McCoy : You're shippin' out with a strange crew, captain. Rooster Cogburn : I'll match their mettle against most. McCoy : I'm glad it's your ship, not mine. Women can no more keep their mouths shut than a yellow-tailed catfish. Rooster Cogburn : [pats McCoy's stomach]  Got to agree with you there.

Rooster Cogburn : You ain't very hospitable. McCoy : I ain't got an ounce of goodwill in me, and that's a fact. I hate everybody. I'm a cantankerous old man, and I know it. I like myself better'n anyone I ever met, that's how come I took this job - to be alone with me!

McCoy : Do you know anything about rafts? There's rough water down river. Rooster Cogburn : I can ride. Can't be much different. McCoy : You ain't no sailor. I can see that. Water is like a woman: sly and fickle. You gotta watch it every minute. Rooster Cogburn : You a sailor? McCoy : I was once. Shanghai McCoy's my name. Been around the Horn, sailed the seven seas, seen everything, done everything, that's how I know people are rotten. I've seen 'em all. Eula : You're wrong, old man. We're made in God's image, and goodness is in us. Even in you. McCoy : Amazing! I never took you for a Bible-thumper. Rooster Cogburn : Hold it. She is what she is 'cause she wants to be. That's the way you take her. Like me. McCoy : You're wastin' your time preachin'. You too, Sister. I'm a ship that can't be salvaged.