Tag Archive for shantyboat

Secret History interview with Brian Schadt, City Engineer talking about Davenport, Iowa’s decision not to erect flood walls in favor of their connection with the river. #Shantyboat

Secret History interview with Brian Schadt, City Engineer talking about…

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#Shantyboat head, including drawings by Sasha and Maxine, men’s and women’s urinal, bucket shitter, Pooping 101 guide, and Jesus watching over all.

#Shantyboat head, including drawings by Sasha and Maxine, men’s and…

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Found donut in Davenport Iowa. #Shantyboat

Found donut in Davenport Iowa. #Shantyboat via Instagram

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Full moon over the river in a sketchy night ride on the river. #Shantyboat

Full moon over the river in a sketchy night ride…

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Got a mile down river with the #Shantyboat and Freddie Mercury broke down again. Limping back to Green Gables.

Got a mile down river with the #Shantyboat and Freddie…

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Mike of Green Gables Marina puts the finishing touches on Freddie, readying the #Shantyboat to get back underway after a one-week repair vacation.

Mike of Green Gables Marina puts the finishing touches on…

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Somehow in this crazy mixed up world I interview people for my art project and they give ME gifts. #Shantyboat #applebread #localhoney #bananabread #unexpectedgifts

Somehow in this crazy mixed up world I interview people…

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Though I’d heard of the ritual, my first time getting coined. It is hard to be an anti-authoritarian when they are such badass dudes and have such cool tchotchkes. #Shantyboat #secrethandshake #freedrinks #gettingcoined #rescuedivers #retiredcops

Though I’d heard of the ritual, my first time getting…

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Steve Ebel, Mississippi River diver shows off his scull boat. #Shantyboat

Steve Ebel, Mississippi River diver shows off his scull boat.…

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Secret History interviewee Rhonda Anderson talks about keeping bees. #Shantyboat

Secret History interviewee Rhonda Anderson talks about keeping bees. #Shantyboat…

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The deer are so tame here in Illinois they stick their heads right through the wall to be petted. #Shantyboat #friendlydeer

The deer are so tame here in Illinois they stick…

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Off across the river in the Donboat to an interview in Hanpton IL. #Shantyboat

Off across the river in the Donboat to an interview…

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Audio orgasm: listening to both a recording of our July thunderstorm and the music of Gillian Welsh on our old radio when a train passes by outside and the Moka pot begins to bubble. #auralpleasure #allthethings #Shantyboat #breakfastmagic #soundoftrains #coffeesweetcoffee

Audio orgasm: listening to both a recording of our July…

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Inside the Shantyboat through the Driftless Area

A tour of the shantyboat and the Misssissippi's unique Driftless…

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Dry Docking the Shantyboat

In preparation for our journey to the Mississippi River in…

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Readying Shantyboat and Other Trip Details

So while the Kickstarter has been doing its thing and…

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Maiden Launch (vintage remix) [Video]

The shantyboat Dotty's maiden launch. Dropping a completely untested boat…

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Jessica Bierbrauer and the Future River

Jessica Bierbrauer, director of the Great River Road Visitor &…

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John Sullivan and Fish Kills

John Sullivan, retired DNR officer in La Crosse WI, talks…

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Jessica Bierbrauer and Lost History

Jessica Bierbrauer, director of the Great River Road Visitor &…

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Kali Arlene and Latsch Island

Kali Arlene, Latsch Island boathouse resident in Winona MN, talks…

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(Frozen) Water Under the Bridge

A week on the Mississippi River in the dead of…

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Shantyboat at FIGMENT Oakland [Video]

A Secret History exhibited at FIGMENT in Oakland, a one…

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Sunset on the Sacramento Delta [VIDEO]

A relaxing evening at sunset from a recent trip on…

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History of Flatboating and a Charming Educational Film

A very brief history on the evolution of river craft…

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Unusual photos of the Shantyboat

Two unusual portraits of the shanyboat from inside, one a…

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This River Life Drawing to a Close

For weeks and miles people have been asking us, "How…

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Friends helped at every stage of the shantyboat being built. Dotty was constructed over a period of two years, mostly from reclaimed and recycled material

The Joys and Heartache of Saying Goodbye

With days left before our departure for the Secret History…

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Shantyboat on the Mississippi

In July, we are bringing the shantyboat across country to…

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What the #*@&% happened?

You must hate me. Last I left you with “Walls…

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Roof Rafters – The cabin takes shape

When we disassembled the Hollister chicken coop, we got a…

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Cabin Framing, More Mistakes Were Made

If there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s not being…

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Bow Eyes and Stern Tiedowns

Sometimes little things can be a big headache. And sometimes…

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The Cabin Has a Floor

Let’s put in a floor!  This is the floor that…

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Obsessive woodworking, top side

With both decks on, I could be an obsessive woodworker…

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Installing the aft deck

I put the aft deck on. Thought you should know.…

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Motor Well, A Mini-Project Unto Itself

Oh, the motor well.  Seems simple enough.  Build a box…

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Protecting the Bilge

Water is the enemy of wood longevity. Protecting the wood…

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A Front Deck and Photos of an Adorable Puppy

First off, now that the boat is upright, I made…

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More Cabin Planning

If you’ve been following the blog, you know that one…

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A Bunch of Questions

Here’s a big pile of questions that occur to me.…

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A Big Flippin’ Deal

For months I’ve been wanting to flip the boat hull…

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Fancy Pants New Renderings

There you go. 3D rendering doesn't make anything more real,…

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Thinking About Cabin Construction

Now that the boat is ready to be flipped, I’m…

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Welding the Trailer

Timeline: Less than a week before the boat flip! The…

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And now back to the trailer

Remember the trailer? This one, the one that almost killed us?…

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The Talented Mr. Johnson

For a while now, my cousin Brian has been wanting…

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Those Troublesome Skegs, Finishing Touches

So the skegs are mounted, but the carriage bolt countersinks…

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Those Troublesome Skegs, Mistakes Were Made

So the skegs have been cut, spliced, drilled, countersunk, stained,…

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Those Troublesome Skegs, Bolt Holes and Finish

Here we drill all sorts of holes in our newly…

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Those Troublesome Skegs, Scarf Joints

I had to turn 14 foot pieces of lumber into…

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Those Troublesome Skegs, Part the First

When we built punk rafts and floated several big rivers,…

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Hull UV Protection

Fiberglass over plywood is ridiculously tough.  There are wood and…

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Fiberglass Finish Coats

After the fill coat, the texture of the fiberglass cloth…

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Fiberglass Fill Coat

At this point, we have the fiberglass bonded to the…

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Fiberglass Bond Coat

Okay, so let’s review. Fiberglass (of more accurately glass-fiber reinforced…

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Fiberglass Seal Coat

We fretted over fiberglassing the hull so much, we put…

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Hockey Puck Manufacture (or Epoxy is Stressful II)

Did I mention that epoxy is stressful?  To recap:  You…

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Opinions are like assholes…

Everyone’s got one. Every now and then I’ll ask a…

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Hull Finish Work (or Correcting Mistakes III)

I like to joke that I bring Old World Craftsmanship…

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Hull Ends

Oh god, at the end of every work day when…

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Sheeting the Hull

It looks easy, right?  What could go wrong?  Four rectangular…

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Correcting Mistakes II: The Usefulness of Square Corners

When we went to put sheets of plywood on the…

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Correcting Mistakes I

Today, the chickens come home to roost.  Remember that pesky…

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Cross beams

This was an exciting day because for the first time,…

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Keel and Skeg Stringers

It most conventionally built wooden boats, the frames refer to…

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Epoxy is Stressful

You know the scene at the end of any action…

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Making Sawdust

The whole process of building a boat involves cutting a…

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Organization: How To Make Boatbuilding Not Suck

Boats are made of lots and lots of funny precision…

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First Build Day: Building Form

After months of hemming and hawing over plans and possibilities…

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Boat Plans: Choices Made and Not Made

So it looks like we’re building a boat. Not merely…

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Boating errand in the flattest dryest spot in North America

“Ha ha,” said Alex when we took off with the…

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Tips on how not to die in a fiery ball of twisted metal on the highway

Anyone know anything about trailer tow hardware like sway bars…

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Destruction and Creation

Sometimes the treasure hunt of creating something from salvaged materials…

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Bruce’s Pontoons

We were planning to use Bruce’s pontoon boat that he…

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Math is Hard – Calculating a Waterline

Who would have thought boatbuilding would involve so much math?…

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Karaoke Doodles

So far, I’ve ignored the inside cabin layout, thinking that…

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Beyond Napkin Plans

I’m trying to turn my shantyboat speculations into something that…

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Folding Gable Ends

We were aware that this beast with its generously gabled…

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Boat Builder Porn

Is it hot in here, or is it just me? …

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WANTED

You know how many marinas there are in the Sacramento…

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Walls and diagonal bracing

I was worried that since we were planning to sheet…

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A Madcap Boat Scavenging Journey

Kai and I took a mad motorcycle trip up the…

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Inspiration

Looking around, shanty boats have been around for a long…

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A Mad Idea Fueled by Gin

It started with Camp Tipsy. Alex and I started talking…

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Sketchy Napkin Plans

As with all great projects, this one started with a…

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