TX TO WV TO TX CRUISE
TRIP 3 LOGS
Pittsburgh, PA to Nashville, TN
July 28 – August 14, 2001

Pittsburgh, PA to Beech Bottom, WV, Sunday, July 29, 2001

    On Saturday, July 28, Angela and I flew to Pittsburgh, PA, arriving at 3:42pm.  Mark McClymonds met us at the airport and took us to the boat and the grocery store.  Then we three met our friends, Barry and Diane, for dinner on Mount Washington, where we had a great view of downtown Pittsburgh and The Point.  A baseball game was in progress at PNC Park, and we could see the scoreboard from our restaurant high on the mountain.  We had a very nice evening there.  The weather in Pittsburgh was cooler and drier than that of Houston, TX.

     We woke Sunday to cloudy skies and 64 degrees F temperatures with 5 – 10 mph winds.  We went through the lock (one chamber) on the Allegheny River (Lock No. 2) and down 7.2 miles to The Point (where the Ohio River begins).  As we motored down the Ohio River I noticed we had “No Data” on the radar screen where the GPS or Loran data is supposed to be displayed.  The mechanic at Aspinwall Marina had changed the switch that told the radar whether the data was coming from the loran to the radar or from the GPS to the radar screen.  I found out the switch was simply upside down; when it was in the loran position it displayed the GPS data. 

     Otherwise we had no problems (the horn didn’t work, but we didn’t try it for a few days, so we don’t know when it quit working).  We went through Emsworth Lock, Dashields Lock, Montgomery Lock (those three required the hook and rope program because they had no floating bollards), and the New Cumberland Lock with very few delays, and the lockmasters were nice.  They never spoke to us at the first two, but we entered on the green light and were locked down with 
no problems.  The upper three locks had two chambers, and the larger chamber was on the outside, or end of the dam.  Downstream, the locks with two chambers had the smaller chamber on the outside, or end of the dam.  

     The state line dividing PA from OH on the RDB and WV on the LDB occurred at Mile 40, above the New Cumberland Dam.  Above that point PA was on both sides of the river.  Pittsburgh was only 40 river miles from the state line.  

     We passed Skipper’s Haven Marina at Mile 60.  We had stayed there on the trip up the river.  We wanted to get more distance covered that day and stay somewhere new.  At Mile 77 we pulled into E-Z Pools Marina and met Captain Sip, who claimed to be an Ohio River character.  He was pretty nice, and so were the others we met who had boats at the marina.  We met the chef, who had answered the phone when I called.  He was from Spain, so he and Angela spoke in Spanish for a while.  Angela is from Paraguay, and Spanish is one of her two native languages.

     The marina was owned by a fellow in the swimming pool business, hence the name, who decided to also get into the marina business.  The marina had a very nice swimming pool.

     It took 4 shore power cables to get us connected to one 30-amp circuit and one 20-amp circuit a long ways from the boat, and we tripped circuit breakers for a while.  I had purchased a new “Smart Y’ and was looking forward to using it but couldn’t at that location.  It required two 30-amp connections next to each other.  We had planned to cook some salmon Angela bought at the store, so we passed on the chef from Spain, but we had a great dinner on board.

     We had heard about heavy rains in the area below us, and were interested in what that might mean for our trip down river.  We noticed some drift in the river, but it wasn’t too bad.  The Pittsburgh area had experienced some 90 degrees days and some mild days as well over the past two weeks.

Beech Bottom, WV to Marietta, OH, Monday, July 30, 2001

      Across the river from the E-Z Pools Marina was a large, coal-fired power plant, one of many we saw along the river.  As we pulled away the sky was blue and the haze we experienced for most of that trip had not yet set in.

     Wheeling, WV was the site of the world's longest suspension bridge for years.  The designer also built the Brooklyn Bridge, and we could see the similarity.  The bridge was then about 150 years old.  


     It took a few days to get used to going downstream rather than upstream.  We covered more miles in less time, and I was always surprised by the great progress we were making.  Marietta, OH was one stop I wanted to make for several reasons: to get fuel from a truck, to see the town, and to possibly see some of the members of the Marietta Boat Club.  We left at 8:15am, but I was worried we might not get there before 5pm. 


               

     It was 95 miles to the Muskingum River, and only 1 – 2 miles up that river to the boat ramp for fuel.  We called several times to keep them abreast of our situation, and we arrived about 3pm.  The driver was waiting for us, and we took on 230 gallons of diesel at an overall cost of $1.13 per gallon.  Then we went back downriver a mile to the Marietta Boat Club, where we were given a free slip for the evening. 

     We tried the “Smart Y”, but it didn’t work right.  We could get more power to the boat with two 30-amp cables, so that’s what we used.  We showered and walked about a mile to town and found a restaurant on the Ohio River.  It was pretty good, and it was air-conditioned.  It was getting hot, and we warmed up on the walk from the marina.  Along the way we passed the Ohio River Museum and the steamboats that are part of the museum.  The Muskingum was the first river in America to be “canalized”, and it currently is run by the state of Ohio for recreational traffic only.  The locks on that river, along with those on the Kentucky River further downstream, were the only hand-operated locks in the USA at that time.

     A taxi took us back to the boat, where I calculated the average fuel usage for the first two days at 1.27 gallons per mile, better than our usual 1.4 or 1.5 gpm.  At the same RPM, we were seeing speeds of 1 – 2 knots higher because of the current.  We dropped 18 feet in Pike Island Lock, 18 feet in Hannibal Lock, and 20 feet in Willow Island Lock.  Our lock total for Trip 3 was 8.

Marietta to Portsmouth, OH, Tuesday, July 31, 2001

     On some of those northern rivers we saw ice breaker piers along the bank.  They were designed to break up the ice that forms on the river in the winter.  In the photos you can see a buoy floating near the pier closest to the main channel, or it might have been sitting on top of the pier.  That facilitates the marking of that pier when the water goes up and the buoy floats off, or up, to the surface.  

     We left the marina at 7:30am in the fog; that’s when we realized the horn didn’t work.  We didn’t need it, but tried it and found it not working.  We had hand-held alternates though.  The fog wasn’t too bad, but it turned into a haze that was with us for the next several days.  The weather was hazy, warm, humid, and hot; and any breeze we felt was also hot.

     The locks at Belleville and Racine lowered us the usual ways and amounts, 22 feet each.  The lockmaster at Belleville was possibly the nicest and most polite man in that position we’ve come across.  Our running speed through those two lakes was about 17 knots.  The water was relatively clear and clean looking.  But, when we came to the Great Kanawha River, which drains the Charleston, WV area, we encountered more drift and a stronger current.  At the next lock, the Robert C. Byrd Lock, we went down only 6 or so feet instead of the normal 23 feet due to high water on the downstream side of the dam.  Our speed increased to 19-20 knots at the same RPM as before.  

     For the rest of the day we dodged drift: logs, twigs, branches, empty pails, lids, plastic bottles, cans, tires and wheels, trees, etc.  I called the Catlettsburg Boat Club at Mile 317.3.  (We had been given a free slip at the Marietta Boat Club; I wondered if it could happen again?)  The man who answered the phone said he doubted we could even get to their dock due to debris and trees jammed up against the dock.  He said it was a real mess.

     By prior arrangement we stopped at McGinnis, Inc. at Mile 318 to buy fuel.  It turned out they could only fuel us from a small towboat, which moved to a larger towboat and tied up to wait for us.  Some fun-loving deck hands fixed us up with a diesel hose and nozzle, and we started taking on fuel and talking about boating.  

     When we got to Greenup Lock and Dam I saw something I had never seen before.  The smaller, auxiliary lock had both its gates, or doors, open.  There was a vertical section that had been dropped into slots in the lock walls upstream of the upper doors, which held back the lake; and water and logs were going over that section and through the lock chamber.
That meant we couldn’t use the chamber, so we waited 40 minutes for a tow to go through the main chamber.  Then we were locked down 10 feet instead of the usual 30 feet. The river below the dam was up 20 or so feet above normal.

     While we were waiting to go through the lock, we received a call on the radio.  It was a houseboat on the shore wanting to know about the drift we were encountering.  They were planning to go downstream to the Shawnee Boat Club, but were waiting for the drift to get ahead of them.  They had already been waiting for 2 days.  

     We called Shawnee Boat Club, and they could accommodate us.  We pulled in there about 7:30pm after having been on the water for 12 hours.  
Getting alongside was interesting due to the high current.  Tom, the manager, said the river was up 17 feet above normal.  He and several of the members came out and helped us tie up.  We tried the new “Smart Y” again, but it didn’t work.  Two 30-amp cables worked better, so that’s what we used.  Shawnee charged fifty cents a foot per night.  We covered 184 miles on the day, averaging 16.7 mph overall, counting all the hours the engines were running (11 for the day).  As much of that was spent dodging drift, we were tired.

Portsmouth to Cincinnati, OH, Wednesday, August 1, 2001

     I noticed the water coming out of the air-conditioning discharges was muddy, which reflected the mud in the river.  In fact, on the boards of the dock, the water had run off and left some mud in the middle of the boards, between the sides where the boards tended to curl up.  I checked the starboard sea strainer for trash, etc., but it was clear.

     We pulled away from the marina at 8:30am in light fog, which quickly turned into heavy fog.  We had radar, so we weren’t worried; but we also needed to see the drift to avoid hitting it.  So we ran slowly, and still the starboard engine overheated.  The alarm went off, and I shut off the engine.  After running on one engine, in the fog, dodging drift left and right, I realized what I had done.  For the second time in my life I had done what I swore I would never, ever do: left the through-hull valve for the cooling water in the closed position!  You have to close it to check the sea strainer, and then you’re supposed to reopen it.  Apparently no damage was done, so we were able to run on two engines again after I opened the valve.

     We ran slowly for two hours in the fog.  Then we ran slowly another hour through heavy drift.  I had counted a dozen or so tires and wheels on the water on Tuesday.  On Wednesday Angela and I started making a mark whenever we saw one.  At the end of the day we had counted 58 tires and wheels floating on the water, and I’m sure we didn’t see all of them.  Included in the flotsam were three steel cylinders for compressed gas, like nitrogen.  We spotted a cart in the water and stopped to retrieve it.  It was a plastic cart that we might use for groceries or laundry in the future.  It drained muddy water for hours sitting on our swim platform.

     As the debris thinned out, the Racor filters started giving signs of needing service, so I changed both filters on the CAT engines.  After that the debris came in clumps, or batches.  Sometimes we had to slow down for it when it was especially thick.  It was hot and humid, and hazy, too.

     Meldahl Lock had a surprise for us; the auxiliary lock was down for repairs.  The nice lady lockmaster said she was sorry to have to tell us this, but we would have to wait until their next scheduled locking for pleasure craft, which was at 4pm.  It was 1:45pm at that time.  They had locked down pleasure craft at noon already.  Several towboats and barges went through while we idled about upstream of the dam, and then we went down about 15 feet instead of the normal 30 feet.

     There were about 5 tows and their loads waiting below the dam.  I was glad they had a scheduled time for recreational vessels or we might not have gotten through there until the next day.  We went down the river through Cincinnati and tied up at Lady Dean Charters and Yacht Club at 6pm.  We covered 120 miles in 8 running hours, for an average of 15 mph.  

     The location we picked worked out very well for us.  The LADY DEAN was a 120-foot charter boat that was used for dinner cruises, banquets, weekend business trips, and so forth.  Mr. Scott and his wife lived aboard and ran the business.  CJ helped us tie up to the dock; we were upstream and inside 
the floating dock.  CJ and Bob lived on a replica sidewheeler that was 80 feet long and 22 feet wide.  It was built in 1963, and Bob had been its owner since 1973.  It was for sale, and I have the phone number if you are interested in buying the boat.  CJ said the temperature there in Cincinnati had been 96 degrees.  It was hot and humid.

     Bob and CJ were very friendly to us.  CJ loaned us her car so we could go to the grocery store.  We were surprised to go up such a high hill to get to flat ground where the shopping centers were located.  We ate out and then went shopping for a few things.  Mr. Scott also said we could use his car; his fee for the night was $10.  That included water and 220v/50a electricity, too.

Cincinnati, OH to Brandenburg, KY, Thursday, August 2, 2001

      The water at Cincinnati dropped a foot or so during the night.  We left about 8am in light fog, but by 8:30 it was the worst I had ever experienced.  We could not see either bank or power lines overhead.  We could see the drift all around us, and no one else was out on the river, so we dodged the logs and moved slowly with the radar.  It seemed like we were in a swamp, with muddy water, fog, logs, and stumps all around us for about an hour.  It was hot and humid, with no wind.  Then the drift and the fog lessened, and the current was less as well.  We had run beyond the worst of it, although the drift still occurred in clumps, so dense sometimes we had to slow down and idle through it.

     Indiana replaced Ohio on our starboard side, followed by casino operations at Lawrenceburg and Rising Sun.  In between those two towns was a very nice marina named Lighthouse Point Yacht Club.  We stopped and bought diesel at $1.329 per gallon.  The marina was built in a protected cove and not alongside the river.  It seemed almost new, had covered sheds, and had 220-volt power.  We used 188 gallons for 182 miles, so our mileage was really getting a benefit from the current.

     Markland Lock was usually a 32-foot drop, but we experienced only 20 feet.  Then we passed the mouth of the Kentucky River on the LDB.  I read about that river in our Quimby’s Cruising Guide, and I wanted to go there and see the Kentucky River Palisades.  These were “the limestone walls of the canyon cut by the river over its millennia of traversing the Bluegrass region surrounding Lexington.  Intricately eroded, and embroidered with vegetation wherever a crack or a ledge provides a toehold, the cliffs tower 300 to 400 feet above the water.”

     The Kentucky River was navigable for 201 of its 255 miles, and the 14 locks were among the oldest still in use in the United States.  The first 4 locks were built between 1836 and 1842; locks 5 – 14 were built between the Civil War and WW I.  Locks 1- 4 had dimensions of 145 by 38 feet.  The remaining useable locks (5 – 10) measured 145 by 38, 147 by 52, 146 by 52, or 148 by 52 feet; locks 11 – 14 were no longer operated.  Locks on the Kentucky and the Muskingum rivers were the only original hand-operated locks in the nation, but the Kentucky locks had been modernized with the addition of electric motors to operate the gates.  We would have to add it to the areas we would like to visit in the future.

     At Madison, IN, about 2pm, Angela spotted an unusual craft being trailered out of the river.  A quick check through the binoculars confirmed it was, indeed, M/V TARA BELLE, which we had last seen on the Allegheny River on July 8.  We pulled up to the shore and chatted a while with Capts. Irwin (both Wally and Dick).  They were having a look at their depth finder, but otherwise had no big problems, were having a great trip, etc.  They had gone up the Muskingum River and a couple of others, including the Kentucky, I believe.  Madison was Dick’s hometown.

     We had a couple of contacts in Louisville, both of whom were out of town.  The McAlpine Lock was a single, and I hoped for a quick passage through the lock.  We ran through Louisville, KY about 4pm, and we were in the lock at 4:30.  Temperature there was 92 degrees, at least.  The lock operator noticed our Texas flag and commented on it; he was from San Antonio.  When we came out at 5pm we noticed the bridge clearance and compared it to our charts.  The river was up 20 feet above normal pool stage.  A few miles further brought us to a large casino operation, with some buildings on the shore and a floating riverboat casino, also.

     We arrived at Brandenburg Marina in KY at 7pm.  They had added 2 30-amp shore power connections since we were there, so we paid the $10 extra and had shore power.  That was Mile 646, meaning we had covered 646 miles since The Point in Pittsburgh over the preceding 5 days.  Our lock total was 15 for Trip 3.

Brandenburg, KY to Evansville, IN, Friday, August 3, 2001

     Our plan was to buy fuel just above Evansville at Ohio Valley Marine Service, and go into town and have dinner with our friends.  When we got to Ohio Valley, the very nice man said the fuel barge wouldn’t be back until about 6pm.  So, we decide to get fuel the next morning.  Otherwise, our plans worked out fine.

     The river at Brandenburg had fallen about 2 - 3 feet overnight.  We ran 7 hours and covered 146 miles going with the current (the upstream trip back in June had taken an hour more than that).  We went down through the Cannelton Lock (usually 26 feet) and the Newburgh Lock (usually 18 feet, that day about 3 feet).

     Drift was significant, but not nearly as bad as before.  We had outrun most of that bad drift we saw below Robert C. Byrd Lock.  We had less haze, more wind, and lots of heat!  It was summertime, and high temperatures were the norm almost everywhere.

     We pulled into Inland Marina in Evansville about 4pm.  Mark and Suzi came to pick us up at 7pm.  We ate a nice meal together with them and with Steve Lacy, their son-in-law.  It was a very nice evening.  Mark was familiar with the rivers, and I asked him about the Green River.  I had a tape of bluegrass songs with one about Muhlenberg County and the Green River.  Supposedly a town named Paradise had been wiped of the face of the earth by coal mining operations.  Mark confirmed it and said there was a very large TVA power plant there now where the town of Paradise used to be.  (See the link for Ray Macke's story about a trip up the Green River.)

Evansville, IN to Golconda, IL, Saturday, August 4, 2001

     I wanted to go see the Green River, and the fuel stop was right at the mouth of the river.  We bought 429 gallons of fuel and met Paul, from Waco, TX on the fuel barge.  We also met Lee, the nice young man I spoke to on Friday, and his son, Michael, who said he was 10 years of age.  No one there had charts of the Green River, but I learned some more about it.  Lee even knew the song I had heard on the tape.

     So, when we were finished with the fuel, we motored up to and into the Green River.  We didn’t have time to see much of it, and I would have liked to see the twisting and turning narrow sections of the river.  Mark said the coal barges, two by two in front of the towboat, touched the opposite bank as they barely made the narrow, twisting turns coming downriver.  The Green River used to be navigable up to Mammoth Cave and Bowling Green, KY (via the Barren River, a tributary).  Now it is navigable for 108.5 miles, to Dam No. 3, above the TVA power plant.

     We did see a swing bridge and a couple of other fixed bridges, and we went through Lock No. 1 and up the channel to about Mile 11 before turning back downstream.  The lock usually had a lift of 8 feet, the operator said.  Due to high water, there was no lift on that day.  We couldn’t even see the dam, but the water was not over the dam enough for us to bypass the lock.  It was very pretty; I hoped to see more of it someday.

     Back to the Ohio River about noon, we headed downstream with much improved weather.  We had some blue sky with a few clouds and less haze, although hazy days were common throughout Trip 3.
 

     John T. Myers Lock usually dropped 28 feet; it was only 8 feet that day.  The water was getting nicer, with less mud and drift, as we descended the river.  We pulled into Golconda Marina (IL) at 5:30pm, six weeks after we had stayed there on Saturday, June 23.  We tied up at the end of B Dock, and the same man helped us as before.  His name was David, and his wife’s name was Frances.  They owned a Carver in the last covered slip on B Dock.  We sat and talked to them for a while. 
 

      

   David offered us the use of his car again, and this time we took him up on it.  We showered and changed and went to the grocery store in town about 7:30.  Then we had a fine meal at the Riverport Restaurant.  It was full of people who all seemed to know each other.  A lot of them stopped and chatted with each other on their way to their tables.  It was a friendly place, on Main Street in Golconda, IL.  It struck me how important the river was to those who lived on it; the condition of the river was significant to everyone there.

     We drove David’s fine car back to the marina and returned his keys.  They were a nice couple.

Golconda, IL to Gilbertsville, KY, Sunday, August 5, 2001

     Before leaving the marina, I wanted some photographs of the many cute and interesting things we saw at the slips behind the boats.  We walked most of the length of B Dock, met the owner of The Riverport Restaurant, who had a boat there, and took some pictures.  These people had almost everything at their slips: tables and chairs, refrigerators, microwaves, blenders, grills of several types and sizes, sinks and counters and cabinets, cute little signs and carved figurines, Christmas tree lights and other string of lights, welcome mats and signs, etc.  You had to see it to believe it.  We heard there wasn’t a locked boat in the marina; it was a very trusting and friendly crowd.  We had offers of breakfast, Bloody Marys, etc.

    
           

   We left at 8:45am, and we were at Smithland Lock by 9:45.  The lock operator said we dropped about 18 feet, and the river below there was up about 4 feet.  The worst of the high water was behind us.  By 10:30 we turned off the Ohio River, having then covered its entire length, the last 50 miles or so in 1998.  We proceeded up the Tennessee River to the Kentucky Lake Lock and Dam, since the Barkley Lock was still closed.

     We were fortunate that we only had to wait about an hour.  There were towboats and barges waiting on both sides of the lock.  It was a single lock with dimensions of 600 by 110 feet, the size of the smaller, auxiliary locks on the Ohio River.  A new 52-foot Bluewater was in the lock with us en route from MN, where they are made, to Sarasota, FL.  We were raised 57 feet to Kentucky Lake and the Tennessee River, and it felt like home for some reason.  We had gone through 22 locks on Trip 3 at that point.  Our elevation had gone from 710 feet to 302 feet on the Ohio River back up to 359 feet on Kentucky Lake.

     Kentucky Lake was certainly beautiful, wide, and busy.  There was a lot of traffic of all kinds on the water.  We motored over to Kentucky Dam Marina and filled up with fuel at $1.169 per gallon.  That was our first experience at that marina, and it was large and well equipped.  We bought some souvenir T-shirts for the grandbaby and us.  Then we headed for Moors Resort and Marina.

     We got a covered slip at A Dock at Moors, near our friends, Dick and Carolyn Stewart, who also had a house near Moors.  The only problem was we had been unable to make contact with them for the past 10 days or so.  We didn’t really know if they had completed their cruise from Kemah, TX, which began a few days after we had some dinners with them in the Clear Lake area.  When we checked in at the marina, their boat was there, but all we could do was leave messages on their various phones.

     Angela started doing laundry, and I began to wash the boat.  Both chores took a couple of hours.  As we were finishing up, here came Dick and Carolyn, and their friend from California, Jack.  They had finally gotten a message and had come down to see us.  We cleaned up and drove with them into Grand Rivers to Patti’s for the obligatory pork chop dinner.  (The pork chop at Perry’s Grille in Clear Lake was better.  They had some interesting tales to tell about their trip through the ICW in Louisiana and the Tenn-Tom Waterway.  It was a great evening.



Gilbertsville, KY to Dover, TN, Monday, August 6, 2001

     I got up early and changed the air filters on the CATS.  We had some diesel black on the transom of the boat.  I cleaned the dirty filters and let them dry for the next change.

     We left the marina at 9:30am and motored down the secondary channel towards the dam for about 4 miles.  Then we could swing out into the Tennessee River and cross it to the Barkley Canal.  It was 1.5 miles long and connected the two lakes. When we reached the eastern end of the canal, we turned upstream on the Cumberland River, or Lake Barkley, at Mile 33.

     The lodge at Lake Barkley State Park had been recommended to us, so we pulled into the Little River (Mile 59 RDB) and motored up the 3.5-mile channel to the State Park.  We passed through the marina and went down to the lodge, which had a dock several hundred feet long.  We tied up and went up to the lodge for lunch.  It was interesting but not as spectacular as I had thought it would be.  The view of the lake from the lodge was great, and the swimming pool was between the lodge and the lake, about two stories above the lake, so a great view was available there, too.  

     Since anchoring was in our plans for the night, we stopped at the marina and filled up with water.  Their diesel price was $1.419 per gallon.

     We ran up the river until Mile 90.5, where we anchored behind Dover Island, just upstream of Dover, TN.  It was 4:30pm, and we had logged 6 running hours and covered 66 miles.

     Lake Barkley was very impressive.  At the lower end it was much wider than I had expected.  The width was a little deceiving because the river itself was never very wide.  So the depth of the lake was 60 feet or so in the old river channel where the buoys were, and less than 20 feet outside the channel.  Still, that was deep enough for most water sports.  I think I also liked the lake because there were fewer people on it.  It was less developed, and the occasional buildings we saw were relatively new, compared to the Tennessee River.
 
     We pulled out Fred Myers’ Cruise Guide of the Cumberland River, which I had purchased in 1998, and learned about the Kentucky State Prison at Mile 43 RDB.  It was an attractive stone structure that resembled a castle, and the cruise guide said it was built in 1888, with a concrete addition in the 1930s.  There was also a wall remaining from old Lock and Dam “F”.

     There were a number of fairly large marinas in the creeks and coves on the RDB.  We had stopped at Green Turtle Bay Marina, down at Mile 31.5 in Grand Rivers, KY; but I did not know about all these other places.  There were hundreds of large boats and many more small ones in these marinas at the lower ends of the Cumberland and the Tennessee  Rivers.  It was great to again see marinas in protected coves instead of alongside the river channels as we had so often seen them on the Ohio River and its tributaries.

     The lake changed from a wide lake to a lake with many small islands alongside the channel to a river channel as we went upstream.  We saw a pattern that was to be repeated over and over on the Cumberland River.  The outside bend in the river often had a high rocky bluff associated with it, and the water depth would be 50 – 60 feet or more.  That was where the old riverbed was located, and the rocky bluffs only became more pronounced and more impressive as we went upstream.  The channel would often have no buoys on the rocky bluff side: you could go right up to the rock and have plenty of water depth.

     Our anchorage was fine; we got into the water behind the boat and had a good swim.  It was very refreshing and cool.  The water was green, and the lake had relatively little drift.  From the water I noticed our boat tended to list to starboard, and I decided that must be due to fuel in the tanks.  The generator pulled fuel only from the port side tank, leaving the starboard side tank always a little fuller and heavier.

Dover to Nashville, TN, Tuesday, August 7, 2001

     We pulled up the anchor and cleaned off some fine-looking gray mud.  It had held very well for us during the night.  I called the Clarksville Boat Club and got permission to stop there for water, which we did.  Clarksville was an attractive town, and the people we met at the Boat Club dock (alongside the river) were very nice.

     Twenty-two miles later we went through the Cheatham Lock (up 26 feet) at Mile 147.5.  The river above the dam looked much like the river below the dam. Old Lock and Dam “A” was located a couple of miles upstream.  The cruise guide said it and Lock and Dam No. 1 at Mile 188.4 were the first of 14 such structures built on the river in the 1890s.

     Our destination was Nashville, specifically the Nashville Municipal Dock, where we had made a reservation via telephone the day before.  They had electricity but no water, hence the stop at Clarksville for water.  We had been to downtown Nashville on the steamboat GENERAL JACKSON while attending a trade show at the Opryland Hotel, and we were looking forward to seeing that area from our own boat.

     There were a number of bridges crossing the Cumberland at Nashville.  Also, on the RDB there was a new stadium there, presumably for the Tennessee Titans, which used to be the Houston Oilers (pro football team).  The skyscrapers and downtown Nashville were on the LDB, and our floating dock was just upstream of the water taxi dock for the Opryland Hotel.  It was just upstream of the concrete dock for River Front Park, which had flowers, grass, and walkways for visitors to enjoy.  Tied up in front of the park was the DELTA QUEEN, a steamboat we had seen often on the rivers in that area.  

     There were three houseboats already at the 406-foot dock when we arrived at 4:30pm.  A couple of the guys came over and helped us tie up.  We showered and changed and walked into downtown  for dinner.  There were a number of restaurants to choose from.  Several clubs offerred live music: Nashville was famous for country music and the musicians who lived there.          
 
               

Nashville to Carthage, TN, Wednesday, August 8, 2001

    As we moved upstream from the Nashville Municipal dock, the river quickly became industrial in nature, as it was coming into town except for the park area.  It was narrow but adequate for tows to pass each other or the occasional steamboat.  There weren’t many towboats on the river itself.  I think we passed one or two loads on Tuesday, and maybe one on Wednesday on Old Hickory Lake.

     We passed the GENERAL JACKSON at the dock at Opryland, but we weren’t really able to see much on the sides of the river due to the trees and brush which grew there.  We knew about the Opryland Mills shopping mall having replaced Opryland USA amusement park, and we could see a building or two at the mall.  We saw the clubhouse at Spring House Golf Course, which was part of Opryland.  It was very impressive.

     The river narrowed and became shallower as we approached Old Hickory Lock and Dam, which we went through at 10:30am.  It provided us with a 60-foot lift and a spectacular change in scenery.  Old Hickory Lake was very wide and
deep above the dam, 60 feet in the old river and 20 feet and less outside the channel, like Barkley Lake at its lower end.  There were a number of marinas there with hundreds of boats, large and small; and there were some large and expensive homes on the banks that reportedly belonged to the rich and famous country musicians of the area.

     We pulled into Cedar Creek Yacht Club for fuel, water, and a pump-out; we needed the works.  We had arranged for slip there beginning Saturday; first we wanted to see the upper Cumberland River.  We also went up Drakes Creek just to see one of the marinas.  The coves and streams on the sides of the lake were wide and handsome, and they were appealing as possible anchorage spots.  There were high hills in the distance and rolling hills nearby; the whole scene was very attractive.

     There were many lovely spots on the river where the rocky bluffs and vegetation were very attractive.  How many different shades of green can there be?  One particular spot was named Seven Mile Bluff where the rock cliffs towered over 100 feet above the water (Mile 255.6, RDB).  The water itself was green and pretty.  There was some drift, and I hit one log squarely.  We chopped it up but did no damage to our running gear.

     At Mile 284 RDB we came to the site of TVA’s Hartsville nuclear power plant.  Apparently they spent over a billion dollars constructing the plant and stopped in 1985.  I understood it was not in use and its future was uncertain.

     The only anchorage in Fred Myers’ cruise guide for the upper reaches of Old Hickory Lake was behind Lovells Island at Mile 297.5 RDB.  To get through the lock at Cordell Hull Dam it was necessary to call the lockmaster at Old Hickory Lock, which we had done on Tuesday.  It was suggested to us at that time that we tie up to the wall at Old Lock No. 7, Mile 299.7 LDB.  We checked out both locations and went back to anchor behind the island, primarily because Fred’s book said the lock wall was a First Class Landing and should only be used by pleasure boats in an emergency.

     The anchorage behind Lovells Island looked like a good one, but we could not get our anchor to bite and hold.  The chain transmitted the sounds of hitting rocks as we drifted slowly downstream.  We tried a number of techniques and two different places, but we got no purchase at all.  We didn’t like the prospect of tying to any of the trees we saw there.  So, we went back up to the old lock wall.

     There were two large chains there for holding large vessels such as barges.  We tied to one of those chains.  After we were finished we realized the current was diminishing and the water level was declining.  We knew that could happen depending on the water discharged from the upstream dam, Cordell Hull in that case.  We gave some thought as to how to tie up to handle a 5-foot rise or fall in the water level overnight.  The depth was over 16 feet at our spot against the wall.

     Carthage, TN was the home of former Vice President Al Gore.  We were not in Carthage exactly, but near it at our spot on the old lock wall.  We cooked and ate on board.  The water dropped about 2 feet, and the current diminished before we retired for the night.

Carthage to Celina, TN, Thursday, August 9, 2001

     We believe the water stayed the same all night, but if it went up it also came back down again.  It was the same in the morning as it had been late Wednesday night.  In fact, there was very little current at all, and the ropes had very little pressure on them.

     Cordell Hull Lock was expecting us at 9am, and we left the lock wall at 8am.  At 8:30 we received a radio call from the lock.  They wanted to know our anticipated arrival time.  I told them 9am.  It was even more gratifying to get there a few minutes before 9 and see the lock chamber down, doors open, and the green light on for us.  We tied up and shut off the engines.  It was a slow assent, up 59 feet.

     There were 6 – 8 people on top observing us.  We met Mr. Brian, who had spoken to us on the phone and set up the appointments. Everyone was very nice.  Cordell Hull Lake was fantastic, even more attractive than the lakes below.  I think I felt that way because there was so little development; it was almost pristine.  The coves and creeks also looked like attractive anchorages.  Depths in the riverbed were typically 60 feet, or even 75; but it got shallow outside the channel boundaries.  

     We stopped at Granville Marina to take on water and to make arrangements to stay there on Friday night.  We had our date with the Cordell Hull Lockmaster set for 9am on Saturday.  We met Johnnie and Barbara Taylor, owners of the Granville Marina for the past year, who were both very nice and helpful to us.  Barbara took Angela to the store for a few items, and I filled up the water tank in the boat, with the help of a few of the boat owners at the marina.  The marina was located at Mile 331.5 or so LDB.  

     We left there a little before noon and headed upstream.  Occasionally we saw mist or fog on the surface of the water.  That was due to the very cold water coming into contact with the warm, moist air above the river.  We felt the water and remembered again how cold it can get coming out of the bottoms of these high lakes and dams.
 

     The scenery above the marina was the most spectacular yet.  The rocky bluffs were better, I think, than those on the Tennessee River, which were also beautiful. The Cumberland, though, seemed more remote and wild, more isolated and, of course, more narrow and twisting.  

     Above Gainesboro, at Mile 370.7 RDB, the bluff was called Seven Sisters, reportedly named by Daniel Boone, whose parents lived near there and were buried in that area.  But almost every turn in the river brought magnificent rocky bluffs into view, and the water got greener and the river narrower with every mile we ascended.  


     There were some islands in the river, and some very narrow spots.  Once when Angela had the helm, I came up from below and saw the rocky wall about one boat length away from our port side.  I went to the helm and noted the depth at over 50 feet.  I just hoped she would turn to the right when she saw the next log.  She always did the right thing, too.  I think Angela has never hit a log.  She is much more consistent at doing a good job at the wheel than I am.  We both know to slow or stop if and when we become confused, which can happen at times.  We also help each other look for logs, etc.; and we always say “Thank you” for any assistance to encourage more of the same.  Two heads and sets of eyes are better than one.  

     While Angela was piloting us through the upper reaches of the Cumberland, I got inspired to check out the horn and the autopilot.  Surprisingly, I was able to get both working again.  A wire had slipped off a terminal to the horn.  A wire was not making a good connection on the autopilot, and my fix was temporary but gratifying nonetheless.

     At 3pm or so we reached the upper end of navigation on the Cumberland River at Mile 381.  We turned right at Mile 380 LDB into the Obey River and motored slowly up to the launch ramp about a mile away.  The river was narrow, and a strong current was running.   We didn’t fancy trying to anchor there, as the Dale Hollow Dam was only 7.3 miles upstream.  We went back to the Cumberland and turned upstream.

     We went a few miles and the depth never got less than 18 feet.  We had about the same success with anchoring there we had had the previous evening.  Also, the weather forecast was for strong thunderstorms; and the winds were coming from downstream.  At our several anchoring locations, we were being blown upstream or onto the bank.  The current in the Cumberland was slight to none.  Even though there was a dam and hydro plant upstream, it was 50 or more miles away, and sometimes there was little to no current.

     So, we went back down to the point where the Obey joined the Cumberland.  Angela went ashore with the end of a 200-foot line and wrapped it around a tree.  She brought the end back to the boat and we backed away to its full length, somewhat less than 100 feet.  We also dropped our anchor and chain just off the point as a backup.  We thought the current from either of the rivers should keep us off the banks.

Celina to Granville, TN, Friday, August 10, 2001

     When we awoke, the boat was about in the same position as we had last seen it, but the current was down in both rivers.  Soon the boat was being blown by the light wind onto the bank on the Obey River side of the bank.  When we got the dinghy down for our ride up to the Dale Hollow Dam we pushed and pulled the larger boat back downstream.  

     We started up the Obey River about 11:45am, and the current was insignificant.  Also, there was no mist on the water, which occurs when the cold water meets the warm air.  When the dam was discharging cold water, a mist formed above the river like a fog.  We planned off and ran up the river to see the dam.

     The river was narrow; no towboats with barges were going up and down that river.  There were logs and sticks on the sides of the river, and we looked for rocks but saw none.  Birds swept down from their spots in the trees and flew ahead of us and then off to the side.  It was warm and humid.  Some high hills lined the riverbanks from time to time.

     Then we came to the mist. It was cold and dry; what a contrast!  It was like two rivers.  The water was one river, which seemed almost level by comparison.  The mist, however, had an uneven top which was never level; it slanted and swayed and rose and fell.  It was also not uniformly dense.  We had to slow sometimes to be able to see the water and to look for logs and rocks.  The dam must have been discharging or we would not have been having that mist.  

     We estimated the temperature in the mist in the forties.  We felt the water and thought it must have been in the thirties (later we were told the water was in the forties).  When we were in the mist it felt like we were in a walk-in cooler; then it would go away and we had the warmth and high humidity again.  It was strange, and we were going about as fast as we could go in the dinghy.

     We came across some people on the RDB at a park with wooden docks sticking out into the river.  They said the dam was just ahead.  They said a sign ahead required us to wear life jackets, so we put ours on at that time.  If we cut back on the throttle too much, we went backwards downstream.  The current kept increasing, and it seemed we had waves, too.  I was worried about rocks, but the current probably raised the water level above the rocks.  If we fell into the water, we would probably be too shocked by the cold temperature to swim out.

     We moved forward, around the bend, and there was the dam.  It was special, seeing it through the mist, in that narrow river that seemed like something out in the jungle.  We took some pictures, and we had the video going there as well as in the river.  We turned around and fairly flew down the river.  

     Our boat was obscured by the mist.  The current in the Obey had pushed the boat out to the length of the rope, but otherwise there was no great pressure on the lines.  The dinghy quit at the point where we had reached the boat and cut back on the throttle, so we used the oars to get us back to the boat.  Then we lifted and stowed the dinghy on the aft deck hardtop, and we began our return down the river.  The river was beautiful, but it got hazy and hot again. 

     Rain was washing mud into the green waters of the Cumberland.    Even well below the Obey we experienced mist on the water from time to time.  There were dams above the upper limits of the Cumberland and the Obey Rivers, so cold water was coming downstream at times from both rivers.     Sometimes it looked like the "smoke" in the Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee.        
         
   

     We ran down the Cumberland River about 50 miles in 3 or so hours, arriving at Granville Marina at 4:30pm.  We plugged in to two 30-amp power connections, but I was able to run all three air conditioners (about 38 - 40 amps) without tripping the one 30-amp circuit breaker.  We filled the tank with water and turned on the shore water.  We showered and ate at the marina restaurant, which was good.  We used the pay phone there, as our cell phones had “no service” at that location.

Granville to Mt. Juliet, TN, Saturday, August 11, 2001

     Since our appointment with the lock was for 9am, I planed to leave at 8.  We were a little late leaving, and the Saturday fishermen were out in force.  I guess the fishing was good.  In spite of the fishermen, the lake still seemed deserted to us, and very pretty.  We started trying to pick out the cove we wanted to use as an anchorage on our next trip.

     Cordell Hull Lock was 20 miles away from Granville Marina, and we arrived at 9:20am.  The operator lowered us 59 feet, promptly and courteously; and we started down the river to our new home away from home.


     We had already seen all that was passing by, but it still was beautiful.  The rocks on the sides displayed an endless variety of patterns and designs.    Trees grew out of the rocks, and some appeared from a hole or cave in the rock, first horizontal and then vertical.  


     At 1:30 or so, we experienced a slowdown on the port engine, which I at first thought was due to running out of fuel.  I didn’t want to worry Angela, but our fuel was very low.  I thought we still had fuel, because the fuel gauges read above empty; and we had seen them well below empty on previous occasions.  In spite of my confidence that we had enough,  the port engine just slowed down.  It wasn’t like a Racor filter that needed changing; that's a sound like a variation in the RPM of the engine that decreases and increases.  This was like almost no fuel was getting to the engine.

     We tried transferring fuel from the starboard tank to the port tank; it didn't help.  I shut down the engine and went below while Angela kept us moving forward on one engine.  We had a lot of practice doing that.  I removed the Racor filter, which needed changing; but there was insufficient fuel in the Racor where the filter goes.  I added fuel from a small container of diesel I kept for filling the secondary filters when I changed them.  The engine ran for a brief time, and then it died again.

     The secondary filter came to mind.  I had never been shut down by a clogged secondary filter, but I now believe that was what happened to us.  (I believed we were not out of fuel, as we had tried transferring from the other tank with no effect.)  I removed and replaced the secondary filter, filling it with diesel fuel.  (I do know the CAT engine will not start without filling that filter first.)  Then I opened the Racor and filled it also.  The engine started and ran for a short time, but it died again.

     We got to the fuel dock on one engine.  While filling up the tanks, I filled up my small container and then filled up the primary and the secondary fuel filters on the port engine.  It started and ran fine that time.  So, I changed the primary and secondary filters on the starboard engine, and it ran fine as well.  I then refilled the small container so we would have some fresh diesel on board.  When we reached our slip, I changed the primary (Racor) filter on the generator, and it ran well.  We took on 456 gallons of fuel, which is what it took to run about 300 miles and keep the generator on for two nights at anchor.  I added an algaecide to the fuel since we were going to be away from the boat for a while.  
  
     We pulled around to the guest dock at Cedar Creek Yacht Club, where we were qualified for a slip due to our membership in the Texas Mariners Cruising Association.  Several members came over to help; one got our electricity turned on for us.  Another offered us the use of his car.  We showered and changed and went up to the clubhouse for the buffet dinner: it was good.  We met the General Manager, Mike Leary, who was very helpful to us.  It was a nice evening.  We were glad to be there and to realize - we had done it!  We had accomplished our goals to take the boat from Houston up to Pittsburgh and to the upper limits of the tributaries to the Ohio River, to return down the Ohio to the Tennessee River, and to cruise to the upper limits of the Cumberland River.

Lay Days in the Nashville, TN Area and Return Home, August 12 – 14, 2001

     Mike Leary volunteered to take us to the Nashville airport on Sunday morning.  We ate at the clubhouse and met with Mike.  Shortly thereafter we were at the car rental desk, and we went shopping after we got our rental car.  First was Wal-Mart; we needed oil for the engines.  Of course, they didn’t have what we needed.  Next was the grocery store; then the pharmacy.

     We went back to the boat, and Angela started cleaning the boat.  I changed the oil and filters on all three engines and added a little water to the 8D batteries.  I generally cleaned up the bilges and carried away the waste.  Angela and I went out to dinner and enjoyed her cheesecake on the boat.

     On Monday we woke to rain, the first really good rain we had seen on that trip.  We finished cleaning the boat and did some laundry.  Angela was getting the boat ready for our next trip.  We had planed to bring her sisters Blasita, Susana, and Malena with us for a couple of nights on the boat.

     On Tuesday we got up early, ate on the boat, and drove our rental car to the Nashville airport.  We flew out at 8:50am and were in Houston by 10:40am.  That was the end of Trip 3.

Statistics for Trip 3:

Miles    1,531
Running Hours   104
Running Days    14
Travel to/from the boat days    2
Lay Days    2
Total Days in the Trip    18
Generator Hours    99
Fuel Consumed    2,057 gallons
Average Speed = 14.7 mph
Average Fuel Used = 1.34 gallons per mile, or 19.8 gallons per hour
Locks    26

     During Trip 3 we changed the Racor filters on all three engines twice and the secondary fuel filters on the CATs once, changed the oil and filters on all three engines, added water to the 8D batteries, checked a couple of the sea strainers, cleaned the air filters on the CATs, replaced a switch on the helm, etc.

Statistics for Trips 1, 2, & 3:

Miles    4,161
Running Hours    316
Running Days    39
Travel to/from the boat days    5
Lay Days    9
Total Days in the Trips    53
Generator Hours    273
Fuel Consumed    5,766 gallons
Average Speed = 13.2 mph
Average Fuel Used = 1.38 gallons per mile, or 18.2 gallons per hour
Locks    96


        We changed the Racor filters on the CATs four times and on the generator once.  We changed the secondary fuel filters on the CATs once.  We changed the oil and filters on all three engines three times.  We removed and cleaned and reinstalled the port heat exchanger to reduce temperatures in that engine.  We had repairs made to the autopilot, the aft deck lights, the shore power cables, the starboard tachometer shaft for the Glendinning, the aft shower sump pump, the port bilge blower, and wiring and one switch at the upper helm.  We added water to the batteries twice, checked the sea strainers three times, and cleaned the air filters on the CATs twice.

     We anchored once in TX on the ICW, once on the Tenn-Tom Waterway, and once on the Cumberland River.  At Morgan City, LA we tied up to the City Docks, which was free, but we had no water or electricity, so it was like an anchorage in some ways.  We tied up to an old lock wall once and to a tree once on the Cumberland River.  Bobby’s Fish Camp in AL, Brandenburg Marina in KY, and Six and Plum Marina in WV were the same (no electricity or water) except they cost about $10 - 22 per night.  Schenley Yacht Club in PA had no electricity or water for us, and was free; Lighthouse Landing Marina in PA had everything and was still free.  Kentuckiana Yacht Sales provided us with a free slip with water and power in Jeffersonville, IN.  Holiday Point Marina in OH provided us with a free slip and Engle's in PA reduced the cost of the slip after we bought fuel from each of them.  Mike Fink's Restaurant in KY charged us $10 plus the price of dinner for a slip with electricity but no water.  We stayed in marinas the balance of the nights, with water and shore power.  Slip fees in those marinas ranged from $0.50 to 1.00 per foot per night, including electricity, except at Moors in KY, Aspinwall in PA, and Cedar Creek Yacht Club in TN where we had a flat rate based on a longer-term stay.