Wood Boat Camping Trip
Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2010 2:28 pm
My two good friends Andy and Mark and I trailered our boats from Eagle Mountain Lake near Fort Worth to the Colorado River on the upper stretches of Lake Travis outside of Austin. Andy brought his 23' 1963 Thompson Sealane, Mark brought Andy's 19' 1959 Thompson offshore and I pulled my 20' 1964 Cruisers Inc Seacamper.
After scouting two ramps we finally found one to our liking with a nice soft shore to land hulls coming and going.
We ran upstream the first day 5 or 6 miles and found a great camping spot across the river from a rock face covered in cactus and brush.
We built a fire on the shore and enjoyed the stars that night. I finally got to use my Seacamper as a camper! A very comfortable boat to sleep aboard. We enjoyed a breakfast of coffee, eggs and bacon as the sun made its way over the opposite cliffed shoreline/
We all enjoyed cruising the next day 70 miles or so down Lake Travis and back, this lake meanders through the Texas hill country and we usually were running along high rock cliffs and enjoying glass smooth water.
Temps in the 80s during the day and 50s at night made a great camping experience.
I have recently re-powered my Seacamper from an old 90 hp Johnson to a 1985 115hp Johnson wow like night and day. I can comfortably run in the mid 20s and top out at almost 40. The new engine has tilt and trim which was a necessity when backing up to campsites,
We spent the next night in a small inlet off the main river channel by the campfire listening to coyotes howl in the canyons around us. We awoke to Turkeys and Deer on our shore the next morning.
These three boats together were quite a sight and even attracted a few locals who came by boat over to see them.
Trips like this make all the work it takes to bring these beautiful watercraft back to life!
Ah….memories!!!!
After scouting two ramps we finally found one to our liking with a nice soft shore to land hulls coming and going.
We ran upstream the first day 5 or 6 miles and found a great camping spot across the river from a rock face covered in cactus and brush.
We built a fire on the shore and enjoyed the stars that night. I finally got to use my Seacamper as a camper! A very comfortable boat to sleep aboard. We enjoyed a breakfast of coffee, eggs and bacon as the sun made its way over the opposite cliffed shoreline/
We all enjoyed cruising the next day 70 miles or so down Lake Travis and back, this lake meanders through the Texas hill country and we usually were running along high rock cliffs and enjoying glass smooth water.
Temps in the 80s during the day and 50s at night made a great camping experience.
I have recently re-powered my Seacamper from an old 90 hp Johnson to a 1985 115hp Johnson wow like night and day. I can comfortably run in the mid 20s and top out at almost 40. The new engine has tilt and trim which was a necessity when backing up to campsites,
We spent the next night in a small inlet off the main river channel by the campfire listening to coyotes howl in the canyons around us. We awoke to Turkeys and Deer on our shore the next morning.
These three boats together were quite a sight and even attracted a few locals who came by boat over to see them.
Trips like this make all the work it takes to bring these beautiful watercraft back to life!
Ah….memories!!!!