Wes Modes
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Making pie crust when it is 90 degrees is a frustrating experience
Making pie crust when it is 90 degrees is a frustrating experience
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Vaughn Loveday makes beautiful muzzle loader rifles
Vaughn Loveday makes/carves/metalsmiths/inlays beautiful muzzle loader rifles. But this one is a beautiful old Tennessee original. We decide there are far too few firearms on the #shantyboat via Instagram
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Vaughn Loveday had childhood stories of people living on shantyboats along the Little Tennessee River
Vaughn Lovejoy had childhood stories of people living on shantyboats along the Little Tennessee River. #shantyboat
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Vaughn Goodson, our trip angel who we met in his simple shantyboat…
Vaughn Goodson, our trip angel who we met in his simple #shantyboat, found us food, fuel, stories, connections, friendship, and several pounds of fresh delicious bass. via Instagram
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Squirlsey petrified with fright
Squirlsey petrified with fright after the #shantyboat encounter with big water via Instagram
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Big boats with huge engines are a big problem
Big boats with huge engines are a big problem on American rivers. They erode the shoreline and are a safety hazard for small boats. Numerous people have told us that every year boats get bigger and bigger. #shantyboat via Instagram
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High seas mean waves wash over the deck
High seas mean waves wash over the deck of the #shantyboat and occasionally into the cabin. By high seas we really mean the wake of other boaters. #thanksnothanks via Instagram
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Clay piloting the shantyboat in high seas
@clayduda piloting the #shantyboat in high seas. via Instagram
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Ben Duncan, Duncan’s Boat Dock
People in Knoxville told us, “You have to meet Ben Duncan at Duncan’s Boat Dock. He and other old men sit around there on the dock and swap lies all day.”
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Ben Duncan, age 91, owner and proprietor of Duncan’s Boat Dock
Ben Duncan, age 91, owner and proprietor of Duncan’s Boat Dock near Knoxville TN. Duncan’s has been there since 1944, created when the TVA flooded the valley. The #ShantyBoat docked here for the night. via Instagram
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Sitting at Duncan’s Boat Dock in the shade with a beer
Sitting at Duncan’s Boat Dock in the shade with a beer, Hazel dog, the delightful Benzy, #ShantyBoat docked, boats drifting in and out of the marina. Thanks @clayduda via Instagram
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Swimming in the Tennesse River
Swimming in the Tennesse River. #ShantyBoat #ShantyboatLife via Instagram
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Thanks mom for the champagne. Mimosas to celebrate our departure from Knoxville
Thanks @klassykat68 for the champagne. #Shantyboat mimosas to celebrate our departure from Knoxville. #GrapefruitMimosas via Instagram
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Out on a trash run with Jake Hudson of Ijams Knoxville TN
Out on a trash run with Jake Hudson of Ijams Knoxville TN. #Shantyboat via Instagram
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Jake Hudson who told stories of river clean up on the Tennessee River
Jake Hudson who told stories of river clean up on the Tennessee River. #secrethistory via Instagram
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Betty Goins childhood houseboat in which she grew up
Betty Goins childhood houseboat in which she grew up. #shantyboat via Instagram
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Interview with Betty Goins who grew up in a shantyboat
#secrethistory interview with Betty Goins who grew up in a shantyboat where the French Broad and the Holsten empty into the Tennessee River. “Y’all ready to hear about mah good life on the river? Well, Ah’m ready to tell it.” via Instagram
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Chattanooga Times Free Press: Man and dog to explore Tennessee River on self-made shantyboat
Shantyboat stops along the Tennessee River As of print, the shantyboat was scheduled to hold official exhibitions in the following cities. More stops are sure to be added along the way β including one in Chattanooga which Modes says should be in mid-July. To learn more, visit peoplesriverhistory.org/exhibit. Aug. 5-8: Kennedy Douglas Center for the…
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Another Thursday evening in Knoxville TN
Another Thursday evening in Knoxville TN. #shantyboat via Instagram
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Vaughn and his brother Blue in their #shantyboat just down from the French Broad.
Vaughn and his brother Blue in their #shantyboat just down from the French Broad. via Instagram
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Knoxville News Sentinel: California artist launches 652-mile Tennessee River trip from Volunteer Landing
Docked at Volunteer Landing at Knoxville’s downtown waterfront this week is a 20-foot “shantyboat” that looks all the world like a backwoods cabin perched atop a barge.
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Train bridge over the Tennessee River
Train bridge over the Tennessee River. #shantyboat via Instagram
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Knoxville, Tennessee
We are in beautiful Knoxville, Tennessee where the weather is perfectly warm, the water is cool, there are afternoon summer rain showers, and the people talk with a slow drawl. We arrived on Saturday with no major incidents to our surprise. High-fives were in order.
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Come get high with us party for Jesus
Come get high with us party for Jesus. #shantyboat via Instagram
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Swimming in the Tennessee River at the end of a runway
Swimming in the Tennessee River at the end of a runway. @gooddoghazel watching from the bluff. #shantyboat via Instagram
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Knoxville has floating booms at the mouths of creeks
Knoxville has floating booms at the mouths of creeks. As you can see they prevent an impressive amount of trash from entering the Tennessee River. #shantyboat via Instagram
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Drunken #shantyboat postcard headed your way.
Drunken #shantyboat postcard headed your way. via Instagram
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How You Make This Project Happen
I’ve already mentioned to you that the Secret History project is a shoestring affair in which our $10K budget is tiny compared to a similarly ambitious project that would be more likely in the $100K range. All true. I’ve shown you these pie charts when you supported the project’s Kickstarter, and you already know that…
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Architectural Antics in Knoxville is a great place to pick up supplies
Architectural Antics in Knoxville is a great place to pick up #shantyboat supplies. via Instagram
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The shantyboat is afloat in the Tennessee River!
The #shantyboat is afloat in the Tennessee River! via Instagram
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We made it to Knoxville with the shantyboat without dying in a flaming tumbling wreck! Yes!
We made it to Knoxville with the #shantyboat without dying in a flaming tumbling wreck! Yes! via Instagram
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Kickin it on the back porch of the shantyboat on a hot Arkansas day
Kickin it on the back porch of the #shantyboat on a hot Arkansas day. #StrangersThumb via Instagram
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First real brekkie aboard the shantyboat parked in a legume field
First real brekkie aboard the #shantyboat parked in a legume field. #BoatingInFarmland #Tennessee
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So Far So Good
As I type we are speeding down an Oklahoma highway a few miles from Arkansas and so far the most eventful tragedy on the trip was shattering a full bottle of vodka and a bottle of Kahlua.
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We’ve gone from white knuckling it to casual one-handed driving
We’ve gone from white knuckling it to casual one-handed driving. #shantyboat
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Hazel in her travel lair in the truck
Hazel in her travel lair in the truck. @gooddoghazel #shantyboat
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Watson’s amazing BBQ and farm supply in Tucumcari NM
Watson’s amazing BBQ and farm supply in Tucumcari NM. #shantyboat
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Squirsy joined us on our madcap cross-country trip with the shantyboat
Squirsey joined us on our madcap cross-country trip with the #shantyboat.
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#shantyboat at Watson’s barbecue in Tucumcari New Mexico. Most hospitable people. Great barbecue.
shantyboat at Watson’s barbecue in Tucumcari New Mexico. Most hospitable people. Great barbecue.
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Benzy and the #shantyboat in Williams. We stopped to walk a cemetery.
Benzy and the #shantyboat in Williams. We stopped to walk a cemetery.
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Outside of Flagstaff Arizona. Th #shantyboat moves ever eastward.
Outside of Flagstaff Arizona. The shantyboat moves ever eastward.
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Here’s what we’re doing as we tow the #shantyboat across country.
Here’s what we’re doing as we tow the shantyboat across country.
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Benzy and Hazel on the shantyboat after a night in Needles California along the tracks.
Benzy and @gooddoghazel on the #shantyboat after a night in Needles California along the tracks.
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Leaving Felton with the #Shantyboat requires us to push up low-hanging wires.
Leaving Felton with the #Shantyboat requires us to push up low-hanging wires.
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The Battle Against the Ever-Growing Ever-Multiplying ToDo List Monster
Oh god. Down to a matter of hours before we pull out of Santa Cruz. And still so much to do. And some of those problems are major problems. Take the last element on our list. “Diagnose electrical.” We identified three separate electrical problems. 1) The accessory battery was not holding a charge, 2) the charging…
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The little faeries brought the shantyboat some of our favorite whiskey, High Wes
The little faeries brought the #shantyboat some of our favorite whiskey, High Wes. #whiskey #bourbon via Instagram
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Farewells before departure on the #shantyboat
Farewells before departure on the #shantyboat via Instagram
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Secret History stencil on the front of the #shantyboat. #stencil #art
Secret History stencil on the front of the #shantyboat. #stencil #art via Instagram
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New refurbished #shantyboat life ring. Thanks Benzy!
New refurbished #shantyboat life ring. Thanks Benzy! via Instagram
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#ShantyBoat last minute work above and below.
#ShantyBoat last minute work above and below. via Instagram
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What happens when the Shantyboat key breaks off in the ignition
What happens when the #ShantyBoat key breaks off in the ignition when it is still in the boatyard’s lift sling? via Instagram
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We put new drain plugs in the ShantyBoat motor well
We put new drain plugs in the #ShantyBoat motor well. Was this why it didn’t leak for the first time? via Instagram
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Preparing the Shantyboat
We’ve been working like mad to get the boat ready for the Tennessee River. We pulled the boat into drydock at the Santa Cruz Harbor Boatyard. Out list of things to do would take two pages if we weren’t willfully ignoring the minor things.
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Excitement! First time the ShantyBoat was afloat and the motor well didn’t take on water!
Excitement! First time the #ShantyBoat was afloat and the motor well didn’t take on water! via Instagram
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ShantyBoat with fresh coat of paint headed for the Tennessee River in one week.
#ShantyBoat with fresh coat of paint headed for the Tennessee River in one week. via Instagram
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Shantyboat looking good and almost ready to depart.
#Shantyboat looking good and almost ready to depart. via Instagram
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Freddie Mercury goes back on the #shantyboat.
Freddie Mercury goes back on the #shantyboat. via Instagram
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Last minute #Shantyboat todo list. We leave in one week.
Last minute #Shantyboat todo list. We leave in one week. #NoRush #WeGotThis #BusyAsBees via Instagram
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Newly fiberglassed, epoxied, painted, varnished and sealed shantyboat motor well
Newly fiberglassed, epoxied, painted, varnished and sealed #shantyboat motor well. Will it keep water out NOW? #ThingsThatShouldntHoldWater via Instagram
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Tired of the shantyboat corner being dinged up on docks and piers so now we have rubber baby buggy bumpers.
Tired of the #shantyboat corner being dinged up on docks and piers so now we have rubber baby buggy bumpers. via Instagram
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Bad idea makes good. Fiberglassed #shantyboat motor well
Bad idea makes good. Fiberglassed #shantyboat motor well. #NowhereToGoButForward via Instagram
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Messed up #shantyboat corner now fixed. #WeWillAlwaysHaveSavanna #ILeftMyRubRailInIllinois
Messed up #shantyboat corner now fixed. #WeWillAlwaysHaveSavanna #ILeftMyRubRailInIllinois via Instagram
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“That silly boat in the harbor”
I guess the customer service training at West Marine doesn’t include a caution against referring to customers’ boats as “that silly boat in the harbor.” #shantyboat #WestMarine via Instagram
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Heavy felted fiberglass. Bad ideas on the shantyboat
Heavy felted fiberglass. Bad ideas on the #shantyboat via Instagram
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Lifting the shantyboat with a house jack to move the cribbing. What could go wrong?
Lifting the #shantyboat with a house jack to move the cribbing. What could go wrong? #SketchyIdeas #DesperationIsTheMotherOfInvention #911onSpeedDial via Instagram
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I think I got a little sun over the last few #shantyboat work days.
I think I got a little sun over the last few #shantyboat work days. via Instagram
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A Crazy Plan to Launch the Shantyboat in the Ocean
We launched in the Santa Cruz Harbor yesterdayΒ and pulledΒ the boat out into dry dock, the shantyboat’s only second voyage in the Pacific Ocean.
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Roof work on the #shantyboat at the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor.
Roof work on the #shantyboat at the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor. via Instagram
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#shantyboat workday at the Santa Cruz Harbor.
#shantyboat workday at the Santa Cruz Harbor. via Instagram
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Losing control in a wind and damaging the boat against docks and whatnot. We are fixing things so we can have more of this fun.
One of the most fun parts about being in the #shantyboat on the river is losing control in a wind and damaging the boat against docks and whatnot. We are fixing things so we can have more of this fun. via Instagram
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Sanding the hull of the #shantyboat in preparation for new bottom paint.
Sanding the hull of the #shantyboat in preparation for new bottom paint. via Instagram
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Shantyboat on blocks in our worksite at the Santa Cruz Harbor.
#shantyboat on blocks in our worksite at the Santa Cruz Harbor. via Instagram
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The ill-advised madness of reseating the leaky shantyboat motor well.
The ill-advised madness of reseating the leaky #shantyboat motor well. via Instagram
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The shantyboat gets a visit from Phil and One-eyed Jack
The #shantyboat gets a visit from Phil and One-eyed Jack while we wait for the boat lift. #latergram via Instagram
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When your Shantyboat Motor won’t start after you get in the harbor
When your #Shantyboat Motor won’t start after you get in the harbor, you use your #BoatUS towing via Instagram
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Shantyboat visits the harbor beach in Santa Cruz on the way to dry dock.
#shantyboat visits the harbor beach in Santa Cruz on the way to dry dock. via Instagram
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Your average house doesn’t rattle down the road at 60 mph 5000 miles a year
Your average house doesn’t rattle down the road at 60 mph 5000 miles a year. So the #shantyboat doors and windows tend to need a little maintenance and repair. via Instagram
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Important #shantyboat business at the end of the workday.
Important #shantyboat business at the end of the workday. via Instagram
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Breaker box on #shantyboat now with grounding strap!
Breaker box on #shantyboat now with grounding strap! via Instagram
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