We Had to Cut Our Anchor... Then Our Engine Died in the Lock with a 300-Foot Barge on Our Tail!
Point5Garage
9,613 views
Things get completely out of hand on Episode 10 of the Pop 77 journey down the Tombigbe River! Between unexpected mechanical failures, clogged carburetors, brutal heat, and a terrifying engine stall right inside a boat lock with a massive 300+ foot commercial tow bearing down on us, this is survival mode on the water.
We also welcome Elum to the crew, adjust our custom pontoon pivot plates, battle an absurd swarm of mayflies, and find out what happens when a 50 lb blue catfish gets pulled out of the river.
⚡ PROUDLY POWERED & SUPPORTED BY OUR SPONSORS
A massive thank you to the partners who keep Pop's 77 powered, floating, and comfortable on this 1,000+ mile expedition:
MillerTech Lithium for the high-capacity LiFePO4 battery banks
Future Solutions for the off-grid solar panels
Precision Sewing for Pops' unbeatable sleeper recliner
Right Mark Roofing for doing a phenomenal job on our roof build
Pepsi – The essential shop and river cold beverage keeping me hydrated and powered up through the southern humidity.
Make sure to hit that subscribe button and follow along as @point5garage pushes all the way down to Mobile, Alabama!
⏱️ CHAPTERS / TIMESTAMPS
0:00 - Fighting the current & getting underway
1:15 - Rigging the heavy gas caddy on the deck
2:00 - E-bike gas run in Pickensville, Alabama
3:00 - Encountering local boaters & sharing the Pepsi pitch
4:20 - Laundry day & calculating distance to the next locks
5:00 - Radioing ahead: Preparing for the next major lock
11:30 - Stuck on a snag: The anchored line won't budge
12:15 - Making the tough call: Cutting the anchor line
13:40 - Battery drain mystery & the epic mayfly invasion
16:00 - Discussing Noah's Ark, history, and river life
17:30 - Tying up and checking the motor cooling system
18:00 - Physics of water displacement on the pontoon
19:00 - EMERGENCY: Engine dies inside the lock with commercial traffic behind us
20:00 - Using the trolling motor to escape the lock chamber
22:00 - Diagnosing the motor: Flooded engine & bad gas
22:30 - Pulling and tearing down the carburetors in the brutal heat
28:30 - Discovering the local gas station is permanently closed
30:00 - The e-bike wheel breaks on the 10-mile fuel run
31:40 - Beached hard on the riverbank: Troubleshooting the grounding
34:50 - Spotting the unique late-Cretaceous chalk rock formations
36:10 - Meeting Elum at the river's edge & coordinating the U-Haul swap
40:00 - Solar power breakdown, power draws, and inverter warnings
43:30 - Pulling into King Fisher Marina for fuel and supplies
46:00 - In the field: Adjusting the pontoon pivot ride plates
48:30 - Weight distribution lessons and fixing the rear pontoon sag
52:30 - Heading back out to the water and locking through Demopolis
54:15 - The "mayfly dairy farm" joke & camp humor with Elum
55:30 - Second round of ride plate adjustments on a sandy beach
58:30 - Beaver-cut timber and scouting the wilderness shoreline
1:01:30 - Discovering a hidden, pristine sandy beach (and trashing the litterbugs)
1:02:40 - Tying off securely to shore roots for the night
1:04:00 - Massive catch: Landing a huge 41-inch, 50 lb blue catfish!
🛠️ ABOUT POP’S 77 & THE EXPEDITION
Pop's 77 is a custom-built, 50-foot articulated dual-pontoon shanty boat designed and fabricated to take 77-year-old Pop on a lifelong dream expedition from Cincinnati all the way down the river systems to Mobile Bay and the Gulf.
👉 Subscribe to the channel to follow along with the full build, custom mechanical fixes, off-grid river life, and daily updates
YouTube: @point5garage
🏷️ TAGS & HASHTAGS
#Pops77 #DIYBoat #PontoonBoat #BoatLife #TennTom #OffGridLiving #RiverLife #HeavyEquipment #Mechanic #Catfishing #SmallEngineRepair #SolarPower #BoatRestoration
20 Comments
Dennis NB-NC 🇺🇸 😎 !
I have been enjoying your half looper from Alaska.
We Had to Cut Our Anchor... Then Our Engine Died in the Lock with a 300-Foot Barge on Our Tail!
Point5Garage
9,613 views
Things get completely out of hand on Episode 10 of the Pop 77 journey down the Tombigbe River! Between unexpected mechanical failures, clogged carburetors, brutal heat, and a terrifying engine stall right inside a boat lock with a massive 300+ foot commercial tow bearing down on us, this is survival mode on the water.
We also welcome Elum to the crew, adjust our custom pontoon pivot plates, battle an absurd swarm of mayflies, and find out what happens when a 50 lb blue catfish gets pulled out of the river.
⚡ PROUDLY POWERED & SUPPORTED BY OUR SPONSORS
A massive thank you to the partners who keep Pop's 77 powered, floating, and comfortable on this 1,000+ mile expedition:
MillerTech Lithium for the high-capacity LiFePO4 battery banks
Future Solutions for the off-grid solar panels
Precision Sewing for Pops' unbeatable sleeper recliner
Right Mark Roofing for doing a phenomenal job on our roof build
Pepsi – The essential shop and river cold beverage keeping me hydrated and powered up through the southern humidity.
Make sure to hit that subscribe button and follow along as @point5garage pushes all the way down to Mobile, Alabama!
⏱️ CHAPTERS / TIMESTAMPS
0:00 - Fighting the current & getting underway
1:15 - Rigging the heavy gas caddy on the deck
2:00 - E-bike gas run in Pickensville, Alabama
3:00 - Encountering local boaters & sharing the Pepsi pitch
4:20 - Laundry day & calculating distance to the next locks
5:00 - Radioing ahead: Preparing for the next major lock
11:30 - Stuck on a snag: The anchored line won't budge
12:15 - Making the tough call: Cutting the anchor line
13:40 - Battery drain mystery & the epic mayfly invasion
16:00 - Discussing Noah's Ark, history, and river life
17:30 - Tying up and checking the motor cooling system
18:00 - Physics of water displacement on the pontoon
19:00 - EMERGENCY: Engine dies inside the lock with commercial traffic behind us
20:00 - Using the trolling motor to escape the lock chamber
22:00 - Diagnosing the motor: Flooded engine & bad gas
22:30 - Pulling and tearing down the carburetors in the brutal heat
28:30 - Discovering the local gas station is permanently closed
30:00 - The e-bike wheel breaks on the 10-mile fuel run
31:40 - Beached hard on the riverbank: Troubleshooting the grounding
34:50 - Spotting the unique late-Cretaceous chalk rock formations
36:10 - Meeting Elum at the river's edge & coordinating the U-Haul swap
40:00 - Solar power breakdown, power draws, and inverter warnings
43:30 - Pulling into King Fisher Marina for fuel and supplies
46:00 - In the field: Adjusting the pontoon pivot ride plates
48:30 - Weight distribution lessons and fixing the rear pontoon sag
52:30 - Heading back out to the water and locking through Demopolis
54:15 - The "mayfly dairy farm" joke & camp humor with Elum
55:30 - Second round of ride plate adjustments on a sandy beach
58:30 - Beaver-cut timber and scouting the wilderness shoreline
1:01:30 - Discovering a hidden, pristine sandy beach (and trashing the litterbugs)
1:02:40 - Tying off securely to shore roots for the night
1:04:00 - Massive catch: Landing a huge 41-inch, 50 lb blue catfish!
🛠️ ABOUT POP’S 77 & THE EXPEDITION
Pop's 77 is a custom-built, 50-foot articulated dual-pontoon shanty boat designed and fabricated to take 77-year-old Pop on a lifelong dream expedition from Cincinnati all the way down the river systems to Mobile Bay and the Gulf.
👉 Subscribe to the channel to follow along with the full build, custom mechanical fixes, off-grid river life, and daily updates
YouTube: @point5garage
🏷️ TAGS & HASHTAGS
#Pops77 #DIYBoat #PontoonBoat #BoatLife #TennTom #OffGridLiving #RiverLife #HeavyEquipment #Mechanic #Catfishing #SmallEngineRepair #SolarPower #BoatRestoration