lock thru's

hay fella's im new here so bear with me. im tryin to find out the proper procedure to lock thru at old hckory dam at rockland any info. would be of great help to me thanks.

[whrizob]

Originally Posted by tn-handyman

hay fella's im new here so bear with me. im tryin to find out the proper procedure to lock thru at old hckory dam at rockland any info. would be of great help to me thanks.

first off, welcome to the site! but as you pull up in the loc there is a bell on the right wall. it will have wire tied to it that hangs in the water. drive up to it and pull it. it will ring. wait for them to open the gate or if the gate is open, wait on the green light to let you in. once in, there are 10 yellow bouys. 5 on each side. tie off to one of them. but leave a little slack in the line, so you dont rub the wall on the way down or up. once your tied, the will let the water out and you will start descending till you all the way down. the will open the gate and blow a horn to let you know you can leave. visa versa on the way in. but the bell is on the wing wall coming in. when you pull it, it does not make noise like the top one. but dont worry, they can hear it. then they will lwt you back up. barges come first and dam closes at 8pm, so get back before then, or you are stuck till morning! hope that helps!

excuse my ignorence, but ive never gone thru a lock. how long does this process take and how long does the rope need to be to tie off ? thanks again.

Takes maybe about 20-30 min and for a rope it doesn't need to be that long. I use my dock ropes which are about 15-20 long total. Make sure you dont pull in untill the green light comes on. The lock-master is not afraid to yell if you try to come in early(past experience )

[whrizob]

Originally Posted by jokerwld

Takes maybe about 20-30 min and for a rope it doesn't need to be that long. I use my dock ropes which are about 15-20 long total. Make sure you dont pull in untill the green light comes on. The lock-master is not afraid to yell if you try to come in early(past experience )

lol! yeah i use the same ropes! reg doc ropes!

[Buccaneer]

Also make sure you wear your PFD at all times inside the lock and once tied off, turn off your motor. You can un-tie and re-start your motor when they blow the horn indicating the lock level is ready and the doors will begin opening. Generally, the lock master prefers you exit the lock when the doors are full open and locked back and the light turns to green. Also they begin lock operations at around 0600 I think. Lockmaster phone number 615-847-3281, keep it in your cell phone.