NATCHEZ —  Kelly Phillips, the man who decided to live his last days on the Mississippi River after a cancer diagnosis, has experienced boat troubles since arriving in Natchez on Tuesday.

Phillips said the chambers underneath his houseboat have taken on water since he landed in Natchez, causing the boat to sink a few inches.

“My boat is actually supposed to sit another 8 inches out of the water,” Phillips said. “There are seven chambers on each side. If I can get the water out of them and put foam in them, I will never have this problem again.”

On Saturday, Phillips said several Natchez residents noticed him having troubles, approached him and asked what they could do to help him.

“There were several people who have come down and said they would go over to the owners of the dry docks here in this area,” Phillips said. “If they do that, fixing those chambers would be easier since the boat will be out of the water.”

Phillips said he doesn’t know how long it would take to repair the chambers and this is not the first time the chambers have taken on water.

Phillips said the boat was damaged in Hickman, Kentucky, when trying to dry dock it.

“It put a hole in my boat, so people there decided to pull it out of the water and try welding it closed. However, it was a pretty hard to do, so they decided to close it with foam,” he said.

At that time, Phillips said, he was half-tempted to sell the boat and move back to New Jersey. However, the people in Hickman told him no and encouraged him to continue his journey.

“They got me going again,” Phillips said. “That’s what people here in Natchez are trying to do too. It’s amazing.”

Phillips was diagnosed with sinus cancer more than two years ago. After undergoing radiation therapy and chemotherapy, Phillips said he developed an ulcer that exploded. He woke up 21 days later and was told he may have as little as three months to live. Upon hearing that, he said he decided to spend his final days floating down the Mississippi River in a houseboat.

Phillips began his journey on the Mississippi in Madison, Wisconsin, on March 15, 2017, and has been floating down river ever since, already far outliving the doctor’s suggested time left on earth.

Phillips said he doesn’t know how long he will stay in Natchez.

“Maybe two weeks,” Phillips said. “However, I want to see everything Natchez has to offer, so if I don’t see everything here that I want to see, I will stay longer.”