Upper Tennessee River, October 2024

[colbysmith]

Not setting this up to be an official cruise, however I am planning on cruising the Upper Tennessee River from Guntersville, AL to Knoxville, TN and a few miles farther to the head waters of the Tennessee River. Any one that would like to join for the cruise or just part of it, would be welcome to tag along. I'll share more info later, but for now, this is some of the planning info.

Dates, October 2nd-23rd, 2024.
Launch and retrieve at Harrison Bay State Park near Chattanooga, TN. Head down stream first to Guntersville, then back up stream past Harrison Bay to the head waters, and finally back to Harrison Bay. Harrison Bay has a nice ramp, and it's likely we could keep our rigs parked there for the three weeks we are on the water. However, I will need to speak with the Ranger again, and their concern was with how many rigs would be parking. So if you are considering joining us, please let me know your intentions of parking. I will only share with the rangers those I definitely know want to park there, otherwise you will be on your own to make parking arrangements. The price is free. The other option would be to launch and park at Guntersville Marina, but there would be a fee there. I prefer to do round trips on the water, as opposed to cruising one way, then land travel back to pick up the rigs and return for the boats. So launching and retrieving in the middle works just as well.

We'd travel at 5-6 mph, doing about 30 miles a day. 8am central time departures. The total round trip distance is 600 miles, so plan to be on the water 20 days. I plan to launch the afternoon of October 2nd, anchor or dock in the vicinity, and then head out at 8am on the 3rd to start the cruise. Of course this is all flexible, but living in Wisconsin, it's best I plan to have the boat ready for winter preparation by the end of October. Fall colors seem to be best in October as well. And recreational traffic has died down. If you are considering joining in on this cruise, I'd recommend Jerry Hay's Tennessee River Guidebook. Colby

[Pandy Girl]

Hi Colby, Are you still thinking about doing the Tenn. River?? We might me interested in doing part of the trip. (Jim & Sandy with Pandy Girl)

[colbysmith]

[colbysmith]

Just to throw a little more out there about the cruise. Bill on Mystery Girl is planning to join me on this trip, but we welcome any one else that would like to join us. We both travel at about 5 kts, and enjoy anchoring out. I'll have my kayak along, and hope to use it some of the afternoons after we stop for the day. We'll have to take on fuel at least once somewhere. (I have a 100 g tank, Bill has an 80 g. We both average around 4 or 5 mpg depending on current). I don't expect much current on the Tennessee. But that really depends on the Locks and Dams. My wife, Rosanne, is planning to come along with me on this trip. Our feelings aren't hurt if you want to run faster and decide to run on your own. It's all about just enjoying the river and scenery, and comradery with others. I'm hoping to keep our morning departures to around 8am central time, and we tend to stop anywhere between 2p - 4p. (Bill may leave a little earlier and run a bit slower. ) If you do the math, average 6 hour days, approx 20 days, 120 hours. I'll run up to 200 hours when away from home before I worry about an oil change. But if you are more apt to stick with 100 hours, plan accordingly. Anyway, hope this information is useful for anybody thinking about joining us. Colby

[colbysmith]

As I think I mentioned somewhere earlier, in speaking with a park ranger at Harrison State Park, they would like to know how many rigs will be left parked there for the extended time in relation to this cruise. If you are going, and plan to launch and park at Harrison, please let me know. You can send me a private email if you'd like. My plan is to call the ranger again the first week of September, so would like to have an idea by then. I always find it a good idea to let the park know when I'm parking somewhere for more than a few days. First, that allows me to find out that it is indeed allowed, and second, it lets the rangers know of rigs that will be parked there for a while. I've found they appreciate the heads up, and hopefully pay a little more attention to security around our rigs. When I spoke with the ranger earlier, she indicated they haven't had any issues with vehicles parked in their lot, but as usual, it's best not to leave valuables out in plain sight! Colby

[multimediasmith]

Hi Colby and Rosanne,

I’m planning on joining y’all from Guntersville to Knoxville. Still working out logistics of parking and crew. Liz will be along for part of the trip and possibly changing out with my brother at some point.

I’m so ready for a break from our oppressive heat and humidity… it’s actually been at dangerous index levels for weeks… we call it “Thermal Lockdown”.
I will tighten up with y’all as we get closer to launch.

My cell phone number is on my boat card. If you don’t have it, please let me know.

I’m cool with slow boating…. I really embraced it last year on the Columbine.
Looking forward to fall

Best
Dale

[colbysmith]

[Volant]

Colby,
I have been trying to make arrangements to be able to do at least part of this trip, but my crew mate fell through on me. What's your opinion on the advisability of doing it single handed? Locking thru at the dams seems like it could be a problem, as well as unloading and loading my boat.

John Buss
Volant

[ssobol]

I load and unload my boat single handed. Not a problem as long as there is a dock nearby (to secure the boat while going back to move the rig off the ramp).

[colbysmith]

[colbysmith]

[tbone85]

Sounds like an awesome trip! Doubtful I’ll have a C-Dory by the time this trip takes place but I do have a vacant covered wet slip at Alred Marina on Lake Guntersville and would love to stay tuned to this thread and come meet the group when you are on Guntersville. If you someone needed to get shelter, power, or water at my slip, I’d be fine with it. I recently sold my tri-toon and am actively looking for a C-Dory just not a 22 or 23. I’ve got an 1860 flat bottom and would love to ride by your anchorage and say hi. I can also recommend a few great anchorages along the lake from the dam up past Goose Pond.

[colbysmith]

[CPlay]

Colby, Rosanne, Bill and others,

I am planning to join you on this cruise. I will plan to launch from Harrison State Park on October 2nd. I will be doing this trip solo. I do not yet know if I will do the entire 20 day trip. This will be a fun departure from my usual cruising style. Typically, my wife and I (and the dogs) cruise mostly at 17 to 20 mph and always stay overnight at marinas. Even when I have done solo trips in the past, I have stayed at marinas. I will add some battery capacity and bring a solar shower to facilitate anchoring overnight.

Looking forward to it.
-Jeff-

[colbysmith]