Back Road Find – The USS Aries Hydrofoil

Back Road Find – The USS Aries Hydrofoil

That does not belong there!

Coming home from the lake last weekend without the family I decided to take as many back roads as possible. Gravel roads too where possible, so I could check out the leaves and such.

When I got to Gasconade, MO, which I’ve never been through before, I decided to check out the river. I was behind a man in a shitty little truck going about 5 miles per hour, and at an intersection I was determined to go whichever way he didn’t. That took me on a gravel driveway through an open gate (there weren’t any “no trespassing” signs) into an old factory/boat yard.

There is really no reason anyone would go to Gasconade. There is not a hotel, restaurant or any stores. Not even a gas station. Maybe if you were specifically taking a less traveled route to Hermann from Jefferson City.

I went through the abandoned property to get over by the river and stood on an old barge dock, looking at the Gasconade River convergence with the Missouri River. It was gloomy and cold, but pretty awesome and really quiet. When I looked upstream towards the bridge I was astonished to see a Navy ship tied along the shore to an old barge.

What the hell is that doing here? Keep in mind that not further upstream, the Gasconade River is mostly a small river for canoeing and kayaking.  Naturally I had to go check it out! I climbed up on the barge, but the walkway to the ship was sketchy. I began to consider that I maybe am not supposed to be climbing on here, but more importantly, I was very alone if this shit broke and I ended up in that cold ass river. I went back to the relative safety of the abandoned buildings and took pictures.

When I got home I searched the net to find out who’s property I was on (would they be likely to shoot at me when I go back, because clearly, I’m going back) and why in the hell this boat was here.
It was one of six Pegasus Class Hydrofoils built for the Navy, by Boeing. The wings/fins/foils fold down, flying the hull out of the water and getting her up to 55 mph.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pegasus-class_hydrofoil

This ship (USS Aries), it turns out, is the only one of the six that still exists. The other five were scrapped for their 240 tons of aluminum. I was able to find and get in touch with the owner, and took the kids there on our way back to the lake. We were able to climb aboard and throughout the ship. There is information on the net about how the boat came to be on the Gasconade, but it turns out it is only about half correct, so if you want to know, it’s best to hear it from the owner.

https://www.facebook.com/ussariesphm5/

After checking out the boat, we went to see the old abandoned buildings and take some pictures.

Definitely need to go back and check this place out more.

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