I retired from twig designing in 2002. I had paid my family debt; that of taking care of my aunt and mom. Dad's dream of floating down Red River; a dream of long, long ago, rekindled itself in my mind, and I couldn't put out the flame. I began working on
my canoes... again. This time my plans were to build the ultimate Red River touring boat. I began the tedious process of building a deck between the two canoes. In order for the canoes to run true, I must keep the keels of the canoes exactly the same distance apart, from one end to the other. Finally, after several attempts, I had a jig constructed that would keep the keels lined up while I made the deck. I made the deck out of 3/4 inch plywood and attached it with stainless steel screws. The transom was a simple matter of bolting aluminum tubing and plywood across the flat ends of the canoes. The Go-Devil motor arrived and I bolted her down and then put the rig in my pool. She floated well. The temptation was too great; I fired the motor off and puttered around in the pool. I built a trailer that just fit the run-about and then headed to Red River with my new rig.
After putting the boat through rain, blowing sand and cold, early-morning fog, I came to the conclusion that she wasn't the ultimate boat yet ... she needed a top, like a covered wagon. I purchased some material and headed for our local seamstress.
I planned to launch the last day of May on my Red River expedition and the trip would take at least two weeks, maybe even longer. I wanted to be able to take whatever Red River could dish out.
