Last day (kind of!) of Maiden Voyage

Well, the last day of this, our maiden voyage, ended up being the traveling day that was not a traveling day.  We got up before first light again, anticipating a early departure so as to get to Island Cove as early as we could.  After getting ready we fired everything up and pulled out of the marina.  There had been talk all week of our last lock between us and home (Chickamauga Lock) shutting down all week. For whatever reason, it seems Chickamauga is more sensitive to water flows and more prone to closure during floods.  It had been open all week so did not anticipate any issues.  On a whim though I called the lockmaster as we pulled out of the marina.  To my shock they informed me the lock was closed and that it most likely would be closed for the next few days.  Ack!!  Not fun!  We debated what to do...whether to just go back to Hales Bar and wait there or take the boat up to downtown Chattanooga. In the end we decided we were more comfortable parking the boat for a few days at Hales Bar than we were leaving it unattended and unsecured in downtown Chattanooga.  There have been a few reports of break ins on boats in downtown this past year and while they have stepped up security, I really didn't like the idea of leaving it unattended for 2-3 days there.  So, we have parked her at Hales Bar until probably Wednesday this week when we will come bring her up the gorge and through the lock to Island Cove.  We are only about 45 miles from Island Cove so after such a long trip it was frustrating to have to end the trip there.  But, what can you do?  :)

This ended up being our view on our last day...the former power plant at the marina.  It is said to be haunted and big TV shows like "Ghost Hunters" has been filmed there:

My wife (Tarne) and our daughter (Sarah) would come pick us up after lunch so that gave us the day to organize the boat a little more and clean up the inside.  It was great seeing them after being away for 5 days!  While Tarne has been on this model boat several times in the past and is familiar with it and had seen many pictures of this specific boat that I had taken on trips to inspect it in Mississippi, she had never yet been on it.  The logistics of having our entire family travel over to see it were too much so I was the only one who went over to inspect it (Caleb went on one trip as well).  I was a little aprehensive as to whether she would like it or not- not sure what I would do if she didn't haha!  Happily, both she and Sarah love the boat and really liked it. On top of that, our dog Daisy even seemed to like it.  Daisy never seemed to be comfortable on our Monk 36 trawler but she seemed pretty happy on our new boat and seemed to approve of the purchase as well.  

My wonderful wife Tarne checking out the pilothouse:

Here is Sarah checking out the pilothouse:

And Daisy happily exploring:

I hated to do it but we have had to leave her parked until the lock opens back up:

We are back home right now.  Chickamauga lockmaster confirmed they are still closed today.  They hope to be open tomorrow and most definitely I hope they will be open Wednesday!!!
The good news is that we put over 30 hours on the main engines on this trip and the boat ran simply great.  I am so impressed with it and really, really think we are going to love this boat!  It has a great layout and tons of space...can't wait for summer!!

Day #3 of Maiden Voyage

Ahhh...such a glorious day!  We slept peacefully at Goose Pond and awoke to a foggy but gorgeous morning.  SUCH beauty:

Since we had a short (53 mile) day planned today, we did not leave at the crack of dawn.  We ate breakfast and got cleaned up.  Since Goose Pond always has the cheapest fuel on most all of the TN River system, we decided to go ahead and fill up the boat so as to not have to do it again this summer.  :)  The tanks were just above half full so not too bad.  We got under way soon after refueling.  The folks on the fuel dock had told us that this weekend was the last weekend of duck hunting season and that we would probably hear some shots that day.  Just outside the marina as we got back to the main channel from the Goose Pond channel, we were met with this great sight...a man, a boat, his retriever, and shotgun at the ready.  I liked how the picture came out:

There were some rolling fog banks early in the morning that were beautiful to watch and even more fun, they burned off each time as we got to them: 

Just more beautiful scenery on the river today:

This old car ferry reminds me so much of the farm my grandparents lived on when I was very young.  Only way to get there was to cross a ferry over the green river just like this!

A welcome sight...approaching Nickajack Lock!

I always wondered why so many people fish below dams until I noticed the fishfinder screen on our garmin:

Approaching the open Nickajack Lock:

Dad tending the cockpit while locking through.  Note the weather teak that we will refinish and the broken boat hook!

Looking up the lock wall before going up:

This is how we tie off the boat inside the lock.  The bollard is recessed inside the lock wall and floats up/down with the rising or falling of the water within the lock.  You pull up to the bollard and loop around it and tie that line off at your midships cleat:

A visitor at the lock overlooks the proceedings with the thoughts of a quick dinner as fish may get stuck on the lock gates as the water receeds:

Almost to Hales Bar Marina:

And....finally, Hales Bar Marina just at dark:

It is hard to believe we will be back to Island Cove tomorrow!!  What a great trip!  The boat has ran great.  We have put just over 30 hours on the main engines on this trip and the boat has done fabulous.  We are very, very excited!!

Day #3 of Maiden Voyage

Another GREAT day on the river today!  We had a long day of 75 miles planned...may not sound like a lot but considering we are sticking to hull speed and fighting the current flood conditions and strong currents, it equates to a potentially long day.  We awoke before dawn and left right at first light.  Just before bed last night some crazy strong winds blew in and lasted for a long time....sustained winds of 25-30 MPH.  We put extra lines out just in case but besides having the boat move around a bit more in the slip than usually, all was well.  When we left in the a.m. the winds were still blowing pretty good but we were able to get out of the marina without paying bumper boats with anyone.  Interestingly, Decatur, AL is the home of "Meow Mix."  Had our cat been with us she would have insisted in a tour, though she has a discriminating palate and may not be game for Meow Mix!  Here is their plant:

Caleb was great again today as usual.  He has been studiously doing his homework without prompting each day.  I think he realizes that if he doesn't do his homework while on these trips that my wife and his school won't let him come so he has been great about doing his homework.  It was nice having him sit with me in the pilothouse as he did his work:

No rain today and it really turned into a beautiful day of clouds zooming by and pretty blue sky.  There were lots of beautiful cliffs today along the river:

Dad had brought a stack of Wall Street Journals to read that he had not yet gone over.  He enjoyed the sunny salon for a bit today and read some newspapers until he fell asleep and had a nap.

More cliffs on upper Wheeler Lake"

Here we are approaching Guntersville Lock.  The picture does not really show it but wow- tons of current and lots of turbulance!  The river is really flowing strong right now:

The afternoon was gorgeous with blue skies and smiles as we found ourselves on Lake Guntersville!

A happy picture of Caleb and my dad relaxing in the pilothouse as we cruise Lake Guntersville:

And to our surprise, we made it to Goose Pond before dark tonight!   The currents kept us going slower than expected but having Guntersville Lock open and ready for us we arrived saved us a good bit of time!  We always liked Goose Pond a lot and enjoy staying here.  I always liked their sign at the main channel:

Caleb took some good photos of the flag off our transom today as we were pulling into Goose Pond:

Realizing I have yet to get any good exterior shots of our boat showing her away from the dock, I dropped him off on the dock at Goose Pond and pulled away a few feet to make a loop for him to shoot some photos for us.  They came out pretty good I think:

Today was a special day in another way....it is actually my birthday!  We celebrated by walking up to the restaurant that is here and having a nice meal.  I had the steak filet- yum!  Best of all was the sunset at the beach just as we were arriving.  Delicious!  

All in all, today was a great day!  I am really impressed with how this boat handles.  Very, very good and a joy to own and operate.  Stay tuned as tomorrow we plan to go to Hales Bar.

Day #2 on the river

Forecast today was for 100% chance of rain with expected amounts of 1-2"! Needless to say we debated whether to cruise today or not. We woke at 6:30 a.m. to check the weather. It was not really raining yet and looked like it may not be that bad so we decided to go for it.

Caleb really enjoying piloting the new boat so here he is first thing this morning:

We cruised the length of Wilson Lake to Wheeler Lock. Here is my dad getting ready to enter the lock. We wear leather work gloves as the walls are rough:

Approaching Wheeler Lock in the rain. It is not near as large a rise as Wilson Lock. We started @ the bottom with depth finder reading 9 feet and it was reading 58 feet at the top:

Getting in the lock:

Caleb took a picture of me as we were tied off in the lock heading up with the incoming water:

And then on Wheeler....we found FOG! WOW- tons of fog. We had miles of super thick fog. If it was not for our radar and GPS chartplotter we would have had to pull over to wait it out. But, we were able to slowly proceed using radar and GPS for navigation. It was beautiful but we had to keep a constant watch:

Here is the RR bridge coming into Decatur. Fog had begun to lift. The RR bridge rises up in the middle due to low clearance so we could pass under:

We had planned to go to MM 333 to Ditto Landing Marina but decided the fog and rain were enough for one day so we stopped at MM 305 at Riverwalk Marina in Decatur, AL. Currents were really bad today and more junk in the river from the flooding. The funny thing about this marina is they have a car for transients but it is none other than.....a LIMO! Yes...an old 6 door limo is the transient transport around town. Pretty styling. Unfortunately though it was not stocked with caviar! :)

We had a visitor later today that came to see us in the slip next door...a blue heron hunting from the docks:

View from the marina:

Us docked at the transient dock in Decatur:

And as the weather began to break, a beautiful sunset with promises of tomorrow:

So far the boat has run just great. All the house systems function great and without issue and the engines have run perfectly. No racor fuel filter changes yet, no oil burning off, etc. We've put 15 hours on them over the last 2 days and so far they are doing great. We are really, really enjoying how cruising friendly this boat is and how much space we will have for the family this year. So far we are really loving it!! The big rains today also helped us confirm no window leaks so that is good. Tomorrow is supposed to be a little cooler (mid 50's) but sunny. We plan to get an early start first thing in the a.m. so stay tuned....