Niangua Madness

I float the river for moments like this.  The joy of a man in the back of a canoe is hard to beat, especially when its on a new stretch of river.

Canoe Repair 101

In light of the success that Nick has had with the strip canoe project (which we all hope to see more of soon!) I decided to start a little project of my own.  I recently purchased this 1978 Mad River "Compatriot" that I found on Craigslist to be the first solo canoe for the River Jackal fleet.

It is a 13 foot fiberglass canoe that weighs in at just over 40 lbs.  It came outfitted with an aftermarket saddle seat, a nasty paint job, and a fair bit of rot.  But the Jackal spirit is definitely there.  The hull itself is in great shape but the gunwales and flotation tanks at either end were in pretty tough shape as you can see from the pictures.

I decided that new gunwales, seat, and a coat of paint inside would really bring this boat back to life.  Over Easter the Master-Motorboater and I were able to remodel the flotation tanks by cutting them down and sealing them in with fiberglass.  This is modeled after the style that Hemlock Canoe Works uses on their beautiful boats in upstate New York.  We also patched up a couple of small holes in the sides that were hidden just under the gunwales.  The picture below shows a before shot of how we trimmed down the old rotten foam and filled in a couple of cracks before laying the fiberglass.

We then added two layers of fiberglass to make both ends water tight and reinforce the bow and stern of the canoe.

This last picture shows the Compatriot and the Motorboater outside the garage while the resin sets up.  You can see here the original gelcoat after I stripped off the old nasty black paint.  Still trying to figure out how to finish the outside of the boat so if you have any ideas please let me know.  the next steps are to gelcoat the chips and big scratches, paint the inside, and then do all the wood work.  Its really turning out better that I expected and I can't wait to get it in the water.

The A-Team Has Got Nothing On Us

If you haven't seen these pictures yet then you are in for a treat.  Thanks to the River Jackal that brought us Soundwave, we now have the sweetest river van on the face of the planet.  While I don't know much about this one-ton Dodge Sportsman, I do know it is a thing of beauty.  I have already spent several hours staring at the amazing pictures and thinking about the potential an acquisition like this might hold for the hoard.  Any suicidal river bus driver would love to sit behind the wheel of this beauty shuttling drunks and topless women around southwest Missouri.  While I don't have any technical information on the new ride, I think the pictures pretty much speak for themselves.  This thing is bad ass.  I am already looking forward to seeing Nick's strip canoe perched on top as we head to another flowing stream.  My hat goes off to the Jackalski for pulling through with this and setting the bar really high for the 2012 season.  I think everyone is ready to see this baby in action.  All it needs is a name.

CANOE BUILDING 201

Class is in session. One instructional video I watched said "the best way to learn how to build a boat, was to build a boat." So here we are again in mom's basement putting our heart and soul into the newest addition of the jackal fleet. With a lot of good help we made tremendous headway. We were able to complete one side of the boat and lack 18 strips on the other side of the boat.

As always I had my nephew Conner at the ready with the glue bottle, so the strips are going on the boat with a little hand planning and help from bungee cords and clamps. The hardest part by far has been getting the boards to fall in line with the stems but with a little time they are going on just fine. It is amazing to step back after a
couple hours of work and really watch the boat
start to take shape.

With enough strips on the boat we were able to
start hand scrapping the joints to make the
sanding go a little faster. Eric and Nathan were
beasts with the scrappers and knock that step
out in very little time. Also it exposed a few areas
that needed a little more attention, so we stepped up our game and reglued a few seams. We took advantage of already having the epoxy and fiberglass cloth and did a test run. To all of our amazement the cloth almost completely disappears under the epoxy. That really pumped us up to see a glimpse of the end product.



My next move will be to cut the center line and bring the other side up to match and then install the last piece which will be a football shape in the middle of the floor. I am looking forward to that piece. Then bring on the sanders!

2012 Float Schedule

The Christmas break is a great time for family and friends to gather together and celebrate the passing of another year.  It is also time for the members of the Jackals to begin planning the float trips for the upcoming year.  Busy schedules, families, and the curve balls that life throws us make planning anything difficult, which makes it so important to start six months away.  This years annual planning meeting in the man barn was fueled by Platte Valley corn whiskey and Red Bull, helping the creativity to flow freely like Loko-Bombs on Flat Creek.  As per the Jackal standard, three major trips were scheduled for the summer.  Throughout the last three years we have continued to expand the repertoire of rivers that we float.  It seems like each trip brings something new.  2011 brought us amazing cliff diving, frigged springs, bat caves, and the gauntlet.  2012 has a lot to live up to.

When looking at this year's schedule the Jackals will notice that we are moving away from some of our more traditional dates for trips.  Our first float of the season is scheduled for the weekend of June 2nd through the 4th.  This is in honor of one of the senior Jackals wedding anniversary.  It was a unanimous decision that the Master Motor-Boater should stay married so the first trip got pushed back a week, because its just wouldn't be a float trip without his unique brand of river violence.  The location of this float is one that I'm really pumped up about.  Everyone that I talk to about floating asks me, "Have you floated the Buffalo yet?"  When I tell them the answer is no they inevitably tell me that, "Well you haven't seen anything yet."  My first reaction is to punch them in the mouth and tell them they should stop being faggots and try Flat Creek in May, but I hold back and tell them that its on my list of trips to make.  This year we will have scheduled it early in the year to hopefully catch good water and see if the Buffalo can handle the River Jackals.  Everyone has great things to say about this river so it should mean for a great time.  When thinking about this float make sure you are able to leave on Friday night, the 1st, so that we can get down there and to make camp and shuttle vehicles.

The second trip of the year is a short four weeks after the Buffalo trip on June 30th through July 1.  We tried to avoid the fourth of July so that KC Paul and others might not have to give up family events for the trip.  This trip is on the Jackal staple, Flat Creek, which proves to be one of the best year after year.  Last year was a true test of the Jackal temper but was one of the most memorable for me.  We had a great group on the water last year and I really hope we can get another big group of Jackals out to this one.  And back by popular request the annual Man Barn Crawdad Boil will take place the Friday night before we leave.

The third major for the summer will be on August 18 - 20.  This trip is going to be another new trip for me and many Jackals.  The Gasconade river is another one that I have heard great things about but haven't had the opportunity to try out.  The Dreaded Rear Admiral is the lead for this trip as it coincides with Josh Summers' (aka Sunshine) birthday bash.  While everything isn't set in stone yet for this trip it might include a stop at a riverside cabin and a rendezvous with another group of party goers.  Look for more details on this trip on the blog in the future.

Make a note of the dates on the side of the blog and get them on your calendar, the quicker you mark the dates down the less likely it will be that girlfriends and wives can ruin your trip!  Also it would be great to have an idea of who is planning on making what trips for planning purposes.  Keep an eye on the blog for the RSVP button so that we don't have to haze you, unless you just like it.  Let it be know that I plan on seeing Tug-boat and his Kurt Warner jersey on every trip.

Canoe building 101

As I am sure it is for all Jackals, this winter is dragging on and we are ready to start the next season of floating, so I have decided to start a project in hopes that it will be completed for the first float in June. It is a 16 foot strip canoe that will hopefully be a great addition to the fleet of Jackal canoes.

I have started with paper plans the I have printed off from northwestcanoe.com that I have traced onto 2 sheets of 5/8 plywood to create forms for the shape of the canoe. I then mounted them onto a strongback made out of 2x6 and 5/8 plywood. I have placed each form 1 foot apart and then placed a bow and stern form on each end. For the bow and stern pieces I have steamed and bent pieces approximatly 3/4 by 7/8 out of Ash to strengthen the bow and stern for the abuse they will be put through on the rivers of Missouri. After mounting the forms I had to shape the pieces of ash to accommodate the 1/4" strips that would feathered into them.

The skeleton was now ready for the skin of 1/4" strips to be laminated around the forms. This was the most challenging part of the project so far but after many different techniques I have found the one that is working for me. I am beveling the edge of the strip to allow for the curvature of the boat and then securing it together with Titebond III and tiny brad nails, which Trinity informed me is going to let water into the boat. As soon as I got the technique working for me, Conner, my nephew and I were throwing the strips on at a very good pace and we could really start to see the shape of the boat coming together. So far I have realized that you can never own too many clamps.

Of course I did not get as much time as I would have liked to over the holidays to work on my boat, but I am pleased with the progress soo far. I will get more pics up when I make some more progress.

JACKALS REPEAT!!

Paddlefest 2011 was another success for the River Jackals as their championship title will stand for another year. My new front man, cousin Nick, performed with excellence as this was his first canoe race and to say it was punishing would be an understatement. Water levels were far from ideal as the drought has taken its toll on the river flow. We actually started by dragging our canoe for at least the first 100 yards from the starting line. This gave us an excellent start, as I think it caught everyone off guard, and once again, no one even came close to us by the end of the race. I don't think I would be exaggerating by saying, in total, we probably had to pull our boat for a full mile, which was definitely reflective in our finishing time of 1hr. 45 min. We both knew the course was going to be difficult but no where near as strenuous as it turned out to be. It seemed like every time we would build up a head of steam we would have to jump out once again. Alas, we did prevail and had the second place team beat by nearly 10 minutes. A hard fought victory for sure which turned out to be a test of who could really endure the physical and mental strain the longest. At the finish line, when the second place team showed up and we were congratulating each other, they made mention that "we were animals". The way I see it that goes right in line with being "too hard core". Either way if feels good to be a Jackal. Another quality end to an amazing floating season.

The Current River Trip

What a float, this trip had it all and then some.  51 miles of cold water and beautiful scenery provided the fuel that we needed to have one hell of a float trip.  Our 8 man crew was a slightly modified band of River Jackals but each one brought their A-game to the Current.  This trip started off better than anyone could have imagined thanks to the wonderful hospitality of Stacie Gresham and her husband.  They not only shuttled us to the river but also put up with and fed a rowdy group the night before.  A big thank you to them!

From start to finish the view from the back of the mad river could not have been any better.  The sweet smell of Tug-Boat's pipe and the hills of Shannon county were the perfect setting for an August float trip.  

While there was only really one rope swing to be had there were numerous cliffs that were perfect jumping spots and caves for exploring.  One of my favorite memories has got to be the "Rave in the Cave."  But when everyone comes ready for an amazing time there are so many exiting or hilarious events that they become hard to remember.  That's were the pictures and videos really shine.  The pictures are all posted on the Jackal Photo tab and the videos will be soon to follow.  To end out the float season for 2011 I hope all the Jackals post a good story or event to the blog to keep the fire going through the winter.  If you don't have author privileges or don't remember how send me an email or give me a call and I'll fix you up.

Pics are Up

Pictures and videos from the North Fork trip are now available on the Jackal Photos page.  Look through and enjoy because its only 4 short weeks until we hit the Current River.

Is 20% a Bad Thing?

I think this was the first time in my life that someone told me I was "too hard core."  I mean we have all done some crazy stuff but I had never put our float trips into that category.  But apparently not everyone is cut out for our particular brand of river excitement, which is too bad because we are always on the lookout for new River Jackals.

On Monday we finished our first trip on the North Fork of the White River.  Even though low water forced us to put in another 6 miles down river it was still one of the prettiest floats I have ever done.  We ended up covering 48 miles of river which ended in lake water at Tecumseh.  The constant flow of spring water into the river quickly helped increase the flow of the river and provided an eerie fog over the water in the mornings.

Regardless of the beauty of the river and the quality of the Jackal Hoard, four of the five guests who started the trip with us only made it through the first half and walked out on day two of our trip.  Proof that not everyone is cut out for River Jackal style float trips.  However, one of the newbies was quickly accepted by the Jackals because of his skill with a canoe and relentless pipe smoking.  "Tugboat" will always be welcome on the Jackal floats.

The remaining Jackal 7 at Blue Spring