Took out our newly restored 27 year old 12' jonboat out today for the first time in a salt water creek in Inglis, FL. We have a bigger boat but the draft won't allow us to launch there. Got there 2 hours before high tide. No problem. I rowed into what I thought was a channel. Fired up the motor and away we went, motor started 1st pull, ran fine, trimmed well, bow down with the weight of a passenger........ for about 100 yds. 
.<br />Motor kicked up. No damage other than pride. You know those sandbars make good brakes. Fired the navigator. Well, seeing as we are hung on the sandbar which has deep channels on both sides (we found out later on) we fished off the bar untill the boat started to float away, not off, away (saw it out of the corner of my eye, got alot of hits in a short time but no hookups). Went up river, rowing not under power. (I'm chicken now).<br />Anchored in the middle of a picture perfect hole, 6' deep on the corner of a hard bend. Never got a hit. Tide is better now so fire up the motor and head to the ramp. Made it about 1/4 mile and hit another bar. She is really fired now. Had to pole off this 1. She offered to get out and push us off. Could have been worse. Could have been an oyster bed and trashed my hull. Rowed back to the ramp, put the boat on the trailer and fished from shore. Now I know why most of the boats in this river are airboats or flats launched at high tide.<br />Think I will stick to puddle jumpin with this boat and hopefully she will get back in it. Takin out the bigger boat tommorow, in water I know.
.<br />Motor kicked up. No damage other than pride. You know those sandbars make good brakes. Fired the navigator. Well, seeing as we are hung on the sandbar which has deep channels on both sides (we found out later on) we fished off the bar untill the boat started to float away, not off, away (saw it out of the corner of my eye, got alot of hits in a short time but no hookups). Went up river, rowing not under power. (I'm chicken now).<br />Anchored in the middle of a picture perfect hole, 6' deep on the corner of a hard bend. Never got a hit. Tide is better now so fire up the motor and head to the ramp. Made it about 1/4 mile and hit another bar. She is really fired now. Had to pole off this 1. She offered to get out and push us off. Could have been worse. Could have been an oyster bed and trashed my hull. Rowed back to the ramp, put the boat on the trailer and fished from shore. Now I know why most of the boats in this river are airboats or flats launched at high tide.<br />Think I will stick to puddle jumpin with this boat and hopefully she will get back in it. Takin out the bigger boat tommorow, in water I know. 