He points out to visitors the authentic mechanical system of ropes and pulleys that work the rudders of the steamboat when he turns the wheel. When the weather is fine, Carl has the best seat in the boat. The wheel house is open on all four sides to sunlight, breezes, and endless views of cascading bluffs and blue-brown river stream. When temperatures hover near 100 degrees, Carl is not privy to the air conditioning that kept passengers passably cool on the deck below. I try to memorize Carl's whistle so that I can recognize it from shore.
Residents run out to give a steamboat wave or ring the bell, or honk their horns.
All in hopes of rousing the pilot to his own unique salute on the steam whistle. Beau Inman joined the Julia Belle Swain after it reached its new port. He brings with him a long river history. Beau's grand-dad, Ellis Truman, and then his dad, Charles Inman, operated the first family ferry at Winfield, Missouri from 1892 until 1966, when his dad designed the Miss June and opened the Tower Rock Ferry at Wittenberg, Missouri. I started to steer it when I was eight.