Headed to Chattanooga TN, been there?/ River boating tips needed!

[Glowplug007]

So Im going to Chattanooga Tn on business for about a month (mon-fri). I will have 2 or 3 guys with me from work and since its only about a 4 hour drive from home I figured I could bring my boat with me for one of the weeks if the weather looked good. I have only been a boater for a few months and have only boated on 1 lake. Sooooooooo,

As a first time river cruise what should I expect?

Have any suggestions where to launch and retrieve?

Any good marinas that might let me leave it docked over night/for a few days?

Im thinking we would like to take a cruise after work, maybe stop for dinner somewhere and cruise back, any suggestions for this?

If we did want to do some tubing.......(can you even do this in a river?).. where would be a good spot?

I have a handheld marine radio but have never gone through a lock, any idea what channel the lockmaster night be on in this area, any specific protocols I should be aware of?

Can I have a good time and see some sights and avoid a lock altogether?

I dont really drink and boat, however my workmates probably will want to, is this legal in TN?

Thanks in advance for any information, im still a newb at all this but loving every min of it!

 

[Glowplug007]

Re: Headed to Chattanooga TN, been there?/ River boating tips needed!

no one has any input?

 

[PBarrett]

Re: Headed to Chattanooga TN, been there?/ River boating tips needed!

I wish I could give you some good advice, but I only spent a week last fall going from Nickajack Lake to Chattanooga, so I just stayed at the dock downtown. That dock is controlled by Marine Max and I think I paid $1.25 per foot, with electricity and water. I will say, it was a great trip. I know that there is quite a bit of information on Chattanooga in this section, so if I were you I'd search this forum for "Chattanooga". You should also check out this site, http://www.riverlorian.com/tennesseecumberland.htm This guy has spent quite a bit of time on the Tennessee River.

Hope you have a good trip.

PB

 

[smatsinger]

Re: Headed to Chattanooga TN, been there?/ River boating tips needed!

We stay mostly on Chickamauga Lake side of the dam vs. the River (downtown) side. If you're trailering there are launches on both sides, as well as, marinas. As previously stated, on the river there is a Marine Max that has transient slips. For the lake you can check, Lakeshore Marina, Erwin Marina or Island Cove and Harrison Bay State Park, a bit further north maybe 20 minutes by boat.

Most boating activity seems to be on the lake side and that would be my recommendation. TVA has a public ramp right next to Erwin Marina and the Dam. Parking isn?t usually too bad either.

Handful of places on the water to stop and eat. Lakeshore Marina has a restaurant and so does Island Cove Marina and Harrison Bay Marina. There is also a place called Aris that is just a restaurant.

Here is a link for some charts. http://www.orn.usace.army.mil/opn/tnriver/

Check out # 68 and #69.

You can tube just about anywhere in the area, just use some common sense and watch for other boaters.

The law in TN about drinking is the same as on the road. If you drink you shouldn?t drive.

Hope this helps and isn't to late.

 

[smokediver632]

I understand that this is an old thread, but I felt compelled to include some additional information regarding docking for the day in downtown Chattanooga, since I had a difficult time determining if there was a public dock accessible to downtown. Marine Max is responsible for the transient and public docks in downtown Chattanooga. They were very informative and helpful. There is a dock site available for day use (no fee, not to stay overnight) located at Ross's landing. It's located along the shore, where the Riverbend stage is tied up during the festival (inset just east of the pier). Other dock sites with power/water hook ups are also available nearby, but there's a fee associated. Hope this helps the next guy looking for an answer!

 

[GA_Boater]

If you understand this is an old topic, yeah 3 years is old - Why did you post? You should have started a new topic. Also, you don't supply business phone numbers. I'm compelled to remove the phone number. People can contact by having the name.

 

[TitanTn]

If you understand this is an old topic, yeah 3 years is old - Why did you post? You should have started a new topic. Also, you don't supply business phone numbers. I'm compelled to remove the phone number. People can contact by having the name.

I think a better question is why as a moderator are you giving him a hard time? I feel it is because you don't understand how search works. Old threads can easily be found (like I did while looking for some information on this topic) and if the question is still valid, and the poster has relevant information - they SHOULD reply to this thread versus starting a new one. The replier added valuable content to this thread that was otherwise a dead end. So please don't start new threads just because it hasn't been posted on in the last week. I would rather find one thread with relevant information than 5 threads I have to dig through because a moderator doesn't want someone to use the search function.

Now, to add value for someone looking for relevant information - access to the dockage downtown is now reserved through a website/app called dockwa.com. You can find pricing, directions, reservation forms and even waiting lists. Check out www.dockwa.com - it's a service used for other locations as well.

 

[GA_Boater]

I think a better question is why as a moderator are you giving him a hard time? I feel it is because you don't understand how search works. Old threads can easily be found (like I did while looking for some information on this topic) and if the question is still valid, and the poster has relevant information - they SHOULD reply to this thread versus starting a new one. The replier added valuable content to this thread that was otherwise a dead end. So please don't start new threads just because it hasn't been posted on in the last week. I would rather find one thread with relevant information than 5 threads I have to dig through because a moderator doesn't want someone to use the search function.

Now, to add value for someone looking for relevant information - access to the dockage downtown is now reserved through a website/app called dockwa.com. You can find pricing, directions, reservation forms and even waiting lists. Check out www.dockwa.com - it's a service used for other locations as well.

Now it's 5 years older, so why did you reply to a Mod comment from 5 years a go? Please read our rules. The content of your reply is covered in our rules.

BTW - You don't know what I know about searching, but you could search for some of my comments about finding old threads when searching. And I do recommend using the search function and have even explained how to search using the forum search and external searches.

Thanks for the added info, but it is still :closed_2: