Has anyone single-handed through the Columbia River Locks?

[equip]

I'm planning a trip this summer from Lewiston Idaho down the Snake river to the Columbia river then to the ocean at Astoria Oregon. My C dory has aft steering and controls because it was used for crabbing. I could be in the aft area as I approached the lock cleat with forward and aft docking lines in hand. Seems simple enough but if someone has Snake River or Columbia River locking experience they would like to share I would appreciate hearing it. George

[Golerud]

Years ago we lived in Kennewick, WA. I took our 18' Thunderbird Tri hull up the Snake to Lewiston and back by myself without any problems. Make sure you have plenty of fenders on both sides of your boat. The lock walls can be pretty rough and dirty. The lockmaster will direct you to which side of the lock you will you will be on and where to tie up. Make sure you get attached to a floating bollard, not one of the fixed ones. The currents in the lock can get pretty vigorous depending on fast they fill or empty the chamber so have your boat hook out as you may have to push yourself away from the lock wall.

I'm sure you will find the lock employees quite helpful. You will feel really small when you are at the bottom of the lock and look up a 100 or more feet.

Have fun

Gary

[equip]

Gary thank you for your reply. How will I know which cleats are the floating ones? I was thinking of using three large orange balls on each side of the boat for fenders. I am going to install a roof storage basket secured to the roof hand rails and store the orange balls there when not in use. What do you think of my idea to use the orange balls for fenders? George

[Two Bears]

The lock walls are just that, a big wall with out any bumps or protrusions that would catch the edge of a barge being pushed by a tug two barges back. In the wall are slots and in the slots are the floating bollards. The slots are probably 50 feet apart.

I have not been though the locks on the Snake/ Columbia, but I've watched a lot of boats go through, and I've been through a bunch of other locks. The Snake locks were built in the 1960s and represent the end of design in lock construction - ie from the older locks like the Rideau in Canada built in the 1820s to the Eire Canal built around 1900 to the TVA built locks in the 1930s. I think that system you will go through the highest lift lock in the country. The newer locks are easier, even if taller. I find the easy way is to have a 10 foot dock line fastened to the cleat just forward the rear of the cabin. You pass the line over the floating bollard, and hold the free end which holds the boat against the wall. Have good gloves, leave the motor at idle, and be ready to release the line if the bollard hangs up. We put a big bumper on the cleat under the helm, and one a few feet forward of the rear of the boat. The C-dory's rear cleat is too far back and the bumper skids out behind the boat. I put a chrome door handle about a foot forward of my gas filler on the inside of my gunnel and clip my rear bumper on that. Two big bumpers work nicely to hold you away from the rough wall. If you get a lot of wind or current the bow tends to pull out. If that happens, my wife holds the line and I work a boat hook to push off the stern and keep us balanced. I've seen people go forward with a line, but the C-dory is too short to reach two bollards and having someone hold it amidships is too risky in my opinion.

The Corps has set passage times for recreational boats through the locks at 9 am, noon, 3 pm and 6 (I think.) I'll be in Lewiston, ID next week and will check in the Corps office and see if they have any other controls. When I was in the sailboat group 10 years ago members were going through the locks frequently. The local name is the "Snake Lake" because it is a long winding lake with wind up or down the lake which makes for a lot of tacking practice

Chuck

[Barry Rietz]

George, I use the "orange ball" type fenders exclusively when locking upstream or down. They seem to position themselves better between boat and lock chamber than do the cylindrical type. But as "Gary" has said, be ready with boat-hook(s) to push off the lock wall. The "cleat that floats" is usually attached to a "square block" that rides in a vertical groove in lock wall. Once in the lock it will be quite obvious which one to use!

[Chuckpacific]

Single-handed through the Columbia River locks....no problem. Use large fenders and have a knife on hand in case the bollard sticks (rare) and you have to cut the line.

[Sunbeam]

[equip]

Very good information. I suspected that the mid ship tie was all that was needed not bow and stern lines. Do you think there is a benefit to having three well space balls instead of two? The bow ball could be bigger. George

[hardee]

A larger forward fender couldn't hurt.

A couple of things to be aware of on the Snake and Columbia. You will be sharing the waterway with some pretty big traffic and there are places where linear visibility is limited. The tugs are often pushing three or four tows out front so maneuverability is limited, (constrained is the official word). Not all of them have AIS so even with radar you may not see them until they come around the corner. They are pretty good at keeping track of each other on VHF and they will usually talk to you when they are contacted. On 16 maybe but I usually got them on 13. At the locks, they enter first, and usually you will exit first, depending on the lock master. I don't think I have ever seen a tug and tow exit before a small craft. And you may have to wait out a turn and only go on the recreational schedule. That is up to the lock master.

Harvey
SleepyC