Can you believe it! Last updated
07/02/2016
Copyright Mike Wolfe 2016
"River Queen Refit"
Can you believe it! Last updated
07/02/2016
Okay, here's the scoop. I just got re-connected to this web site. I know it's been a long time... A year or so. I have had computer crash's and virus attacks and I have moves in and out of several new (old) computers. (one day I will have a new-new computer) I had to migrate from the old editing software to the newer "Expressions 4" Now the learning curve of a new program. Plus my ISP had moved me to different server. So enough excuses right? Well now that I'm re-connected and able to upload changes I'm going to start revamping the whole site. Please stay tuned and as always feel free to write to me. I love all the encouraging e-mails from readers across the country. TTFN Be safe. mnw : ) mike@mikewolfe.us
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This is our 1969 Fifty Foot River Queen.... We were over dirt in haul out for 6 months before it ever hit the water...
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Hello fellow boaters, readers and friends.
It is with great sorrow that I must inform you all that due to un-foreseen circumstances, We must sell our beloved 1969 River Queen 50' We are looking for an immediate sale so we have set a price to inspire. As to fate of the web site? I'm going to keep it posted. I'm working on it again. Maybe make it into a book one day?. I'll need to write some new closing chapters? These last few years have a few good stories to be told.
Regarding the RQR (River Queen Registry) I was going to pass it on, but am having a change of heart. I still have a shit load back mail with pictures and would like to weave them back together and post them. Just not right now.
This project of so many years has brought with it more more great times and great memories than I could have ever thought. There were laughs and tears, pain and elation and lots of learning. Quite the mixed bag of emotions really.
Of all, I found that what moved me most were the letters I received along the way. You told your stories and rallied around mine. You all were my inspiration. The force that kept me going for so many years.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Mike Wolfe, November 2016
1969 River Queen 50' for sale.
When I tell people about
this boat I start by telling them this is the only fifty foot River Queen on the
West coast. Yes I try to impress people that the boat is rare. Fact is,
River Queen boats as a whole are becoming more rare as time moves on. We
have used this boat for many things. For our club we have hauled great
amounts of cement bags, cinder blocks, steel and wood. We once feed over 21
hungry people (in side) during a winter down pour. Don't even ask about the
pizza doe event! I think she is a very good boat. One heck of a platform.
People that come to see her for the first time note that the boat is so solid in
the water. When you step aboard, the dock moves but the boat does not.
We never came up with a name for our boat. We had several we liked but nothing really fit? When we started taking trips we needed a Call Sign to operate the VHF radio. I came up with "RQR" for River Queen Refit just for the meantime. RQR stuck as the name implies. Like the Golden Gate bridge the RQR is a non stop process of paint.
Currently on The River Queen Refit...
Wow. What a dirt ball of a boat. Prevailing winds and farm fields being disked up for the winter make a great combination on my boat. She is a patch work of fixed and painted rust spots and just bare rust spots. And dirt. The inside has a nice fine power of dust on everything. I don't dust much.
More to follow... mnw : )
About our RQ...
I don't think I'll ever complete the install of number 2 engine. The short block with the new manifolds are in place and have been for some time now. I still need to plumb it with all the cooling hoses, run the gas lines to the new gas tank and get her wired up. I don't know why I don't finish the job? Number 1 runs so well. I'm so used to crabbing down the river I don't think I could drive a straight line with two engines.
I would like to do a new chapter about the club we belong too "The United States Power Squadrons" (USPS). Actually we belong to "San Joaquin Delta Power Squadron" (SJDPS). You know I can't think of a better group of people to be associated with. USPS is one of the longest lived boating clubs in America today. There are squadrons in every state. The core purpose of this organization is to provide boating safety education to the public, provide continued and elevated boating education to its members as well as fellowship at our meetings and cruise outs. I have made many new friends at SJDPS all good and caring people. All of us sharing a common goal. To have fun and come back safely. Our National web page is www.usps.org and our local web page for our local squadron is www.sjdps.org (My wife Deborah Wolfe is the web master.) Please go see the web pages and give some thought to joining up. You will be hearing more from me about United States Power Squadrons.
About the "River Queen Registry" (RQR)
Again, Sorry for the neglect. I have been receiving and saving all the e-mails and pictures sent to me for the RQR. I must have over 50 new entry's to log along with many web up-dates from fellow RQ owners. I do think the whole River Queen Registry thing is a good idea. I like to see the contrast in design from year to year. That and all the amazing refits. Seems we are all in the same boat. Please keep the registry's coming in. Up-dates as well, and stories you would like to share. Your e-mails and pictures mean a lot to me. They keep me motivated. I promise to find time to start up-dating the RQR.
In other unrelated topics, I finished my first novel. A fiction. It was going to be a three-parter, but I decided to merge book 1 and 2 together for one bigger book. I have read the story over and over during editing and I still like it every time I read it. Of course it’s a story about man and his boat. A small ship really and plans to escape civilization. He is driven by his secret premonitions that the world is falling apart. The first part is mostly all about the trials and tribulations of his haul out and refit and the interesting people that help him along his troubled way. Part two is about half done. You should see what happens!
Anyone know a good publisher?
As always, many thanks to my readers for their continued support and e-mails.
Their interest and words of encouragement mean all the difference in the world
to me. Please continue to send letters and pictures and I’ll continue to respond
in kind.
Boat safe, boat smart.
Take a safe boating course!
Mike Wolfe “The River Queen Refit”
Have you registered your River Queen with us?
Come see the...
"River Queen Registry"
(RQR)
I'm
sorry the RQR Registry registration form is currently off line!
Will try to get it running soon
We all want to see all surviving River Queen's!
View the The River Queen Registry. It's open!
Hello... We invite you to bookmark now and follow our trials and tribulations as we try to whip this Poor old River Queen into shape and have a little fun while we do it. (And if we're not careful, we'll all learn a thing or two in the process). The following chapters are a running account of the whole project as of late. Return often and read of our progress.
"This is a living document" (It keeps growing)
The picture was taken directly across from the RiverQueen "factory" looking north back toward the facility.
Thanks Rich. If you have more information on the history, I (we) would love to hear it. Type it out and send it in and I'll post it. mnw : )
Here's a good old picture... Who can tell me about this one? These boats look like there hauling ass! Rough water too.
Chapters
0ne to thirty-five.
Our Haul out November 2005 (coming out)
"The
River Queen Registry"
Come see our collection of
surviving River Queen's
Chapter One. Before/Requirements.
A 10 year search for just the right boat to fit our needs.
Chapter Two Found it/Getting ready.
Found a Diamond in the Rough. Boy do we have our work cut out for us.
Chapter Three Fire it up! and On our way
My account of our preparation and getting under way for haul out.
Chapter Four Haul out/Life in the yard.
Oh god! 6 months of busting' butt and spending "boat" dollars.
Chapter Five At the dock at last!
Hull & outdrives complete with a long way still to go!
Chapter Six First run on the river.
Every skipper should read this so as not to make the same mistakes as I
Chapter Seven First Trip. By David Cairns.
A delightful "Blood & Swash" story of our first overnighter.
Chapter Eight Skin Job.
Blemish free skin care tips and tricks for a River Queen Refitter
Chapter Nine Engines.
The known history of our two Chrysler 383's. They have a life of their own.
Chapter Ten Kohler power plant.
My winter project of a total, down to the ground floor rebuild.
Chapter Eleven Extraction action!
A short pictorial of the removal of #1 engine.
Chapter Twelve Engine Rebuild.
Not done yet with #1 engine, but I have a good start on this bad boy!
Chapter Thirteen What is most important ?
Time teaches us many things.
Chapter Fourteen Let's get Tanked!
Fuel tanked. Things you need to know?
Chapter Fifteen To dress a Queen
Interior Remodeling Projects . . .past and present.
Chapter Sixteen Number One Shop notes
How do you go about fixing one of these things?
Chapter Seventeen Cooling System Overview.
Get comfortable. It's a long one.
Chapter Eighteen Tender Behind?
Read about my small dinghy!?
Chapter Nineteen Too Cool New Tool.
I want it. I got it.
Chapter Twenty Rust never sleeps?
It will when I'm done with it! (Wing & roof repair)
Chapter Twenty One The power of Steering.
Ram tare down. Has to be done...
Chapter Twenty Two Engine room electrical sub systems.
Redo everything in sight... Hold on, it's a long ride...
Chapter Twenty Three Fresh water systems rebuild.
Without plenty of Fresh water your sunk!
Chapter Twenty Four Helm controls
A shifty subject...
Chapter Twenty Five Mean screen scene
Keep out the blood suckers!
Chapter Twenty Six Head's Up! Pictures! 1-9-10
From holding tank hell to Holding tank heaven.
Chapter Twenty Seven A Nice thing that happened...
Just sometimes a thing will happen that makes it all worth while.
Chapter Twenty Eight Mariner's Wave 12-24-05 Looking for good example pictures! Send them!
A story? An observation? A way of life.
Chapter Twenty Nine The Meadows. Pictures! 12-4-05
A popular destination or dumping ground.
Chapter Thirty A BANG! of a story. Pictures! 12-3-05
An angel on my shoulder.
Chapter Thirty One The pain of Stain. Pictures! 12-4-05
Re finishing all the wood in the helm area. Boney fingers!
Chapter Thirty Two Prop Me Up! Pictures! 12-22-05
Propellers! Without them you'd just be a stinking barge.
Chapter Thirty Three Electronic Ignitions.
Change my points of view!
Chapter Thirty Four New Throne for a Queen.1-9-10
How happy can a new toilet really make you? I'm so happy I could just sh_t!
Chapter Thirty Five River Queen Emblem story.1-10-10
A fanciful story as told by the famous Michael Haverty.
Our Links
Click Here!
It's continually updated! Send me your link for review and posting.
At rest at the SJDPS island. Note the new green sun shades.
I'd like to say a very special thank you to all my regular readers out there. Without all your wonderful e-mails filled with words of encouragement, stories of your own, and all of your beautiful boat pictures I wouldn't have the interest to go on maintaining this web page. Your e-mails keep me moving forward on this project. I thank you very much!
Looking forward to hearing from each and every one of you. mnw : )
Are you following our progress?
Have you bookmarked our page?
We would love to hear from anyone passing by!
Please e-mail us and say "Hi" Tell us your own boat story.
I am
always in"Collect pictures"mode!
I'm sure that if you had a River Queen you will have already "Registered" it and sent me pictures. But! If you happen to have any pictures of any River Queen boats on hand please send them along too. I have received hundreds already. "Keep them coming!" send them today!
Actually, I'd love to receive any pictures of any boat that you would care to send. It does not need to be a RQ. Send me a picture of your boat! Or, your favorite boat for that matter. Hell, I love to look at anything that floats! (Is that a sickness?)
Thanks in advance! mnw : )
Reflection
In retrospect
I found early on in this endeavor that it is easy to become overwhelmed with the multitude of details. My first bout of the 'Oh my gods" came about half-way through haul out. Oh, I tackled my job with a fury. Really busted my ass and started calling on my friends to please come help. Of course there was a big push to get back into the water. I found that the trick is to make a list. Then prioritize it. Don't let yourself deviate to other distracting sub-chores. Do not throw that list away until they are all done. Keep it with you all the time. Read it all the time. Dwell on it. And when it gets so messed up and torn you have a hard time seeing it, make a new list and move all the things that aren't done on the old list over. And when you get tired of moving that same item over from one to the other new list you get it done. After a while, things start getting complete!
Be careful. It will become shit hard work! Your hands will ache, you will ruin your clothes and people will start looking at you strangely and step back away from you in line at the store. Oh, and smell too! I fell into the "I hate this" phase. Don't let this part suck you in. It gets better when you go back in the water. For some people it does not. Here's where I share the philosophy that works for me. I'm a hobbyist at heart. I like to take a thing, any thing, a motor, a machine, anything that tickles my fancy or something I want to learn more about, then I like to tear it down to it's smallest component. All apart! Paint this and polish that and put it all back together and make it work. I get tremendous gratification from this. Once you do this to a thing, like my genset last winter you see exactly how it works. This will give you the ability of x-ray vision! Well, for this unit only that is. What I'm saying in a long way is this. Take each subsystem on your boat, one at a time...take it apart, learn it, test it, know it. Then put it back together. Correctly. Re-install it in the boat with quality parts and fasteners. There ya go! Start the process over again with a different system. Never ever, ever, ever take everything all apart at once. It will flood your mind with too many details! mnw:)
If you have read every chapter... Thanks for hangin' in there! Send me a E-mail and simply say "AHOY! Every word!" Thanks! And safe boating to you! Mike Wolfe...