This morning we started our trip toward Havana around 9:30am. We had to travel 40 miles, and go through another lock. Actually we had our first experience with a different type of lock. Before modern locks and dam with their lock chambers and lock gates where built, another type of construction fulfilled the purpose of regulating the river in a way that boats where able to navigate the rivers almost throughout the year, independently of the natural water level. Wicket Dams consisted of movable planks that were only raised when needed. At high water levels when the dam was not needed, boats ran right over the lowered dam. The dam was raised and lowered by steam-powered work boats. If the wickets are ‘up’, we would have to use the lock. As it was, when we approached we called the lock-master and he told us the wickets are down, so we could pass right through the channel without stopping. This expedited our trip a little.
The 40 miles took us about 5 hours with the current pushing us down the river. We approached the dock around 2:30pm and was happy to see no one else there. This gave us a large dock to land at. We passed it and turned up river to dock, having learned the lesson from Joliet. We secured the boat and hung out for a bit. The process goes like this: dock and tie up. Once secure, Lauren takes Frank for a walk. This is because he will bark incessantly until we take him off the boat anytime we hit land. He has a knack for this, and if I even throttle down, he thinks it’s time to get off. So Lauren takes him while I secure the rest of the lines and do my after trip shut down and walk through. We are usually in sync, and I complete my part while they are returning.
Once settled in, we took the bikes for a short ride around town. There wasn’t much to see or do, so we returned back to the boat. The nature center where we docked was closed too. We were lounging on the back deck when a woman came down inquiring about where we were from and giving us a little history about the town and river. After a little chit chat, I ran the generator and we made dinner. We let the generator run for an while, ensuring the batteries were charging. So far, so good. All was working well, and after a little more than an the hour, I shut it down. We’re still a little leary about power consumption so we made sure everything not being used was off at the breakers.
The evening settled upon us and we watched the darkness take over and marveled at the stars for a bit. I eventually took Frank for another walk and retired for the evening. We are finally back to another uneventful day, which we like. Our immediate mechanical issues have been attended to and we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. We are planning to go to Beardstown, which is close to 60 miles. We will also see if the boat starts tomorrow morning, as this is our first night with no shore power and running the generator to keep the batteries charged…