Upper Tennessee River, October 2024

When in Rome do as the Romans do. Rafting is a tradition for the Volunteer Navy. Boaters in Knoxville are used to doing so. Where we usually boat it’s not a “thing”. When we went to Knoxville we made sure that no foot ball games were going on and only stayed one night. Some marinas on the loop require you to raft. It is what it is.

With that said it would have been nice if he asked…..
 
Where did you get that disinformation?
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It's not disinformation Bob. You just don't raft on another boat without the captain's permission. It's called courtesy and respect. I could make all kinds of points of why not, especially with a bigger yacht rafting to a small boat, in high current. I'm not going to argue the point. I understand you would have no problem with others just rafting up on your boat without your permission. But I suspect most would not agree. I should add, I normally do not have a problem with others rafting to me, and I have rafted to others. But not without asking first to make sure we're both on the same page. In this situation, we were not there at the time and there were other boats of equal size that they could have rafted on, or they could have waited until we returned. Sign posted basically said first come first served.

BTW, apparently, there are still lawsuits going on between Calhoun's owner and the city. Also, the marina just upstream (Volunteer Landing Marina) is no longer open to transients. Sadly, the whole issue at Calhouns left a pretty sour impression on the crews of our three boats. And I know each one of us would have been willing to work with the large yachts if they made an effort to contact us, or wait until we came back.
 
So much for thinking last night would be finished after moving away from the larger boats that tried to raft us in. All was good on our far end of the dock until 4am this morning. A couple decided to come sit on the end of the dock between us and SeaSpray, smoke and discuss rather loudly their sexual issues. Something about condoms and just getting out of prison… They left, but then just about to fall back asleep at 4:30a, the garbage truck came and banged the garbage bin. Anchoring out would definitely have been a better option… SeaSpray decided they would leave the dock a little bit late, and join C-Play and us on our way back from the mouth of the Tennessee River. Us and C-Play took off for the mouth, 5 miles away, where the Holston and French Broad Rivers come together to form the Tennessee River. It was actually pretty cool seeing the muddy water of the French Broad mix in with the clear water of the Holston. Ok, but before we got that far, our troubles were not quite over. Jeff (C-Play) thought he hit a log and had some vibration so we found a small dock and kayak launch just around the corner. Jeff skillfully docked his boat with about 3mph of current and then checked his prop finding one blade pretty dinged up. He hammered on it a bit to straighten it up, breaking some pieces off. Still some vibration, so he decided he would change it later this evening when we got to our anchorage for the day. We continued on the French Broad River a short distance to Pickel Island, home to a Sea Ray boat factory. It was interesting seeing all the molds they had stacked out back. Went past some more shoreline industry and continued back past Calhouns and got back together with SeaSpray. Passed several large boats that were likely heading up to Knoxville for the Vols game. Also passed the Tug Bearcat and its empty tow. Steve (Sea Spray) had called ahead to a marina he found and our luck changed. They were having a customer appreciation week and non-ethanol regular gas was $3.24/gal. Very inexpensive for marina gas! Also, we could stay in slips for free with the purchase of fuel. No showers available, but there was a restroom, small store, and electricity and water at the slips. Jeff backed into his slip so he could change his props from the dock. All seemed to be going good again! Until while checking out Jeff’s new props and looking over the outboard, we found a hole in the lower unit just above the lube drain screw. Also remnants of red paint. We’re now pretty sure that what he hit was a submerged Nun buoy. Tomorrow we think the marina may be able to pick C-Play up with their marine forklift, so Jeff can flush the lower unit with new oil, and also check the bottom of the hull to make sure there was no other damage. We are at the bottom of Gallagher Creek, at the Whispering Cove Marina, about 10 miles from Fort Loudoun. Super customer service and a nice marina, even without showers… Sunbeam and Mystery Girl are anchored on the Little Tennessee River, just outside of Fort Loudoun. We’ll join back up with them tomorrow.

To see some photos, go to my blog at FindPenquins: https://findpenguins.com/77ono0cdqci52/ ... ssee-river
 
If you have to leave and no one aboard the outer rafted vessel, then take a line from the outer rafted vessel to the dock, Back out and be sure the boat's bow and stern line is well secured
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Good morning Bob. This is almost laughable when looking at the photo in your same reply. Which actually is more like the situation we were in than not, although at the time only 2 or 3 boats deep. ( I don't want to belabor this, and in fact was just going to delete my comment back yesterday, but was outside the 30 minute rule....but I do think it's worth discussion.) There would have been no way to just take up their dock lines, move out, and then tie them back up. 2.5mph current, and they would have to been moved completely out of the way. No where we could back up or pull forward. I had 2' behind me and 2' in front of me. Same for Sea Spray. Yes, I understand this might be tradition for all these guys to come in and raft. But to move one boat, hanging it's stern in out from the dock in a position that could be hit, or to raft up on smaller boats that you have no idea what the strength of their cleats are is unsafe in my opinion. They had a 40' long sailboat in front of us and another 40' long yacht right behind us, either of which would have been much more appropriate for them to raft to. Instead they chose to move one of our boats and raft to the other two. We were the only small boats at the dock, (other than on pontoon on the inside of the dock at the other end), and had docked in a tight manner so, unlike some boats I saw on the other free dock that had enough space between them to allow at least another big boat if they tightened it up. Before all this happened, we had one large boat come in and we actually helped him tie up in front of us. He had came in late at night and was at the front of the dock, but once Sunbeam and Mystery Girl took off, he wanted to come back to their spot. He even came over to ask Rosanne what our small boats were doing on the dock, and then asked if we could maybe help him reposition. So the attitude was already there. Jeff believes these were the same guys that were on the dock yesterday kind of scoping things out. They probably didn't even stay on their boats, they just propositioned them to the dock. If they had talked to us, we would have been more than happy to have moved to the far end of the dock prior to their arrival or when we got back from walking downtown. They chose instead to act as they did. Not cool!
 
New day, and bad just got to worse. Last night the decision was made to lift Jeff’s C-Play out of the water this morning with the marina’s boat forklift. This would allow Jeff to flush the lower gear case of the water from the hole and install fresh gear oil, and would also allow him to inspect the bottom of the hull for any possible damage from whatever it was that holed the lower unit. Several attempts were made to lift C-Play with the forks placed perpendicular to the boat under the hull. Eventually a very loud cracking sound was heard. I suggested that we put the boat stern first to the forklift, and the forks be extended to fit just outside the outboards under the main pontoons. (The Tomcat is a catamaran style boat.) This worked well, and the boat was picked up out of the water. Inspecting the bottom of the hull we found a pretty serious crack, about 2 feet long. The marina owner is giving Jeff a ride back to Harrison Bay State Park, about 90 miles, to get his truck and trailer to come back and load the boat. Unfortunately, sadly, this trip is over for Jeff. He did make it to the mouth of the Tennessee River, but would have much preferred to end where we started! Sea Spray and C-Traveler will remain here at Whispering Cove Marina one more night and continue downstream tomorrow to catch up with Mystery Girl and Sunbeam.
 
Jeff and C-Play headed out early this morning before we were awake, and arrived safely back at home in Georgia early this evening. C-Traveler and Sea Spray departed in foggy conditions from Whispering Cove marina, but the fog burned off quickly before we were back in the main Tennessee River channel. We had a little bit of a tail current and saw the same nice homes we saw cruising upstream. Not much debris, but water still very muddy. Once we turned into the Little Tennessee River, we were back in clear water with no debris. More very large nice homes along the shores. The Little Tennessee River forms Tellico Lake. Mystery Girl and Sunbeam got to the Fort Loudoun State Historic Area shortly before we did, around 2pm, and anchored next to the visitor center. Sea Spray, and C-Traveler stopped at a small dock to go up to the Visitor Center and then walk around the grounds. We watched a very good 12 minute movie about the history of the area in the visitor center. Afterwards, we all anchored on the other side of the peninsula that the State History Area sits on.
 
After a quiet night anchored on the south side of the Fort Loudoun State Historic Area, we cruised up the Little Tennessee River all the way to the Chilhowee dam. Found several sunken houseboats, some really cool geology (ok, my major was in Earth Science), and enjoyed the scenery. We went by the 129 Dragon Harley dealership. I wasn't aware of it, but has something to do with the Tail of the Dragon ride...Look it up. lol. Also I thought interesting was the abandoned railroad trestle that we had to pass through. I always wonder what some of the land looked like before the rivers were damned up and land flooded. This evening we are all anchored or slipped in different places, but very close together. Sea Spray is in a marina, Mystery Girl and Sunbeam are anchored next to a tiny Island, just across from me, and I'm in a very small cove (Navionics shows it as a "pond") amongst some nice homes. It was quite breezy earlier today, and chance of thunderstorms tonight around midnight. Prior to anchoring, Rosanne and I stopped at the Sequoyah Birthplace Museum. Very interesting information on the life of Sequoyah. He was a Native American polymath and neographer of the Cherokee Nation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequoyah)
 
10/14
Had a line of thunderstorms pass by last night right around midnight, but other than some loud thunder and a few flashes of lightning, there was little rain. This morning Steve and Karen on Sea Spray enjoyed visiting the Sequoyah Birthplace museum, then caught back up with us. Not a lot of photos from today. We mostly just enjoyed exploring the Tellico River and several branches off of it. Corntassel Branch had some nice homes. Notchy Creek had a large campground area with a long dock with boat slips for camper’s boats. Ballplay creek was fairly short with mostly just scenery. We continued down the Tellico River to river mile 12. Actually Mystery Girl continued down to 12. I turned around at 11, SeaSpray at 10, and Sunbeam at 8. This was a little more stressful than I cared for. Chart said Narrow Channel and Stumps from RM 8. It was interesting to see that someone had placed red and green PVC pipes to mark the channel, and there were a lot of stumps and trees along that channel. I was surprised to see a number of homes and boats at Miles 10 and 11, and Bill said there were more at mile 12. I definitely would not want to make that trek down that channel frequently! Trees look like they are slowly turning colors. And with upper 30’s and low 40’s for low temps forecast the middle of this week, I think we’ll start to see a lot more color. This evening we are all anchored in a small branch at Tellico River mile 6.
 
The days and nights are getting chillier, with a high today in the low 60's, and last night getting down to 47. Tonight suppose to be colder. (However, suppose to be warming back up in a few days.) Three of us have heaters on our boat. The fourth has heavy blankets! Today we continued to poke around Tellico River, which still makes up Tellico Lake. Still see some very nice large homes along the shores in some areas, and undeveloped areas as well. Along the island that Fort Loudoun State Historic Area is on, there is a small tunnel bridge for SR 360 on the southeast side of the island. I wasn't sure it would be large enough to get our boats through, but today I found out. Curious, as we went by it again today, I had to find out. I fit. Only a few extra feet to spare on each side, but plenty of height for my antennas (14' air draft) to clear! Also found several boat manufacturers on Island Creek. Yamaha, SeaRay and MasterCraft! Yamaha is on the main channel of Island Creek, while the other two are on a smaller cove where Island Creek enters Tellico River. Mystery Girl and C-Traveler did most the exploring today on these side creeks and branches, and anchored on the south side of Jackson Island. Staying mostly on the main channel of the Tellico and Little Tennessee Rivers, SeaSpray and Sunbeam continued up to Turtle Cove to anchor. They are only a mile or two from the Fort Loudoun lock, while we are still 10 miles away.
 
Pat Clow's son, Aarne works at MasterCraft. If you are still around and want to meet up with him, PM, and I will shoot you his phone number. Aarne is one of the nicest guys you could meet and he now owns Hank and Pat's C Dory 22.
 
Mystery Girl and C-Traveler made their way down stream from Jackson Island in Tellico Lake, poking our bows into several coves and branches, to join back up with Sea Spray and Sunbeam. As we approached the Tennessee River from the Little Tennessee River, you could make out the drastic change in the water from clear to muddy. Sunbeam is anchored out nearby, while C-Traveler, Sea Spray and Mystery Girl are docked at the Lenoir City Park. The weather these last two or three days has been chilly and breezy. However, lots of sun today. Suppose to start warming back up over the next couple of days making for a nice weekend. We are in sight of the Fort Loudoun Lock and Dam, which we will lock back down stream tomorrow morning.

To see some photos, go to my blog at FindPenquins: https://findpenguins.com/77ono0cdqci52/ ... ssee-river
 
So, how did this cruise turn out ? I’m from Tallahassee rFromallahassee and had planned to tag along, but after preparing my trailer and boat, hurricane Helene came into play with TaTafromaTallahassestsrojected landfall. So we hunkered down, but the Tennessee river valley was hard it. But no posts on this topic. Did you guys proceed with trip? Did you experience excessive wind? Did rereresavoriortages rise? No reports seems odd.
 
After a quiet night on the dock at the Lenoir City Park, we woke to a foggy sunrise. Underway at 9am and into the Fort Loudoun Lock at 9:30. Some debris at the approach, in the lock, and at the bottom leaving, that we had to push through. But the dam flow was less than half what it was when we locked up a week ago, so much calmer water. Had a nice 2mph current push most the way down to Kingston, where we are anchored this evening. Steve and Karen on Sea Spray parted company with us today, as they picked up their pace to head back to Harrison Bay State Park where they'll load out and head back home to California. They've been on this side of the Rockies for two months as they started out cruising the Erie Canal. It's just Mystery Girl, Sunbeam and C-Traveler now. We're anchored back at the same place we were a little over a week ago, between Interstate 40 and the Kingston Fossil Plant. We will spend a few days on the Clinch River now, perhaps up as far as Clinton, TN. We spent today back on the muddy Tennessee River, until we turned off on the Clinch River at Kingston. Back in clear water while we are on the Clinch.

To see some photos, go to my blog at FindPenquins: https://findpenguins.com/77ono0cdqci52/ ... ssee-river
 
This morning we left our anchorage in a fog, but it cleared up after a little less than an hour. Must be a fishing tournament going on, as quite a few bass boats were buzzing around pretty fast. Kind of foolish actually with the fog. Anyway, we continued on the Clinch River, passing the Manhattan Project National Historic Park, the Clinch River Industrial Park, through the Melton Hill Lock, and around the DOE land in the Bethel Valley. This afternoon we anchored at river mile 34 in the Walker Branch. This winding river also took us pass the Carbon Rivers (Powerhouse) and Blackburn Farm Pumpkin Patch Fall Festival. Carbon Rivers makes wind turbine blade recycling and upcycling a reality with support from the DOE. We will pass through Oak Ridge, Tennessee tomorrow, which is where the Manhattan Project thrived. I wanted to say, the lock personnel we have come in contact with have been great. Today's lockage was an example. Melton Hill Lock is pretty much on request only, and very rarely used for commercial traffic. Normally you have to contact a week in advance and they tend to only open on Monday through Thursday. We worked out a lockage today with the lockmaster from the Fort Loudoun Lock (who is also responsible for this lock), two days ago.
 
Another cold night and foggy morning. We left our anchorage in fog this morning, but again it all cleared up within an hour. The Clinch River offers a peaceful, scenic and winding river between the Tennessee River and Clinton, TN. Many "ordinary" homes along the shore, and some very large nice homes as well. The River does continue up to Norris Lake, but the dam there does not have a lock, and the river is not marked or dredged for navigation past Clinton. I was a little dismayed that neither Oak Ridge or Clinton offered any kind of city dock where we could stop and explore the area. Oak Ridge has a rowing team and the river front there has a race course (currently shut down for the season), and what appears to be an announcement stand by the city park. We passed the TVA Bull Run Fossil Plant, and just beyond the center of Clinton we anchored on the back side of Clinton Island. Tomorrow we'll head back towards the Tennessee River.
 
Colby I believe that Oak Ridge (Y-12 National Security Complex is a United States Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration secured site.) is still an active nuclear site and a restricted area. I suspect that even your retired military ID would not get you on the property. When we went up the Clinch River, we anchored off the shore at Clinton, and were able to take the dog ashore both in the afternoon, evening and the next morning. Another night we anchored in an oxbow off Oak Ridge base on the civilian side--there were security patrols 24/7 on the parameter road. Also there was fairly loud machinery running all of the time.

Marie's mother was one of the "Girls of Atomic City", a book written about the women workers on the Manhattan project. She was secretary to the Commanding General during the Manhattan project. Marie and her mother tried to sweet talk the guards into letting them drive by the housing that they occupied for several years of lockdown on the base. No go--You had security clearance for one of the companies who are currently working on abe working active nuclear projects to get on the property.
 
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