HLB logo

SEASONS GREETINGS
Welcome to the HeartLand Boating Newsletter
In This Issue
MERRY CHRISTMAS
QUILTS HONOR RIVER
GIFT GUIDE 4
FEATURED BOAT
Quick Links
Join Our List
Join Our Mailing List
Visit Our Advertisers



houseboat expo new

Dec. 20, 2010
Vol 12 No 2-10
 

Merry Christmas to All

 

Well, by now most of our attention is devoted to Christmas and year-end festivities. Although it can be frustrating for employees in places still attempting to work, nevertheless it's a fun time of year. I hope you're enjoying it to the full.
Miss Qun 
A sight that brings us joy, the Mississippi Queen plies heartland waterways

Please accept our best wishes for a very Merry Christmas from all of us at HeartLand Boating. We hope that your New Year is going to be a very happy one with prosperity for everyone!
 
Fun Event in the Heartland

Paducah's National Quilt Museum honors influence of Ohio River

The National Quilt Museum, located at 215 Jefferson St in Paducah,
is honoring the city's riverfront with its new exhibit, "River Quilts featuring The Everchanging River." Sponsored by AT&T, The Real Yellow Pages,
it runs through March 7, 2011.cherry trees
  
More than 30 quilters were asked the question, what is a river? They were then given a piece of river fabric along with the entrance and exit points. All their quilts are hung side-by-side to create a 49-foot river.

 "As a river town, Paducah, Kentucky, is planning many changes to its riverfront and we wanted to honor those changes with this exhibit," said Judy Schwender, Curator and Registrar for The National Quilt Museum.

 

Twenty-two additional river-themed quilts by noted quilt artists round

out the exhibit.

(Photo of Cherry Trees by Betty Busby courtesy of The National Quilt Museum)

 

And don't forget--the major part of boat show season is

coming soon

 

We'll hardly have time to put away the tinsel and noisemakers before

the months that contain most of the heartland boat shows will be

upon us. The Nashville Boat & Sportshow opens less than a week

after New Year's Day, on Jan. 6. It runs to Jan. 9 at the Nashville Convention Center. Find a complete listing here.

 

In the meantime, here's a shot from a 1995 Antique & Classic Boat Society festival:

ACBS

 

The caption on the back reads, "A line of antique and classic Chris-

Crafts, Gar-Woods, and Centurys wait for the Festival to open." If you know who took the picture or where the festival took place, we would

love to hear who and where it was.

 


2011 GIFT GUIDE, Part 4

"Women on the Water" e-book

No one can say that HeartLand contributors don't stay up to date.

Check out newcomer Patricia Strutz' e-book "Women on the Water."

Want to encourage a lady in your life to go fishing? That's its purpose.

 

Here's proof: Strutz, at left, and her client, Maggie, hoist a muskellunge

for the camera.

 

 fish pic

    Photo courtesy Patricia Strutz


The online book details user-friendly freshwater big game tackle, useful techniques, and much more. Only $10. Click here to purchase and download.


Limited Time Offer!

These great Gift-Giving ideas are a Win-Win,

for both you AND your friends . . .

 
  Gift-Giving Idea # 1

yellow gift 

Buy one gift subscription, and we will extend or renew yours for FREE!

**2 for the price of 1**
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Gift-Giving Idea # 2 
green giftBuy two gift subscriptions, and we will extend or
renew yours AND give you our 2011 HeartLand Boating Calendar,
 Discover the Places You'll Go! both for FREE!
   
 Mags & 2011 Calendar

 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

ORDER ONLINE            FAX A FORM TO (314) 241-4207
 
QUESTIONS? GIVE US A CALL AT (314) 241-4310 

 

"The River Inside"

 

Readers of publisher Nelson Spencer's Leadline column will have

heard about photographer John Guider, who specializes in rarely

seen platinum prints. In August 2003, Guider walked out the back

door of his home in Franklin, Tenn., and placed a canoe in the creek behind his house. Three months later, he had paddled all the way to

New Orleans.

                           River Inside

                            Photo courtesy FRP

 

Along the way, Guider kept a detailed journal and took hundreds of remarkable photographs, documenting a journey that led him down

five rivers, including the Mississippi. A traveling exhibition of his

photography and this companion coffee-table book chronicle his

life-changing experience and bring this adventure to you.

To order, click here.

 

 

 duthie logo"What to Expect Cruising America's Great Loop"

 

Is 2011 the year you're going to do the Great Loop? If so, contributor

Bob Duthie has put together the ideal gift, a CD-ROM titled "What to

Expect Cruising America's Great Loop." It provides more than 2,400

photos with six hours of narration that covers Bob & Mavis Duthie's adventures doing the Loop.                                                             

Duthie Grt Loop                                                               Duthie Grt Loop 

                                                                     Photo courtesy Bob Duthie

  

Recently a U.S. Army pilot in Afghanistan wrote Duthie to say, "Just so you know, your CD's are causing me to lose sleep. The only flaw I have

found is that there is no good stopping point, so I just keep watching.

Oh well, I don't have to work tomorrow anyway!" 

 

Click here to order or to get more information about cruising products

from Duthie Learning.

 

 

Photographs by Sandy Steele 

 

Work by the outstanding photographer Sandy Steele frequently

appears in the pages of HeartLand Boating and in this newsletter. Remember this beauty from last month? It's an autumn sunset

over Lake Cumberland.

sunset
Photo by Sandy Steele

Mrs Steele writes to say that if anyone is interested in a large print of

one of her photos that has run in the newsletter, she can provide one

suitable for framing. Click here to get in touch with her if you'd like to

know more.

Featured Boat of the Week

2002 Bayliner 2252 Classic Cabin Cruiser -- Bayliner 2252

5 liter Mercruiser, dual batteries, full width

swim platform, full cabin with enclosed porcelain head. Many extras. Located Montgomery AL area. $15,000.gypsy5262@aol.com or 334-201-1890.

 

Have We Finally Turned the Corner?  
 
Well, maybe

After a long period of depressing economic news, last week a spate of good news suddenly turned up. Does it all mean we've turned the corner of the recession and are looking at better times just ahead?
Judge for yourself.

First came the announcement that Nordic Tugs' three-month break in manufacturing really was only for three months. The best part? The note that "Employees are currently being recalled as production processes dictate." For more information about this 30-year veteran company of the pleasure-tug industry, click here.

 

Norm Schultz, 33 years president of the Lake Erie Marine Trades Association, writes the blog Dealer Outlook. He's sold a lot of boats over the years and is no wide-eyed optimist. Nevertheless, he quoted developments from the National Marine Bankers Association, including this quote: "Qualifying for a new boat loan, or refinance on a current craft, is still demanding but interest rates are reasonable (reportedly 6 percent-9 percent) and marine lenders are actively competing for new customers again."

 

Tom Mack of South Shore Marine (Huron, Ohio) confirmed to Schultz that some smaller community banks have recruited marine-loan specialists, in order to build a marine portfolio for these financial institutions. Because difficulty in obtaining loans was a huge factor in slow sales, it's another encouraging sign. In a later post, Schultz postulates "austerity fatigue" in potential boat buyers. Let's hope so.

 

But the splashiest news arrived from Dan Robinson of Lucas

Speedway in Wheatland, Mo. Astonishingly, the owners of the

speedway are constructing a "marine stadium," 2,800 feet long

and 400 feet wide, for staging boat drag competitions. Their

Facebook page has a cool series of 62 pictures showing how the

project is progressing.


"We're building this new facility from the ground up to be the perfect place to run drag boat with great views for the fans and to be as safe as possible for the competitors," said Mike Chastain, Lucas operations director. Now that's what I call an optimistic view of the future.

 

The good news all sounds to me like the best Christmas gift ever, for everyone who loves boating in the heartland.

 

May you and yours enjoy the Happiest of Holidays. We'll see you

next year.


Lee Braf

Editor
HeartLand Boating

Editorial Offices