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Ohio Sternwheel Festival - Fun!
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Supporting Member of Barthmobile.com 12/12
Picture of Lee
posted
Just returned from a five-day, 800mi trip from DC to Marietta OH....31st annual Sternwheel Festival, where the town welcomes about 30 paddlewheel boats from up & down the Inland Waterway System.

For gearheads, these boats are like a kid in a candy store. Some are rehabbed working boats made into floating homes - others are new construction from the keel up....range from about 40' to 100'+/-. Power systems run the gamut, from locomotive-style diesel-electrics, some with concrete-mixer hydraulic pumps & motors, and a myriad of mechanical setups. The Backyard Engineering Award goes to the captain who parked his Kubota tractor on the rear deck and used the tractor's PTO, via a nightmare of jackshafts & universal joints. If you're interested, enter "Marietta Sternwheel" in Google Images for some pics........

Festival is typical small town fare....bands, parade, rides, fireworks, carshow, carnival, and food concessions with enough cholesterol to blow the top of your head off....gonna have to triple my Lipitor consumption for a month or so....

Pretty country, with scenic byways on both sides of the Ohio River in both OH and WV.....Rolling hills, tiny towns - Midwest Americana at its best....This trip might even surpass my sojourns to the National Punkin' Chunkin' Championships in Delaware...$2.20/gal gas was a pleasant surprise too.....

Mothership ran perfectly (Thanks to MMO Smiler
New converter & house battery made it a joy, and even the tempermental jenny was flawless...Sometimes, life is TOO good.

Every journey has an Ouch, and this one was no different. Seems I misplaced my water pressure regulator...hooked-up one night at a campground and was warned about 95psi water pressure. Everything held EXCEPT the antisyphon on the toilet....Wet carpet around the toilet from an unknown source is definately pushin' my bride's tolerance levels...Oh well, pullin' carpet and tiling the bathroom was on the agenda anyway....

Several campground oldtimers wanted to tell me all about my "stainless steel" Barth and how "they don't build'em like they used to..." Kinda makes all the hours spent polishing worth it......

This Barthin' stuff is FUN!........
 
Posts: 1266 | Location: Frederick, Maryland | Member Since: 09-12-2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Glassnose Aficionado
Supporting Member of Barthmobile.com 2/09
Picture of Danny Z
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Sounds like a great time Lee. When I redid the bath I pulled up the carpet to find some uneven flooring. Suzy had already bought a box of small-square sheets for the floor, and I put down a really thick coat of notched trowel mastic and imbedded the tile sheets to level. I let them set a couple days before grouting, and have had no problems since. I liked the Stainless Steel line. You must have that baby polished!


79 Barth Classic
 
Posts: 3477 | Location: Venice Fl. | Member Since: 07-12-2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Supporting Member of Barthmobile.com 2/16
Captain Doom
Picture of Rusty
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Jeez! I thought Barths were titanium Smiler

(I also thought a pressure regulator was in the water supply line...)


Rusty


MilSpec AMG 6.5L TD 230HP; built-to-order by Peninsular Engines:  Hi-pop injectors, gear-driven camshaft, non-waste-gated, high-output turbo, 18:1 pistons.  Fuel economy increased by 15-20%, power, WOW!"StaRV II"

'94 28' Breakaway: MilSpec AMG 6.5L TD 230HP

Nelson and Chester, not-spoiled Golden Retrievers

Sometimes I think we're alone in the universe, and sometimes I think we're not.
In either case the idea is quite staggering.
- Arthur C. Clarke

It was a woman who drove me to drink, and I've been searching thirty years to find her and thank her - W. C. Fields
 
Posts: 7734 | Location: Brooker, FL, USA | Member Since: 09-08-2005Reply With QuoteReport This Post
"Host" of Barthmobile.com
Supporting Member of Barthmobile.com 1/19
Picture of Bill N.Y.
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quote:
Wow, that looks like some fun. Thanks for sharing.

Bill N.Y.
 
Posts: 5924 | Location: Newburgh, New York | Member Since: 05-10-2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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