Boating on the Chagres
chronicled by
Jessee Crawford
Must have been the water in the Chagres River. Jumped off the Gamboa Bridge during the
day and hunted alligators at night right above the bridge. There use to be a dock right
up the road from the bridge we converted a 50' liberty boat into a cabin cruiser tied to
that dock. I remember painting all the wood with a green "whitewash" to keep termites
from feasting on it. It was as thin as water and the wood would soak it up in a heart
beat. Of course, before we "painted" the whole boat green we had to scrape all the old
grey paint off of it.
Oh, the good old days, and wouldn't you know it, I got to go on one "moon light" cruise
before we moved to Canada. The "Southern Cross" could sleep 12 people, had a head
"bathroom", a galley "kitchen", a ham radio and was powered by a diesel engine. The
engine was put in "ship top shape" vs. "tip top shape" by some father/s who worked
for the Dredging Division and if my memory serves me right he/they were master mechanics.
Anyway, it ran great. We also had a 24' speed boat but that is another story.