boating trip?

Hello, I'd like to boat down from KY to the South Forked Deer river in TN. Is that even possible? I can't find any river maps that are detailed enough to see if there's smaller tributaries that adjoin the larger rivers. I plan to do this on a 14 foot jonboat, by the way

[Travis C.]

http://www.state.tn.us/twra/gis/Region1_Waterways.html

Here would be a starting point.

I looked a little and you could surely go up to the Mississippi then down to where the Obion River enters. Take the Obion up to the Forked Deer. That was has been channelized and "should" be navigatable.

Coming from the other way though may be a task since a lot of water from what I read is still shallow or marshy. That is unless it has been channelized.

It would definitely be an incredible trip if you could make it work.

[Travis C.]

Here is a guy that made the trip from the headwaters of TN River to the Gulf in a 14ft jon boat.

I was following his blog as he blogged every day progress but the magazine has removed it due to being several years old.

This was the initial post:

Setting off in a 14-foot jon boat, two men and a dog begin a fishing adventure that will take them from Tennessee to Florida over the next two weeks.

Andy Mayfield - Big River Adventure

11/17/2008

Join Tennessean Andy Mayfield and his buddy Chris Howard as well as Andy’s dog, Doug, as they embark on the adventure of a lifetime setting sail along the Tennessee River on a course that will take them to Apalachicola, Fla.

It’s been a long-time dream of Andy’s and what with the job market what it is and gas prices finally dropping, the 29-year-old decided now is the time to hit the water with his trusty dog and a boatload of fishing gear.

Starting today, the team will set out in a 14-foot jon boat at the headwaters of the Tennessee River where the French Broad and Holston rivers meet. They will then turn onto the Tombigbee for Mobile Bay, where depending on conditions, hope to make the crossing to the intercoastal waterway and on to Apalachicola.

Southern Sporting Journal will be featuring daily journal entries and photographs from the men’s trip until they complete it.

“Both Chris, and I fish and love being on the water,” Andy says. “We are very excited at the idea of fishing each body of water between Knoxville and the Gulf of Mexico. I'm sure we will see some wildlife and enjoy the camping, but we are going to fish!”

Powered by a 25 hp Mercury outboard, the guys hope to make the journey in 10 to 14 days.

That is unless they hit some awesome fishing in one or two spots.

Says Andy, “if the fishing is good, we’ll stay in one spot and fish. That’s the important thing.”

Good to see they have their priorities straight! —Eds

[Travis C.]

Here is the final blog entry:

Day 32—The End

After 32 days and more than 900 miles, Andy Mayfield and his dog, Doug, finally reach the end of their big river adventure.

12/29/2008

There are no words to describe the sounds of the night sleeping in the swamplands. All kinds of critters were moving around. It did rain some during the night, but just a light rain. Doug and I stayed dry, but the rain just added to the overall aura of the swamp.

It felt like there couldn't be another person for 100 miles in any direction, yet we were just 45 miles north of the Port of Mobile. I woke before sunrise and decided to go ahead and get dressed. Outside was some of the heaviest fog I have ever seen. Looking through the trees, vines and brush was a truly awesome sight. Visibility was around 30 feet on land and couldn't have been more than 10 to 15 feet on the water.

Like I said, I was only 45 miles from Mobile, Ala., but I wanted to go ahead and travel in the fog hoping to have more time to explore the delta. Another concern that motivated me to move on in the fog was the thought of heading out into Mobile Bay. Many times, I have watched as a slick calm Apalachicola Bay by morning turned into a chop with whitecaps with just a little afternoon wind. According to my charts, I was going to have to travel into the shipping channel for 7 miles and then back west 4 miles to get to the marinas in Dog River Inlet.

We were packed and on the water by 7 a.m. Because of the fog and debris still floating in the river, I had to proceed slowly. I couldn't see a thing. I had to use the GPS to reach the west bank and slowly headed down river. We were less than 15 feet from the shore, which provided some visibility of land. I was concerned about other boat traffic. Throughout the morning I had to kill the engine periodically and listen, trying to hear if a tug was heading in my direction.

Around 9 a.m. I was heard one, but couldn't tell where exactly it was or which direction it was headed. I just kept traveling, when I finally spotted the tugboat. It was right in front of me, but lucky for me, it was tied up waiting for the fog to lift. I moved alongside and talked to the captain for a minute. I asked him to check the radar for river traffic, and he said I didn't have any thing moving northbound all the way to Mobile. With the information, I increased my speed a little.

The fog lifted around 11:30, by which time we had traveled to Mile Marker (MM) 28. I picked my speed up with the improved visibility. The Mobile River Delta is an amazing and beautiful maze of creeks, canals, bayous and rivers. The Mobile and Tensaw River Delta is the second largest river delta in the nation. I wished I had weeks to run the creeks and bayous. But with concern over the water in Mobile Bay and the already overextended trip I decided to head out and finish my journey.

Coming upon Twelve Mile Island at MM 12, I spotted the Mobile skyline. It was quite a sight to see tall buildings in the distance. It was also quite a feeling know the trip was coming to an end. A trip that was originally slated to take around 15 days had more than doubled in time. I had been on the water for more than a month.

Seeing the big city after so long traveling through the wild and small towns made me want to do an about face and head back the other direction. But I couldn’t. I had to be home for Christmas.

The Port of Mobile was just one more awe-inspiring sight of the day. It was also probably the most terrifying part of the trip. Doug and I found ourselves surrounded by giant ocean going vessels. The speedy and not so small tugs that escort ships to the shipping channel seemed to be everywhere. In every direction there was some activity. There were tugs moving barges, cranes loading and unloading ships, shipyards busy at work and even giant Navy vessels plying the waters. And there we were, right in the middle of it in just a 14-foot flat bottom boat loaded to the max with fishing and camping gear. I can't imagine what was going through the minds of the workers as we passed by.

Once we made it out of the port, we couldn't have asked for a better day to head into the bay. As it turned out, we could have traveled all the way to Dauphin Island and the beaches along the gulf. I stayed in the shipping channel for about 12 miles before hitting the cut to head west to Dog River. At one point, we were in the shipping lane between two giant tankers heading out to sea. It made me feel pretty small.

Finally, we made it to Grand Harbor Marina. It was a feeling I can't really explain. I tied up the boat and just sat for awhile talking with the friendly locals that hang out in the evenings telling tales and sea adventures of their own. I felt like I fit right in. Now I haven't sailed around the world three times like the Reverend, one of the waterman I talked to at the marina, but I did have quite a story. We sat and drank beers until dark. I was finally in no hurry. My journey was over and I would soon be back among family and friends for the holidays after spending more than a month floating a river with only my dog at my side.

I could hardly believe it was the end, but we had made it—more than 900 miles 14 feet at a time.

Travis C, thanks for the info! I've seen all those maps, but i figured that since the Obion dumps into the Mississippi river that it'd be a hard fight against upstream up the Obion. I'm relatively new to boat piloting and a new owner of that boat so sorry for any stupid notions or comments from me.

Me and a friend plan on bending some aluminum tubing into a frame on the back 7', so we can cover with a "custom tailored" tarp "roof" in bad weather like a tent on a boat. Also we plan on putting in some swivel seats

Just need to find a good motor and I'm set! If I can figure the navigation that is.

[tnridgerunner]

Just a couple of observations from an old fart who has escaped more boating mishaps than he should have.

IMHO, no one, however experienced, should get into the main channel of the Mississippi in a 14 foot jon boat, period. I'm sure some have done it, but there are lots of stories about others who didn't make it.

I would rethink that canopy over the boat. Depending on how it's tied in, it may well catch a thunderstorm gust and flip the boat. Not so good.

However channelized the Obion and Forked Deer are, there are many, many laydowns that often block the channels. I think I would start with a more friendly river trip and see how it goes over a 40 mile stretch or so. The Tennessee and Cumberland both offer good possibilities.

You could float from Center Hill Dam down the Caney Fork to the Cumberland and downstream to Nashville without being too far from help or encountering a lot of difficulty. You could catch a lot of different kinds of fish on the way. Or you could float from Nashville down to Barkley Dam.

Just sayin'.

That whole thing sounds like a nightmare and I'm sorry but it's hard to believe it actually happend...

Mr Ridgerunner JMO but I would not advise going through the Old Hickory locks in a 14' jon boat