Photo: Flatboat Patience
For history buffs, cruising onboard luxurious motor yachts to exotic islands has nothing tempting to offer. But swapping that for a wooden boat that mimics those that sailed down the Mississippi in the 1800s is as exciting as it gets, despite the obvious challenges and pitfalls. A bold bestselling author wanted to experience that for himself. And he succeeded.
Although an avid researcher, author Rinker Buck didn’t want to tell his story about a fascinating part of America’s history based on that alone. He wanted to see what it was like to sail and live onboard a flatboat that traveled on the Mississippi river.
The result of his daring adventure was a book that blends historical facts about that era with the tale of his own modern journey. “Life on the Mississippi: An Epic American Adventure” became a New York Times bestseller when it came out in August this year.
It wasn’t Buck’s first bestseller nor his first exploration of this kind of topic. Several years ago, he retraced another historic route. The 2,000-mile (3,218 km) journey from Missouri to Oregon was completed in a covered wagon carried by a mule. The result of that epic journey was a book titled “The Oregon Trail.”
For this new adventure, the wagon and the mule were replaced by a wooden boat. Not just any wooden boat, but one that’s steeped in American history. As their name suggests, flatboats (also known as broadhorns) were rectangular vessels with a flat bottom.
Considered one-way (downstream) vessels, these boats would carry passengers or freight on inland waters in the U.S., being dismantled once they reached the destination. The first ones started floating in America in the 18th century, and they survived until steamboats and railroads became much more attractive alternatives.
Rinker Buck had an 1800s replica flatboat built for this journey, which he named Patience. More photos of the construction process are available on the project’s Facebook page, and the last chance to find out more about this unique adventure from the author in person is on October 29 at the Louisiana Book Festival.
The result of his daring adventure was a book that blends historical facts about that era with the tale of his own modern journey. “Life on the Mississippi: An Epic American Adventure” became a New York Times bestseller when it came out in August this year.
It wasn’t Buck’s first bestseller nor his first exploration of this kind of topic. Several years ago, he retraced another historic route. The 2,000-mile (3,218 km) journey from Missouri to Oregon was completed in a covered wagon carried by a mule. The result of that epic journey was a book titled “The Oregon Trail.”
For this new adventure, the wagon and the mule were replaced by a wooden boat. Not just any wooden boat, but one that’s steeped in American history. As their name suggests, flatboats (also known as broadhorns) were rectangular vessels with a flat bottom.
Considered one-way (downstream) vessels, these boats would carry passengers or freight on inland waters in the U.S., being dismantled once they reached the destination. The first ones started floating in America in the 18th century, and they survived until steamboats and railroads became much more attractive alternatives.
Rinker Buck had an 1800s replica flatboat built for this journey, which he named Patience. More photos of the construction process are available on the project’s Facebook page, and the last chance to find out more about this unique adventure from the author in person is on October 29 at the Louisiana Book Festival.
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