Wow! Finally made it home... Leave it to a rescuer to refuse to ask to be rescued!
We went up river on Thursday and just south of Ah Pah Village the steering cable broke - and we ran aground in a foot of water, at 45+ mph, ouch! 2 hrs later after removing everything that could be removed from the boat, fighting the current and sliding around on mossy rocks, we finally break her free. The pump is full of rocks, and we have no steering. I pull the hand-hold cover off to try to remove the rocks but I have to work fast as water gushes into the boat each time I remove it - faster than my 1000 manual and 1200 automatic bilge pumps can manage, so it's a series of 15-30 second attempts. Eventually I decide that this isn't working and the sun is beginning to set, I realize that we have to find a good landing spot (deep water) and set up camp. We start drifting downstream, using the forward-reverse lever to keep it headed right (the nozzle was turned) - just before dark we find a spot to land and set up camp.

The next morning I take everything apart to get to the steering cable and I find that the sheath has separated and turning the helm only causes it to separate and lengthen. Using a piece of battery cable and 2 hose clamps I devise a solution - which worked, but now it's getting dark again. The next morning I go diving and attempt to find the lodged rocks, grate is clear back to the hand-hole to try again that way, still fighting the flooding. I manage to remove several rocks that were lodged into the impeller but there is one that nothing I can do seems to dislodge it. We make a test run, can't get on a plane and steering is only so-so, back to shore and back to the drawing board. I make another adjustment to my steering cable fixture, but now it's getting dark again. So we make the decision that we've got to try to get home, running low on drinks and food (and unbeknownst to me, gasoline),

So off we go, still unable to get on a plane, and almost immediately run aground again - though getting out of the boat caused it to break free. More rocks in the pump! I can just get enough thrust to steer us around several large obstacles when we run out of GAS!
Breaking out the paddles we begin the backbreaking chore of keeping the boat off shoals and missing large snags. After a couple of hours, now dark, we reach the outskirts of civilization but the current is keeping us on the opposite shore - nearly exhausted we paddle with all we have, but to little avail - then I see the bottom and tied the bowline around my waist and jumped in. Exhausted I drag the boat towards the bank until it is resting on the bottom 10' or so off shore. Land at last!

I crank up my Nexus tablet and get a fix on my position and determine that we can most likely get the truck and trailer to our location, but have to get to the truck. I start walking and after about 2 miles an elderly Yurok gentleman offers me a ride and takes me to the ramp in Klamath Glenn where I am parked. By the time I get back to the boat, the other half and the dogs have pitched camp, and are sound asleep, sounding like an excellent idea at the time I join them. Next morning we begin the arduous task of getting Keget back on her trailer - only to discover that the winch strap isn't even long enough to get to the end of the trailer.  Using my bow line (doubled) I manage to winch her half way on the trailer but at this point she stops and won't budge. I determine that we've got to back further out in the river to get her to float a little. By the time we get her deep enough the truck is now 15' off shore and is sitting in 18" of water. Got her on the trailer only to find out that now, with weight to pull my little 4x4 Ford is not getting enough traction to move the boat. I end up dropping the trailer in the water, driving the truck out then putting a tow strap on the trailer and drag it out - except for my tung jack which broke quickly, it works!

Home at last, very tired!

How was your trip?

i dunno, all of that sounds like fun to me.


my river trip consisted of sitting in the garage and drinking beer and a bunch of cutting and welding.  wanna trade?

LOL. well yes, it's the stuff memories are made of - had the trip gone properly we'd never remember it, much less have a story to tell for years to come.

I'm not gonna lie, that sounds like a terrible trip

The Jet Boat tour did go by but even worse this time the good landing spot I landed on was right on a hot fishing hole - 5 different Fish Guide boats with 6 tourist-fishermen each were fishing it the entire time, with dozens of other boats that popped in from time to time, I couldn't even fart without a dozen or more peeps looking my direction -   being a good landing spot, they all chose my tiny sliver of land to land and relieve themselves and their dogs - and rather than peace and quiet it sounded like the infield at Daytona. Not a one of them as much as said 'Hi' much less asked if I needed help. I'm not impressed by the current crop of tourist, well I am just not in a good way.

Holy crap dude...what a nightmare...I can't believe that no one pulled up to help

Well I did get an answer to that age-old question as to whether the boat sits on top of the water on a plane, or being a v-bottom sits on top of the water in a 14" (keel to chine) hole.

A flat bottom might sit ON the water, buy my v-hull sits IN the water both moving and not. Off the plane that hole is more like 22".

I DID think about calling for help a few times, but figured if I did all it would do is make my pager go off. LOL

If be selling my boat if I had a trip like either of yours

LOL, spend enough time on the water and eventually near everything will happen - I've broached a Searay Seville 6M, sunk a Searay Sunchaser SRV270, detained in Mariel Cuba during the boatlift for a week before being loaded with Castro's rejects, and rode out a hurricane on a converted Higgins PT boat.

It could be worse....you could be on a "guided" tour boat ride!