1924 - Avoiding the Rocks of Oblivion: Preliminary Planning - Boating Across the Continent with Evinrude Big Twins

This is an article about the challenge of planning a trip across the continent.  

I think Mr. Hoag may have been challenged by the expectation to write an article of feature length for Motor Boating in November of 1925 based on his planning alone.   However, this seems to have been a challenge bravely dealt with, since this article could have been half or less of its final length!  

Now, my attitude may be a bit jaundiced, for while transcribing I found myself typing the word "transcontinental" a zillion times more than necessary (IMHO) - plumping up the word count and physical length of the article considerably!!  

As usual, I broke up the text into smaller paragraphs for ease in online reading, added some additional illustrations when I was curious about something, and added my two cents in this brown text color.  

Enjoy!

This first installment of the series was written before the actual journey and covers the plotting and planning that made it possible.   














The Evinrude Motor Company supplied the two Big Twins to the expedition.

The writer is considered sane by innumerable friends and business associates.  I was sane enough to carry out some rather complex duties in the American Army during the World War.  I've been sane enough to earn a comfortable income largely by brain effort since the signing of the Armistice.  Yet, I have recently been suspected of insanity.

I'm a candidate for permanent residence in casa de locos, in the opinion of certain persons, for the sole reason that I have announced my intention of trying to make the first transcontinental motor boat cruise that has ever been attempted - ignoring the Panama Canal.

Now, to one who has not made intensive study of the route I propose to follow, or to one who takes no interest in history, biology and geography, the thought of crossing the continent with a motor boat undoubtedly sounds like an idea that might have had its origin in a disordered brain.  The plan, however, is by no means as idiotic as it may seem at first thought.  Just because nobody has ever done it is no ground for belief that it can't be done.  History, biology and geography tell us it can be done.  The earliest American explorers id it with canoes, fish have migrated over the entire route, and the maps tell us that a transcontinental water route exists - a route that can be traveled by motor boat for all its 5,000 miles of length, with only one portage.

Since the first covered wagon got across the nation the continent has been crossed by every known

form of human locomotion except by motor boat.  So, after nearly two years of preparation - studying the route to be traveled, and building a boat especially for the trip, the writer, in company with two other men, will will be under way this summer in an effort to take the first motor boat through the inland waterways of the United States and Canada from the Pacific to the Atlantic.  The route is 5,000 miles in length, with only one land break of approximately 250 miles, where it will be necessary to transport the boat over land.  That portage will be over the western Great Divide, where no navigable waterways exist.

It is much easier to tell about something that one hopes to accomplish.  So, at this stage of the project I can tell nothing of the trip that is to be attempted.  There is, however, a mighty interesting story in how the idea originated, and the preparations that have made for the first attempt to take a motor boat across America from the Pacific to the Atlantic.

 It is a story that will undoubtedly be somewhat of a revelation to those who are not the most intense students of geography.  I can make the statement without fear of contradiction because geography happens to be one of my hobbies, and has been for years.  Yet, I found that I had some mighty interesting things to learn before I convinced myself that a transcontinental motor boat cruise is not only feasible, but so simple an undertaking that I cannot help but wonder why it has never been attempted before.

A keen interest in American history, biological science, and geography, was really what set me to thinking that a transcontinental motor boat cruise might be possible of accomplishment.  History told the story of how the earliest explorers who penetrated across the continent made the trip almost entirely by water.  They came up the St. Lawrence River, through the Great Lakes, and went down the Illinois River into the Mississippi Valley.  After exploration had been carried to the Mississippi, it remained for Lewis and Clark, under the direction if President Jefferson, to explore the Missouri River to its source, cross the Continental Divide, and make their way down the Snake and Columbia Rivers to the Pacific.

The Transcontinental equipped for rain.  The boat cover and supports are knocked down and stowed in fair weather.

These historical facts are alone sufficient to point out that the waterway navigable for small boats exists practically across the continent.  This fact was obvious 120 years ago when Lewis and Clark returned to St. Louis from their history making expedition.  Moreover, there have been many canals dug, and much waterway improvement since the Indian maiden, Sacajawea, helped the Lewis and Clark expedition through to success.

How portage over the Continental Divide between the Snake River and the Yellowstone will be made.

Biological science played its part when I happened to fall in with a professor of icthyology, who was conducting investigations in the Pacific Northwest.  This knowledge seeking scientist had been rambling around all over the top of the Continental Divide, searching for the explanation of the presence of certain fishes native to the fresh waters of the Pacific watershed that had occasionally been found in streams draining down the east side of the Continental Divide.  He had found the answer in a small lake in Yellowstone National Park, a lake having two outlets - one into the Pacific and the other into the Atlantic.  He had proved that fish can swim from the mouth of the Columbia River up that stream into the Snake River, through the Snake River, and several smaller tributaries into the lake on the Divide, through that lake, and down the streams of the Atlantic watershed.  With sufficient power in his tail the same fish could leave Astoria, Oregon, and swim across the continent to the aquarium at the lower end of Manhattan.

By steering with both propellers and the rudder a very short turn can be made at high speed.

 Geography played its part in permitting a comprehensive piecing together of the inland waterways into a continuous water route from ocean to ocean, which might, or might not be navigable throughout its entire length by a small, shallow draft motor boat.

I had to find out which fish!   information on the fish

In the light of the foregoing facts, it didn't require a great deal of imagination to visualize if a fish could swim across the continent, the right kind of motor boat for the trip wouldn't fall so very far behind the fish in an attempt to accomplish the same journey.

This minnow and the cutthroat trout are two fish whose populations have done the trip. 

The subject was too fascinating and romantic to be easily dismissed from an inquisitive mind.  The more I thought about attempting a transcontinental motor boat cruise the more interesting it became.  I combed the libraries for books, and began piecing shreds of information together.  I bought topographical maps by the bale and studied them until I had most of the land contours from Astoria, Oregon, to New York City committed to memory.

Then began a campaign of correspondence - correspondence that brought information bit by bit until I was able to lump it all together to out line a transcontinental motor boat route from ocean to ocean; a route 5,000 miles in length, offering a minimum depth of 3 feet, and with only one place where a short portage would be necessary.  This information was gained from a multitude of sources.   Some came from the the United states War Department Army Engineers, from the Department of Commerce, the Hydrographic Office at Washington, the Great Lakes Survey, newspaper and magazine editors, chamber of commerce organizations, river men, navigation companies, and individuals who were familiar with conditions along certain portions of the various waterways.  

1924 Survey Map - This is an interesting map, which you can see at full size HERE.

At last when the project had become tinged with the complexion of feasibility, the weather bureaus of seventeen different states, and two national governments were consulted for information to determine the average weather conditions along the route and deciding the best season of the year for undertaking the project. 

The weather reports indicated between May fifteenth and June first would be the best time of year to start, and the logical starting point would be Astoria, Oregon, at the mouth of the Columbia River. This would not only give the most favorable weather conditions over the entire route, but would provide the highest stages of water in the Columbia, Snake, Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers, which make up almost two-thirds of the transcontinental distance. Moreover, by making the trip from west to east, only 760 miles of the 5,000-mile journey will have to be negotiated against opposing river currents.

The remaining 4,240 miles will be in waters flowing in the direction of travel, stationary, or virtually stationary.  It was revealed that the maximum opposing current would be something like 12 miles per hour, with assisting currents up to 15 to 18 miles per hour.  After all these facts were studied and carefully weighed, there was no doubt about the feasibility of the proposed transcontinental motor boat cruise.  It had simmered down to a question of time and distance, financing the trip, and procuring the right sort of boat and equipment.

The first stretch of the trip.

The route that has been finally decided upon, and over which the cruise will be attempted, is as follows:  Up the Columbia River from its mouth near Astoria, Oregon, 480 miles to the Snake River.  Up the Snake River for 280 miles to Lewiston, Idaho.  It should be mentioned here that getting up the Columbia and Snake Rivers with any kind of power boat would have been impossible a few years ago because of the rapids and waterfalls in the Columbia.  More recently, however, the completion of the Government locks and canals at Celeilo and the Dalles carry navigation around these obstructions.  River boats of 200 tons are now able to ascend the Columbia and Snake Rivers to Lewiston, Idaho.

At Lewiston, the farthest point east possible of attainment in navigable waters of the Pacific watershed will have been reached.  There are no connecting navigable waterways over the Continental Divide, so a portage at that point cannot be eliminated.  At Lewiston, the boat will be pulled out of the Snake River, loaded onto a motor truck, and taken over the Divide for 250 miles in an air line distance to the headwaters of the Yellowstone River.  It will be launched into the Yellowstone at Livingston, Montana, just north of Yellowstone National Park, and does not come out of the water again until after being docked in New York.  

This is the Yellowstone at Livingston, MT nowadays.

From Livingston, the craft will be taken on a fast and furious 800-mile dash down the turbulent white-water rapids of the Yellowstone into the Missouri River,  Reaching the Missouri near Williston, North Dakota, the Big Muddy provides approximately 1,800 miles of unbroken downstream navigation into the Mississippi just above St. Louis.  Turning up the Mississippi there is an unbroken water route into the Great Lakes via the Illinois River and the Illinois and Michigan Canal, entering Lake Michigan at Chicago.

Upon reaching the Great Lakes it is the intention of the transcontinental motor boat party to skirt the Illinois, Wisconsin and North Peninsula  of Michigan shores of Lake Michigan, through the straights of Mackinac into Lake Huron.  In Lake Huron the route chosen is the North Passage - that is, north of the great group of islands in the northern part of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay.  The Canadian shores will be followed to the Georgian Bay gateway of the Trent Waterways for the scenic trip across the Province of Ontario by that route to Lake Ontario.

Wikipedia: The Trent–Severn Waterway is a 386 kilometres (240 mi)-long canal route connecting Lake Ontario at Trenton to Lake Huron at Port Severn. Its major natural waterways include the Trent River, Otonabee River, the Kawartha lakes, Lake Simcoe, Lake Couchiching and the Severn River. Its scenic, meandering route has been called "one of the finest interconnected systems of navigation in the world".[1]

For nice photos and some history, check out Glen and Jill Moore's blog from when they went through there.  

The schedule for the entire transcontinental cruise from Astoria to NewYork is 90 days.  It is liberal enough to allow for unforeseen delays from bad weather.  If sufficient time is left upon arrival at the Lake Ontario end of the Trent Waterways, the route from there to New York City will be by way of the St. Lawrence River, Lake Champlain, and the Hudson.  If time is running short, Lake Ontario will be crossed, and the trip completed via the New York State Canals.

The question of devising and building a suitable boat for the trip was by far the most difficult problem to solve.  It calls for a boat with sufficient power to shove up against the swift currents of the Columbia and Snake Rivers, a good seaworthy boat capable of weathering the Great lakes, small enough to be handles with oars if necessary, light enough to be portaged by motor truck, and of the shallowest possible draft.

Did ever a boat builder face such a combination of apparent impossibilities?  There seemed to be no solution to the boat problem except to recount all the experiences I have had with boats in various waters of the earth, and then attempt to design a craft which would combine as many of the desirable points as possible with the fewest number of disadvantages.    I have lost all track of the number of sets of sketches I made, making changes, modifications, and compromises from one set of sketches to the next.  But, eventually, I got a set of sketches made  that seemed to be as nearly the perfect boat as could be assembled over one keel.  

 I couldn't read the The Los Angeles Times text except as jumbled OCR (pay site) but I think the following bits and pieces  are "reconstituted" fairly well  :-)

"The historical angle of the trip, and the one of special Interest to Californians, is that it took two Los Angeles men, and a Los Angeles-built motor boat to accomplish the first water journey across North America ignoring the Panama Canal."  

"At the right, below, is the boat in Los Angeles Harbor previous to departure from here, while on the left is John Edwin Hoag and Mrs. Hoag with their land transportation, a Ford coupe."

"At returning to Los Angeles by train some weeks later, Mr. Hoag, who conceived the journey, planned every detail of it, and skippered the boat over 5280 miles of inland waterways during eighty-seven, consecutive days of cruising, admits having given some thought to his requirements of land transportation long before the cruise was completed. Before leaving on the cruise he sold his car, a Ford touring model, in preference to having Lincoln."

Looks like he traded some fame and name recognition for a new car!! 

The next thing was to find a boatbuilder sufficiently courageous to attempt its construction with his professional reputation at stake.  We found the desired boatbuilder in the person of Emil Aarup, of Los Angeles.  Mr. Aarup, a Dane by birth, built boats in the old country for many years, and learned his trade there.  Since then he has been building boats in America, chiefly on the Pacific Coast, where he has established a reputation and a prosperous business solely on the merits of master craftsmanship.

Image from the LA Maritime Museum.

Because of the unusual cruise which the craft is to attempt,  the builder took great pride in its construction.  He refused to turn the job over to his carpenters, and has practically built the whole craft with his own hands.  It is doubtful if any small boat was ever built from more carefully selected materials, or with greater painstaking workmanship.  The result is that the finished boat is not only unusual in its design, but one that is probably as ideally suited for this trip as could have been built.

The boat is 18 feet in length, 5 feet beam at the widest point, and 4 feet beam at the stern.  The hull is quite deep, rising to 18 inches above the water line at the stern, and nearly four feet at the bow.
The general lines are not unlike those of the average lifeboat carried aboard ocean steamships, except that they are somewhat more trim and graceful.  The craft has a very hard bilge, which gives shallow draft even with a heavy load, reduced resistance, and a maximum amount of speed with any given driving power.

The hull is decked over forward for a distance of six feet from the bow.  This forward deck has a six-inch curved crown planked with spruce veneer over heavy oak ribs, and is covered with varnished canvas.  The space under this deck is closed off from the rest of the hull by a watertight bulkhead fitted with a watertight door.  The compartment thus created provides waterproof storage space for approximately 80 cubic feet of equipment that might be damaged by water.  It also forms a huge air chamber to keep the boat afloat in case of mishap.  A deck three inches wide extends inboard around the gunwales, and is surmounted by a gracefully curved oak combing around the entire cockpit except astern.  Its upper surface forms a spacious seat.

I needed to see the boat again, so here is the photo from a previous post.

The construction of the hull throughout is of spruce and oak. The keel, ribs, and all frame parts are of oak, while the planking and all other members are spruce.  This has permitted obtaining a hull sufficiently substantial to withstand the most violent abuses to which any motor boat might ordinarily be subjected, while holding down the total weight to slightly less than 600 pounds without motors, auxiliary equipment or cargo.  Moreover, it gives a hull that will float light in 9 inches of water.

The problem of obtaining suitable motor power for the unusual journey this boat is to make was hardly less complex than the construction of the hull itself.  Any form of permanently installed inboard power plant was out of the question. Propellers, shafts and similar underwater parts permanently installed would be highly undesirable.  Such fitments would probably be left behind against the first river obstruction the craft might strike.  Any form of permanently installed power plant would complicate the trans-Continental Divide portage problem.

Therefore, resorting to the use of some kind of outboard motor seemed the most likely alternative, but did not seem to offer the necessary amount of power.  The power problem was finally settled by equipping the craft with two big twin 4-horsepower Evinrudes.  These big outboard motors weigh only 80 pounds each, yet are removable, portable, and offered the advantage of leaving the entire hull area free for cargo and passengers.  One of them would give all the power and speed necessary for three-fourths of the transcontinental run, but two will be desirable for ascending against the currents of the Columbia and Snake Rivers.  In trial runs conducted in the Pacific Ocean we estimated that we've got close to 15 miles per hour when under way with both motors.

Of course, even with 15 miles per hour in the boat, we van expect mighty slow progress getting out of the Columbia and Snake Rivers.  But, after that, we've got still water, or water that is moving with us.  In addition to the two big Evinrude motors, the craft is also fitted with an 18-foot mast carrying 250 square feet of cat-rigged sail.  The sail will be used only to take advantage of favorable winds, or in the event of motor failures.  With two motors, it seems highly improbable that both power plants can ever go out beyond hope of emergency repairs.

There are a few additional novel features added to the transcontinental cruiser, unique in boat building, and designed to add to the convenience, comfort, or safety of the members of the party. Chief among them is the controlling devices of the boat and motors, and the method of supplying gasoline.  Outboard motors are usually handled by an operator sitting in the stern of the boat.That is all right for the the uses it is conventionally put, but on a 5,000-mile cruise the operator would be too close to the noise and vibration of the engines for comfort. 

Moreover, handling a boat from the stern might be somewhat awkward when running a swift rapid, or maneuvering in close quarters where the pilot needs all the eyes he's go - and those near the bow as near it is possible to get them.  To eliminate those problems the cruiser was fitted with a yacht steering wheel mounted on the forward bulkhead just below the level of the deck and cockpit combing.  This gives the pilot a comfortable seat forward, with complete control over both boat and motors at his fingertips.  Ignition switches provide the means of stopping one or both motors, while Bowden controls take care of the throttling.

The built in fuel tanks with which these big outboard motors are fitted carry only a three-hour supply. The use of these tanks would necessitate far too frequent refueling on a long trip - something that is very difficult in rough water.  Forthwith, a 14-gallon gasoline tank was built under a seat amidships.  This gasoline tank, being below the level of the motors is kept under air pressure, and the fuel is piped in the direction of the motors.  By means of shut-off cocks at the both the motors and the feed lines leading out of the tank, either or both motors may be refueled be merely opening the cocks.  The fire hazard in the boat is materially reduced by this system of handling fuel.  To further safeguard the craft against fire, two small carbon tetrachloride extinguishers are provided.  One is carried on the forward bulkhead, and the other near the motors.  They provide the means of fighting a gasoline fire regardless of where it may break out.

Nice! 

A small storage battery which is kept hot by a tiny generator belt driven from a flywheel of one of the motors provides current for the electric running lights, for emergency motor ignition, and for operating a four-tube radio receiving set.  The radio set is a Gilfillan Neutrodyne, and is good for 1,000 to 1,500 miles. It is operated from an aerial hung from the mast when use is desired.  It is grounded on the half-round bronze keel shoe that runs the entire length of the boat.




One the most ingenious arrangements of the entire boat is the completely equipped photographic darkroom that can be set up almost instantly when its use is desired within the forward waterproof locker. (!!)  A small electric ruby lamp provides the working illumination.  Hinged shelves create a place to work in a space that is ample for a man of average size to sit upright.  The equipment also includes two one gallon vacuum jugs, in which 20-pounds of ice may be kept for as much as 36 hours even in the hottest weather.

For the comfort of the personnel of the party while traveling in rainy weather, and to provide sleeping quarters aboard if circumstances should  make such facilities necessary, a neat canvas waterproof cover incloses the entire cockpit.  This cover, which virtually makes a tent out of the cockpit, buttons down around the combing.  A glass window in front of the pilot's seat makes it possible to drive the boat with the cover in position.  This cover is supported by oak bows which set into brass sockets on the combing.  In fair weather when the use of the cover would not be desired it is rolled up and stowed.  The bows and other supports are removed, and stow into a space abaft the forward bulkhead, just below the curve of the combing.  If the boat is to be used as a sleeping space, the side seats pull out to form a solid deck surface at seat level through the entire cockpit.  There is room enough to berth four people on air mattresses.

While it is the intention of the transcontinental motor boat party to camp each night upon the shore, there may be times when remaining aboard at night will be more convenient.  If so, there's no necessity for going ashore.  There will be food aboard, and a gasoline camp stove upon which to cook it.  Almost every human requirement can be met aboard the tiny craft, and she's independent of the shores as long as the fuel lasts, which is for a period of about 30 hours when cruising with one motor.

Three men will man this craft upon the first attempt to take the motor boat across the continent.  They are the writer (John Edwin Hoag), Val Woodbury, capitalist and yachtsman of Alhambra, California, and Frank S. Wilton, of Los Angeles.  It is doubtful if a more seasoned trio of adventurers could be assembled for such an undertaking.  The writer has been knocking about with small boats, and mixed up in various phases of adventure in many part of the earth for a good many years.  

Mr. Woodbury was formerly a naval officer and master of merchant ships over the seven seas.  In more recent years he has acquired a great wealth, has been identified chiefly with yachting activities in Southern California, big game hunting, and sportsmanship. 

Mr. Wilton is a motion picture camera operator, whose adventures behind the crank and tripod during the past ten years sound like a whole shelf full of fiction.  He recently returned to Los Angeles from a trip around the world in the making of an educational news reel.  He was the cameraman with the Oakland (California) Museum's African expedition, and spent 18 months in the Dark Continent in the making of that institution's motion picture feature of African animal life.

While there is every reason to believe that the first attempt to cross the American continent by motor boat will succeed, no one realizes better than the writer that the trip is fraught with hazards, possibilities for mishaps, and potentialities for disaster that could very easily land the whole expedition upon the rocks of oblivion.  
We are leaving Astoria, Oregon, on the long drag up the Columbia River.  Our destination, as announced by the lettering on the bows of the boat is - Heaven, Hell, or Hoboken.