I think if you're native to the Great Lakes, your chance of knowing the story outside of the song goes up substantially. Great Lakes shipping is a little bit of a foreign idea once you're out of that region. Likewise, when I moved down to the SouthEast, I was surprised at all of the river...
Y'know ... I was laughing about swinging over like Tarzan, but @roscoe has a point. I've built a half dozen of these over my lifetime:
And honestly, if you've got a good anchor on shore, it should be relatively inexpensive and able to handle a decent beating for a year or five. Not a permanent...
