Munsee and Wappinger removals.…
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The Mysteries of America’s Only Town Built By and For Chinese
We explore various delta towns, including a rare Chinese rural…
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Busy Busy Busy in the State Capitol
Exhibits, new friends, interviews, party boats, and beachcombing in Sacramento
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Interview with Janet Bennett at the Dutra Museum of Dredging
Interview with Janet Bennett at the Dutra Museum of Dredging…
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Interview with Daniela Sartori in Red Bluff about living on the river
Interview with Daniela Sartori in Red Bluff about living on…
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Large wreck under stormy skies on Sevenmile Slough as we drive out of the delta towing the shantyboat
Large wreck under stormy skies on Sevenmile Slough as we…
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Playing cards on the Davis to Sacramento train
Playing cards on the Davis to Sacramento train. We had…
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Beautiful Places Between This and That
After Colusa, the character of the river changed. The levees…
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The Goodman’s visit the shantyboat
The Goodman's visit the shantyboat
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Adorable old houseboats anchored in Little Potato Slough
Adorable old houseboats anchored in Little Potato Slough
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Relaxing in the johnboat among the tule
Relaxing in the johnboat among the tule
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Kim Korth talked about the history of Korth’s Pirate’s Lair Marina and growing up on the Delta
Kim Korth talked about the history of Korth's Pirate's Lair…
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The Fraser Bros were the local butchers, and they would deliver meat to the various ranches
A delta shop boat. "The Fraser Bros were the local…
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Old photos of shantyboats at Wood Island at the Rio Vista Museum
Old photos of shantyboats at Wood Island at the Rio…
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Tim Anderson, boatbuilder, maker, and heirloom technologist at his DeltaFarm
Tim Anderson, boatbuilder, maker, and heirloom technologist at his DeltaFarm,…
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Campfire at Tim Anderson’s DeltaFarm at the confluence of the Mokelumne and San Joaquin Rivers
Campfire at Tim Anderson's DeltaFarm at the confluence of the…
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Why is it that people who own big expensive yachts are loud as fuck?
Why is it that some people who own big expensive…
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The peaceful and rustic back channel behind Snug Harbor
The peaceful and rustic back channel behind Snug Harbor off…
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One of a surprising number of visible wrecks in the Sacramento Delta
One of a surprising number of visible wrecks in the…
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Interview with Russell Ooms about his sinuous journey to Locke
Interview with Russell Ooms about his sinuous journey to Locke,…
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Interview with photographer, author, and historian James Motlow
Interview with photographer, author, and historian James Motlow about the…
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Talked to Can, a Vietnamese electronics designer, who owns Bob’s
Talked to Can, a Vietnamese electronics designer, who owns Bob's…
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Iva at Mei Wah taproom where we are chillin drunk AF on a Thursday evening
Iva at Mei Wah taproom where we are chillin drunk…
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Lucious lucious pears on pancakes for shantyboat breakfast
Lucious lucious pears on pancakes for shantyboat breakfast
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The mostly girl crew of the Sea Scout vessel Compass Rose who gave us a tour of the 60+ foot formal Naval ship
The mostly girl crew of the Sea Scout vessel Compass…
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Interviewing Mark Miller at Railroad Cut Slough
Interviewing Mark Miller at Railroad Cut Slough behind Locke. We…
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Walnut Grove docks after breakfast at Alma’s
Walnut Grove docks after breakfast at Alma's
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Bank on Locke Slough upon which a whole community of Russians living in shanties
Bank on Locke Slough upon which a whole community of…
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Community garden in the historic little town of Locke
Community garden in the historic little town of Locke
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Mark Miller who has already helped us in a number of ways, meets us in Walnut Grove to repair a window or two
Mark Miller who has already helped us in a number…
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Put a huge branch through a window trying to land in Courtland. Fuck Courtland and their lack of visitor docks
Put a huge branch through a window trying to land…
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Good morning sun. On Sutter Slough
Good morning sun. On Sutter Slough
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Shantyboat beached along Sutter Slough
Shantyboat beached along Sutter Slough
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Thistlelandia
Thistlelandia
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In Courtland, they tell us, they have an annual Pear Festival
In Courtland, they tell us, they have an annual Pear…
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Attempting to thread our way through the delta sloughs piloting and navigating
Attempting to thread our way through the delta sloughs piloting…
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Night out in the sloughs, the network of labyrinthian waterways in the Delta
Night out in the sloughs, the network of labyrinthian waterways…
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Classic shantyboat, Phoenix, at Sherwood Marina
Classic shantyboat, Phoenix, at Sherwood Marina
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Interview with Andrew McLeod, historian and tour guide
3rd interview of the morning with Andrew McLeod, historian and…
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Interview with Kathy Brunetti about her decades of experience working on agriculture and water quality issues
Interview with Kathy Brunetti. We talked about her decades of…
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Interview with Nancy about her time living aboard a shantyboat on the Sacramento River
Interview with Nancy about her time living aboard a shantyboat…
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Bar camping out for 25 years, currently along the American River serves as a mentor to younger folk and describes himself as an “honest hustler
Bar camping out for 25 years, currently along the American…
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Maddy and friends show up on a scavenger hunt from the History Museum
Maddy and friends show up on a scavenger hunt from…
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Clyde searches for treasures that had washed out of the riverbanks
Clyde was motor about in a tiny boat with his…
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The mysterious Party Yacht Wall on the American River
The mysterious Party Yacht Wall on the American River
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Shantyboat full of visitors at Sac exhibition
Shantyboat full of visitors at Sac exhibition
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Fanny Ann’s Saloon in Old Town Sac, 5 stories of layered history and Californiana kitsch
Fanny Ann's Saloon in Old Town Sac, 5 stories of…
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Shantyboat encounters the cutest thing in the whole world
Shantyboat encounters the cutest thing in the whole world
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Dramatic bridge downtown Sacramento
Dramatic bridge downtown Sacramento
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Tell Us About Shantyboat Communities
Everywhere we go, we keep hearing that once upon a…
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Interview with Keith Turley, owner of Stingrayz Bar & Marina along the banks of the Sacramento River in Knights Landing
Interview with Keith Turley, owner of Stingrayz Bar & Marina…
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Shantyboat in the big city or pretty damn close. Chillin at Swabbies where pirate paraphernalia dominates
Shantyboat in the big city or pretty damn close. Chillin…
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Down past the confluence with the Feather River approaching Sac, the river broadens out into the big river we are used to from our adventures on the Mississippi and Tennessee
Down past the confluence with the Feather River approaching Sac,…
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Shantyboat on the wide Sacramento. Photo by Mike Garofalo
Shantyboat on the wide Sacramento. Photo by Mike Garofalo
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Shantyboat leaves Colusa
Shantyboat leaves Colusa. Photo by Mike Garofalo
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Evening card tournament aboard the shantyboat
Evening card tournament aboard the shantyboat
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Benzy’s drawing of the shantyboat docked at Stingrayz in Knight’s Landing
Benzy's drawing of the shantyboat docked at Stingrayz in Knight's…
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