Cumberland River

colbysmith

colbysmith

Active member
Didn't see any recent threads to hijack, so thought I'd start a new one. original plans were to put in on Kentucky Lake, looking for places to possibly revive the Meet in the Middle gathering. For now, not going to follow thru with that idea. But I did find out, while several suggested I look at Moors Marina, that marina does not allow folks to stay on their boats. Green Turtle Bay was much more receptive to the idea and they do allow transients to remain on their boats.

We launched at Kentucky Lake Dam State Park Marina. There are no docks to use while launching your boat, however there are some docks very near by. Relatively steep ramp, so no problem launching. Water this time of year was about 5' below summer normal. I notified the ranger office that I was parking my rig for several weeks, and he asked that I park in the upper level lot and took down some information. They do patrol and like contact information. Headed south on Kentucky Lake to check out Moors Marina. Then back down stream and through the Barkley Canal to Lake Barkley. Stopped at Green Turtle Bay marina, before continuing south.

Passed the Castle on the Cumberland. Pretty impressive structure. This is what they call the Tennessee State Penitentary.

The first night we anchored in Mammoth Furnace Bay. Very secluded and quiet this time of year. I followed the deeper channels shown on my chartplotter to enter the bay. There are no marked channels with buoys to follow in, and with the lower water levels, you have to pay attention to the charts. I never saw less than about 8' of water until I was in a cove next to shore. I anchored just about where the anchor symbol shows on Active Captain. It did take several tries to get a good hold. Some birds just stood by and watched. I suspect the bottom is very soft mud on top of rock. With a water temp of 62 degrees, and night air temp of 43, there was steam fog in the morning. It burned off quickly. One washed up red nun buoy on the shore. Leaving the next morning, I again followed deeper areas shown on my chartplotter, but pretty much went straight across Lake Barkley to the other side where the main channel was.

Very few other boats on the water. This was during the week. Mostly fisherman. The next night we anchored in Dover Island chute. Before getting there, we considered stopping in Dover, but the ramp dock was in poor condition and had some locals fishing off of it. One had a large inflatable pad that he was laying on. The area next to the ramp/dock was pretty rocky, so I decided against beaching there. Continued into the chute. Had one tow go by on the main channel as we anchored. Anchored at the upstream end near the main shore in about 10 feet of water. Good hold in mud. I also set out a stern anchor, as the wind was more controlling than the current, and we had a wind against the current. Another quiet and secluded night. More steam fog the next morning due to the night's cold air temp.

Next morning we pulled out of the Chute behind a tow. Followed him for a while at 5 kts, then passed and picked our speed up as we had a time we wanted to be at Clarksville by. Pulled thru the chute at Cumberland Island, by the Tennessee Valley Authority Cumberland Steam Plant. Lots of working barges in the area that haul the coal for the plant. After leaving the chute, we watched the Cumberland City Ferry operate. It is one of those that has an articulating T configuration. (Tug is attached at the side of the ferry barge, and swings depending on direction of travel.) I called the Ferry captain on CH 13 and asked if he minded me coming within 50 yards to get some photos. He said not at all and asked if I was taking video or still. Ended up he wanted a video, so I captured video and then texted it to him as he provided me with his cell number. In turn, he texted me back the view from the bridge. Stopped at an old lock wall (lock no longer exists) for lunch. (Next to the Yellow Creek) Today we saw several fishing boats and a few recreational boats. It's Saturday. Stopped at the McGreggor Park courtesy docks in Clarksville to empty the porta potti and dump some garbage. Not impressed with the space here. The ramp/docks porta potty was a full mess. I didn't see any other toilet facilities nearby. Docks are ok for a quick lunch stop or something, but not sure I'd want to tie up here over night. I believe there was also a sign on them saying for loading and unloading only. However it also listed a number to call if you were looking to stay overnight. Continue another mile upstream to the Clarksville Marina, which is fairly new, and fairly nice. They discount gas 10cents a gallon with Boat US, and dockage 25%. For our 25, our covered slip with 30 amp service for the night was $30, only $22.50 with the Boat US discount. For those needing a pumpout, there are pumpout connections at each slip, along with potable water. Several restaurants nearby, one just at the top of the hill right at the marina.

For this cruise, I'm using the Cumberland River Guidebook by Jerry M Hay, which is the guide book I'd recommend for anyone else cruising this River. Lots of good and detailed information, easy to follow.

Tomorrow we'll continue heading upstream. Plans are to get to Nashville by Monday evening, maybe spend two nights, before turning around to head back to Kentucky Lake Dam State Park and pull out. I've been running both at displacement speeds and on plane. I did hit a lot or large branch today while up on plane. No damage, but it did leave some splinters in my outboards trim anode. Haven't seen much debris in the water, and this one was apparently just below the surface. Was hoping to see a little more color in the leaves, but maybe we are about a week or two too early. There is some color, but not a lot.
 
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Colby,

2 nights in Nashville is about right. Hope you have a reservation for the Nashville city dock. Our flotilla’s leader found like Big Gubment bureaus throughout the known universe, they are closed Sunday and Monday, and not very responsive on Tuesdays through Saturdays, and don’t answer the phone ever. But if you leave a message, they will get back to you as soon as hell freezes over. Unless they’re on break, or don’t feel like it, or it’s too cold.

https://www.nashville.gov/Parks-and-Rec ... ckage.aspx

Side tieup has some wakes from big tows during the day, but very little after dark. Bungeys, losts of fenders help. A pedestrian bridge into downtown is right over the dock. This was yet another dock where 30A power was inop on 2 pedestals and our 50A adapter came in handy. Highly recommended. (Of course, Thataway had one too, along with a 480v/200A adapter we didn’t need). This dock is on the Nissan Stadium side, the Nashville side docks must still be wrecked.

Now I see I haven’t posted a single pic from that particular adventure in my album. Another winter project, unless we are in Key West again. The paper plate taped to the port window had the confirmation number on it.

Stay safe and healthy!

John
 
HI Jack

I used to love to say that to my friend Jack, when we were out in public, until DB Cooper days anyway. (Thanks Colby for that little stroll down memory lane.)

Now back to your thread and boating. I believe you are in the neighborhood of where I have been looking at to do a Cumberland River, Nashville, and the three rivers trip next fall, so information about Fall Colors is helpful. That is one of my main reasons for being there. Can't believe you launched a 25 without a side dock though. That is not in any of my plans.

I'm curious when the best time for good (great) Fall Colors would be for that trip?

Now back to my Hyjack :roll: I have been reading about trailer wheel hubs and with the miles you put on, I am curious what hubs you had on the 22 and now on the 25. AND, if you would rather put that into a new thread, I will accept the HyJack diversion. :wink:

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

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Thanks John. I met some folks last evening that will be on that BNA dock Tuesday. Nice couple on the yacht Small World, that travel up and down the Tennessee andCumberland. They also said to call for reservations or I could email. Was going to call tomorrow but guess I’ll email tonight. Either way this time of year and being week days I don’t expect it to be a problem. Neither did Small World. Took a side trip down Harpeth River. Beautiful! Saw a little more color along the bluffs! Coming thru Chatham lock was no problem. Small World had called the lock tender earlier on the phone and we managed to pass one tow and get in before him. I had planned to anchor in Harpeth Chute but then Small World suggested the Harpeth River. Then mentioned the Riverside Restaurant just a bit farther. I read they have good Catfish and while I’m never tired of Rosanne’s cooking, I figured we’d eat or take out and stay on their dock tonight. I don’t expect it to be real calm beings as how we are right on the Cumberland, but we’ll see how it goes.

Harvey the colors seemed to be a little better today. I still think another week or two before they are prime, but it’s warming up again for a few days. I think each year really depends on when the cold comes in.
As for hubs, Oil Bath has worked well for me on both boats trailers. Kodiak makes a nice aftermarket. It’s important that you make sure to get the correct seals. The ones that come with the kit may not be the right ones for some axles. The oil bath runs about 40 degrees F cooler and you can see the oil condition thru the plastic caps.
 
Colby, Thanks for the info on the Colors. AS you probably know, the Fall color is dependent primarily on two things, Decrease in daylight time, and temperature decreases. Seasonal hydration will have some affect as well, but also has to do with how long the leaves will hang, given non windy conditions. Thanks too for the hub info, and now to get back to your regular thread info. Since we westerners don't have bugs here, would you consider it necessary to have bug screen there, and does it need to be no-seeum screen or just typical mosquito screen? It doesn't sound like you are getting down into the Bug Killing 30's yet.

Thanks again, and travel safe.

Harvey
SleepyC:moon

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Last nite was the first nite of this trip I noticed any bugs after dusk. However last night was the first warm night since we launched this time. Was around 60 where past nights have been in the 40’s with it cooling into the 50’s as the sun went down. But yeah they can be bad and it includes the tiny noseums. Also along the waterways Mayflies can be terrible at nite. You can wake up to a boat covered with them! Mixed in dew they can be a real mess to clean off. I had just a very few the first nite but none since.
 
John, I’m already having concern about that dock. Didn’t make advance reservations as I didn’t know if we’d even go that far. Today is Monday and we’ll get there shortly after lunch. I emailed and called last nite but no response and I doubt I’ll get one today. Guess I’ll get there and if wide open, settle in. Even tried calling the number given for park police with no response. If you don’t see another write up here from me tomorrow, come bail me out of the pokey. :oops:

Btw, had one American Tug come in yesterday evening to join us on the dock here at Riverside. Earlier we had some clowns on two unregistered Caymas racing up and down the channel here. I was temped to pull a line across the water in their path, but then they stopped and loaded out. (Launch ramp right across the River here.). Other than one more smaller wake late at night, it was nice and calm here. Colby
 
Colby,
Did you think I wasn't serious about them being closed Sundays and Mondays and never answering the phone?

You know I am always at least as serious as the Grim Reaper!

Check that website again and note how they imply 'same day' reservations may not happen on a Tuesday.

That website warning about the 'obstruction' between the 2 pedestals is reportedly twisted rebar. I floated over it, but if the river is down 5 feet I'd avoid it.

It is a great stop...I guess I'd chance it and email them with credit card info today for a paper trail of good intentions.

For the rest of you Brats planning a stop in Nashville, make your reservations up to 2 months in advance!

This is the only marina we've ever found where there is NO provision to pay at the marina. Even in Canada. Even in Quebec!

The good news...you could search Nashville for weeks trying to find bad music or bad barbeque!

Best!

Reaper John
 
The other issue which I had advised Colby in an PM was that there needs to be a code to get out of the dock impound, as well as one to get in the dock impound. No reason to go to Nashville, unless you want the music and food. There are a fair number of homeless--but this is based on the group trip 2 years ago. Being cooler and with Covid there could be more, or less. No problems with the homeless anywhere we went.

What was amazing to us was the talent which was playing in the dives at 10 AM. These are mostly younger folks who just want someone to hear them and get that "Break".

We are fortunate and have several relatives who live in Nashville, so we always have folks who are "in the know"...Great town!
 
Super :!: :!: Great music with pancakes and omelet. Can't wait. As to the reservations, would 2 years in advance be too early :lol:

So if you are on that dock, does that mean you cannot get off the dock, or get back to your boat IF you are able to get off the dock :? :disgust

Thank you for the buggy info Colby. I still want to go -- for the music 8)

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

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Oh I knew you were serious John, especially after reading the reviews on Active Captain. So we had a nice ride up here seeing only some working tows around some barge staging areas and one down bound tow. I think we’re on the right dock here in Nashville now, right below the stadium. Didn’t see any obstruction tape and parked at the far upriver end. Good electric power. See only one pontoon here, closer to the other end. However there is a
Padlock and chain on the gate, so we probably are not getting anywhere today, unless I catch the pontoon people and see if they’ll give me the code. Assuming they aren’t crawling over the fence! Rosanne said she wouldn’t do that. :mrgreen: Colby
 
Bob is right (if only I had a dollar for every time I typed that here)...

I'd forgotten, but the gate code is required to EXIT as well as enter the dock area.

In the event of a massive dock fire, you would FIRST want to remember to get that slip of paper with the gate code off your boat, hopefully before it explodes.

I've watched no-see-ums crawl through the tiny holes in 'no see um' screens. They mostly only bite around sunup/sundown. We find it more effective to just close the windows and air condition then. The Thermacell systems seem most effective at repelling them and mosquitoes, up to a point.

Happy travels!
John
 
John, In case of fire, I think I would be getting the boat off the dock and probably not be back -- unless it was my boat that started the fire. Then I might not need that gate code after I got off the dock. :oops:

"Thermacell" Guess I will need to look into that. AC, not likely, but if I run a fan fast enough maybe they will just splatter on the fan blades. :twisted:

Thanks again for all the great info.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

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We too stayed at Turtle Bay. Launch and Parked there. Sept 2019 with “Little Bit” and they went as far as Nashville. Beautiful trip, lots of history, and Over 100f every Humid day. Sleeping had to be done with minimum Clothing.
And slept at city dock in downtown. Across the River there was a loud band that made the boat vibrate Into the night but did not help on cooling.

We have never traveled with another boat but found company enjoyable.

We have trailered from WY to Chesapeake Bay, Riedeu Waterway, CA ,
Arkansas River, Mississippi, St. Croix R., Missouri in SD, Yellowstone, Roosevelt Lake, but mostly Puget Sound then up into Canada a lot.
The later being our favorite spot. We head north after Friday Harbor Spring C-Brat gathering. Not 2020 though. Above list not all inclusive.

Only advice on Cumberland is go when cooler If not equipped with A/C. Never did locate where Abe Lincoln’s dad had a sulfur mine.

Baxter in Winter storage Just missing our first snow storm and as we get more feeble and can’t entice a grandson to come along as a deck hand it will probably go up for sale come spring.

If that happens it will end over 70 years of water ventures. Including living by Lake Michigan and building rafts to paddle out into Lake, a stupid thing to do.

Not as many years and miles as Lin and Larry Pardy did in their day. But not many do 40 years and 200,000 miles.

Well if you get a chance do the Cumberland, Kentucky Lake, and if head south And wind up in Mobile. AL.

There are more places to go with a trailerable boat that one usually has time to do.
 
I/we are very much enjoying the Cumberland. And this time of year it's pretty desolate, other than the barges. Which are not as numerous as on the Mississippi. Today it finally made it to the 70's. The first few days we've been barely in the 60's, and then upper 30's to mid 40's at night. Last night it only got as low as 63. So all in all good sleeping weather, and pretty much no bugs. When temps are warmer and the bugs are around, Harvey, it's best not to have any lights on. (I don't have any red lights inside this boat yet, so not sure if that would help or not.) If no lights, then you may be fine with noseum screen on open windows. I will leave my windows open an inch or two and have regular screen. I manage to stay mostly bug free with lights off.
The colors have not been as vibrant as I was hoping for, but they are turning. There hasn't been a lot of debris in the water either, which is nice. Still have to keep a look out for a few logs and branches. Oh before I forget. They say the water above the Chatham dam stays a little more stable as far as levels go. And while the current seemed to be less than a knot down river, today I checked as I entered Nashville by idling the boat and letting it float DIW. I saw 1.5 kts on the chartplotter. So I should get a little better mileage on the way home. :) Colby
 
One other observation about the City Dock at Nashville. Both the police and fire boats had chains from their rails to substantial parts of the dock. We never had any problem, bit I worry a little when the police have to chain up their boat? What if the fireman forgot the code?
 
Sad when LE and/or EMS has to lock up their stuff. I think there are some major changes since you guys came thru. Only the dock under the stadium is available, and there are no LE or Fire boats here. Didn't see any on the other side either. There is only one ramp leading off this dock, and there is a chain and padlock around the gate. Hopefully the parks will return my call tomorrow and get me checked in and give me the padlock code. If not, I'll move on and spend my money elsewhere. :wink: Would have really liked to been able to walk in to town this afternoon, but it is what it is. Seems like they have a great thing here, but are failing it miserably. If the website is correct, they are charging the going rates that real marinas with amenities are charging. Actually, maybe more. At Clarksville, with Boat US, my rate for a covered slip with electric and water, and even a pumpout at the slip, was only $22.50 I can see why so many negative reviews now on Active Captain. As for early reservations, I guess they don't understand life on a boat, on a river. Too many variables dealing with weather, etc. Oh well. Still other places to anchor or hang out. Colby
 
Colby,

Hope dock mgt gets back to you tomorrow am!

My Challenge is still on to take a better night time photo without flash than the one we posted!

Safe and happy travels in any event! Great Adventure!!

John and Eileen
 
Well John, you saw my only night shots of Nashville on my Facebook page. Unfortunately, the powers to be that run the dock, never got back to me. I had emailed, called and filled out their online form both on Sunday and Monday, when they are closed... In fact emailed twice and called twice. The night was relatively calm, with only a couple of small wakes over night. Not too noisy either. Would have been nice to gone into the city, but without knowing the gate padlock code that wasn't going to happen. Only other boat on the dock was that pontoon. Didn't see anyone until the one guy I saw in it yesterday reappeared. For all I know, he may be one of the homeless, and runs the boat as a taxi service. Before we left the dock this morning, he left the dock, but only floated out in the middle of the channel, and it looked like he was on his phone. He was out there for maybe half an hour, then returned to the dock. Speaking of homeless, we did notice a number of tent cities under some of the bridges along the river. Sad to see folks living in such despair. Wish our country could find a way to help the mentally ill more, or others in that situation. Certainly makes me feel very fortunate in being where I'm at and appreciate my lifestyle that much more. After sleeping on it, we decided this morning to go a little farther for lunch. Up to Stones River. I thought about pushing all the way to Old Hickory Lake, but Rosanne didn't want us to have to depend on running fast later to get back to our scheduled return at Kentucky Lake Dam State Park. And, it is kind of nice running at displacement speeds enjoying the scenery and skipping the fuel docks! We also decided that with COVID, and plenty of food on the boat, it just wouldn't be the same spending any time in the Honky Tonks. (And we've seen fewer masks in this state!) Not to mention I'm a little miffed about how Nashville handles dock reservations there at the Riverfront. With all this, I skipped even trying to contact them again today. They had my number and if were interested in our tourism dollars, they could have returned the call or email! So we passed Nashville by after turning around at Stones River, and tonight found a nice hidden gem, the Commodore Yacht Club marina. You turn thru a rather small cut off the main channel, and it goes into a small basin. With Boat US, transient docking is $1.00 a foot, and an additional $4 for single 30amp service. Access to showers, toilets, water and a free laundry. The sights for today included seeing an interesting cave that an earlier French Candian Fur Trader used to take refuge from an Indian attack, another old lock wall, some more sand barge operations, the General Jackson sternwheeler, and an interesting sight of an airplane fuselage in the bluffs along the Cumberland just before turning into Stones River.
One thing I've learned about being on the Cumberland River, the ramps along the river don't appear to be the best, and none of them seem to have toilets near by. Our porta potty is getting closer to being filled by the time we find places to dump it (which are usually when we stay in marinas.) Today thinking that perhaps the ramp at Shelby Bottoms Park would have an outhouse near by, I attempted to land at the ramp and managed to bend up the tip of one of my prop blades. My guess is that those ramps being in the river, have their bedding undercut by the river, and I suspect I hit the upturned and broken up ramp left in the water. And with the water being quite murky and dark in color, you can't see any distance beneath the surface! Definitely don't think this would be a good ramp to launch at. It really caught me off guard as my depth sounder was still showing 7 feet when I felt the un-nerving bumping and grinding in the stern. And that was with the motor trimmed up just about all the way to where the tilt kicks in! Actually, I did this twice. The first time I was right along the bank edge of the ramp, and the second time I was in the middle of the ramp. So much for trusting the ramps for temporary landing of the boat. I am surprised that even with the bent up prop tip, I ran various RPM's with no noticeable vibrations. None the less, I changed the prop with my spare this evening, and will send the damaged one off for repair when I get home.
Tomorrow I think we'll head back up the Harpeth River and maybe get the Kayaks down off the roof. Colby
 
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