Brick Mortenson spent every morning and weekend building his newly-designed Grand Canyon boat in his garage, with limited help from his young son, David. The boat was 16 feet 8 inches long, 66 inches wide at the beam, had an open front “cockpit” with a bench seat for two passengers and a metal splashguard, along with four removable, wood-topped aluminum storage boxes positioned along the sides in the center. The boatman sat in between these boxes in a bucketed seat. Built into the front, rear, and sides were watertight compartments filled with plastic bleach bottles and foam. The boat was also built with a self-bailing system, as well as an optional tonneau cover for the front “cockpit” in times when the boatman was rowing through rapids without passengers, or when the boat was lined through rapids. Mounted to the stern was a creative self-rescue device: Two hundred feet of line stored inside the boat with a float attached on the outside, surrounded by a stainless steel “steering wheel”. Should the boat flip, the person in the water could grab the float and swim to shore, pulling the line out as he went. Upon reaching the beach, the line could then be tied to a large rock, securing the boat for rescue.
Brick finished his new boat just in time for the launch at Lee’s Ferry. On June 25, 1962, the Flavell II had its maiden voyage on the Colorado River, which had a flow of 52,200 cfs. The launch did not go smoothly: In a rush to get the boat done and up to Lee’s Ferry, he did not properly seal the self-bailing drain holes and, therefore, they leaked. Without any way to properly repair the oversight, the boat was hauled back out of the water and the holes epoxied closed, thus, eliminating the self-bailing system (open-ended bleach bottles were used instead). Despite that, the Flavell II totally filled with water just once during the 1962 trip: The stern was sucked down into a large whirlpool, thus, enabling water to flow in from the rear. In rapids, the boat would dive into the waves, unlike the Dories, which danced on top of them, earning the Flavell II its nickname, “The Sub”.
Following the 1962 trip, the Flavell II was sold to Martin Litton’s son, John, who used the ingenious self-rescue device not once, but twice. The Flavell II went on to see eight more years of service (despite flipping and, on one trip, losing its nose), including an important “Save the Grand Canyon” trip, which, in part, convinced bureaucrats that damming the Grand Canyon would be sacrilegious. The Flavell II’s final river trip came in 1970 (seen at left in Lava Falls with Wally Rist at the oars), when, piloted by John Blaustein, it slammed so hard into the rocks at Unkar Rapid it nearly broke in two. The boat was repaired enough at Phantom Ranch (thanks to Martin Litton convincing a ranger to part with a piece of plywood), to make its last run down to Lake Mead, but was considered unfit for future trips. The boat was put into storage and later destroyed by fire, save for two of the four aluminum storage boxes, which Brick Mortenson’s son, David, now has in his possession.
“’The Sub’ was great fun to be in, both as a passenger and as a boatman. No other boat put you so ‘in touch’ with the river.” ~ John Blaustein (source: GCPBA's The Waiting List, August 1999 issue)
First three photos courtesy of Dave Mortenson and Historic River Boats Afloat; last photo courtesy of John Blaustein
First three photos courtesy of Dave Mortenson and Historic River Boats Afloat; last photo courtesy of John Blaustein
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