A Leg of Your Loop on the Tennessee River
From Clifton to Chattanooga these three videos let you take a peek into the path that a looper will take on this leg of the Great Loop. Head upriver from Clifton TN with a side trip to Joe Wheeler State Park in Rogersville AL. This is the site of our annual Fall Great Loop rendezvous. Take an engine room tour to check fluids every day before starting up again. No worries if you’re not a mechanic. Ask Captain Chris to teach you the basics of boating DIY. Experience barge traffic on the Tennessee River as you cruise along with us. Watch how to overtake slower but BIGGER vessels that share the waterway with you. Listen to a bit of radio chatter as we ask permission to overtake the pushboat on his starboard side using 1 whistle signal. Entering the locks we will secure the boat to sliding bollards which rise and fall with the water level in the lock chamber. Witness the Wilson Lock which is the tallest lock on the Great Loop. When will it be your turn to start your loop? Ask Captain Chris 772-205-1859
Clifton, TN to Joe Wheeler Lock and Marina
Perfect for first time river cruisers and Loopers! Ask Captain Chris as we cruise aboard a 43 foot twin diesel Carver into Clifton, TN then up the Tennessee River through the locks into Joe Wheeler Lock and State Park Marina, a favorite stop for Southbound Loopers. Watch as we radio the locks for entering permission, pull up and secure the boat to the bollard and then exit the lock. Bonus footage: Cruising includes checking the engine room, overtaking towboats with multiple barges and docking tips.
Joe Wheeler Lock and Marina to Goose Pond Marina
Ride along with us on this 43 foot twin diesel Carver on the second leg of a trip on the way to Chattanooga TN. Ask Captain Chris about Helmsman duties as we check systems and cast off from Joe Wheeler Marina and continue up the Tennessee River with a stopover at Goose Pond Marina in Alabama. More cruising skills and navigation along the winding river including guessing where the marina entry channel is located. Sharpen your skills as we cruise upriver. Don’t forget to watch the third and final segment!
Cruising Goose Pond AL to Chattanooga TN
Ask Captain Chris about our last day of this training delivery. We drop our lines and idle out the private channel of Goose Pond Marina. Our journey brings us back into the TN River as we head upriver for our final destination of Harbor Lights Marina above the Chickamauga Lock and Dam. Two more locks bring us through downtown Chattanooga and to our new home port. Surprise! Someone is in our reserved slip. Watch as we sort this out and dock, dock and dock again with more docking practice without a bow thruster on this twin engine cruising boat.
To read more articles on the Great Loop, check out these stories.
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