Great Falls for a few days. Fixing the boat in a parking lot.

At the end of our two days of not catching fish adventure from Craig to Great Falls, we have discovered a timing problem.  Timing problem solved with a few day layover in Great Falls.  Also, after sailing this thing for the last few hundred miles, it is obviously over canvased for one person to handle.  So the few days in GF I decide to spend making the whole thing more single man handy.  This includes making a another smaller sail and trimming some of the ones I have so that they won't snag on things during tacks.

These are some pictures of this section, but none of fish...

Luckily I run into a friend in Great Falls!  My old next-door neighbor from the old Pennsylvania building! Hopefully she has a sewing machine! (she appeared in some posts from 2007ish and may have been known as “The Reporter”  in those posts. She is the one stranded on the side of a desolate snowy bleak road through Montana looking at a broken fiat.  Some things never change I guess.)  Luckily she does have a sewing machine!  Unfortunately it is broken and missing parts.  No problem, that is my favorite kind of machine.  Also, luckily I have a sewing machine man in Great Falls!  (Really I do…) Scott from Bernina Silver Thimble… I hoped he would have some parts I need for The Reporter’s machine. He does! and 15 bucks worth of junkyard sewing machine parts later I have the greatest sail making sewing machine I have ever used!  

Sails made, ship in ship shape, sewing machine returned full of WD-40!  Dad and I make the run from Great Falls up to Fort Benton.  With the new rig, and the perfect ridiculous Montana wind, we make it up there before noon. The Montana wind flicked us like a boogar right up to the Fort Benton canoe camp!  

Rum and cokes for everyone!