Locking in the cool of the day
Start Mile 314.
I spent the night anchored in the upper end of a barge fleeting area, where 15 barges (3 wide by5 long) are put together in advance of the towboat’s arrival. It was good in most ways, but I did not anticipate the activity through the night. Every so often I’d be rocked so hard I thought my teeth would fall out. But I’d go back to sleep.
Today, mid day, it’s already 91. My normal day plan now is to start just after dawn, preferably near the upper side of a dam. My theory is they are less busy first thing in the morning. It may not be true, but it’s worked the last few days.
Today’s dam is eleven out of 19 dams. From here on the dams are about 100 miles apart. The first third of the Ohio River is steepest.
As I approach the lock, I called the lock tender on channel 13, announcing the approach of a recreational vessel, and my desire to lock downstream. For some reason the locks for are always emptied. On this morning, nothing was going through but me. “I’ll fill the big chamber for you. Little chamber’s getting maintenance”. I told him I’d be honored to use the big lock. When filled, the gates open. In it I look like a tub toy in a lake. Enough water to float an ocean liner carries me down 20 feet. The tender blows his horn to permit my entry. The red light turns green. Or he may also say,”Come on in, Cap”. I am accorded the same courtesy as the towboat captain, despite my tiny boat.


I throw a line over the “bitt”, keep the boat in place. The big can between the yellow lines descends with the water level.
Another horn blast sends me down the river, after the lower gates are fully open.
In the heat of the day I pause, sometimes having lunch ashore. I may pause again for supper, and finish the day in the cooler evening.
I spent the night anchored in the upper end of a barge fleeting area, where 15 barges (3 wide by5 long) are put together in advance of the towboat’s arrival. It was good in most ways, but I did not anticipate the activity through the night. Every so often I’d be rocked so hard I thought my teeth would fall out. But I’d go back to sleep.
Today, mid day, it’s already 91. My normal day plan now is to start just after dawn, preferably near the upper side of a dam. My theory is they are less busy first thing in the morning. It may not be true, but it’s worked the last few days.
Today’s dam is eleven out of 19 dams. From here on the dams are about 100 miles apart. The first third of the Ohio River is steepest.
As I approach the lock, I called the lock tender on channel 13, announcing the approach of a recreational vessel, and my desire to lock downstream. For some reason the locks for are always emptied. On this morning, nothing was going through but me. “I’ll fill the big chamber for you. Little chamber’s getting maintenance”. I told him I’d be honored to use the big lock. When filled, the gates open. In it I look like a tub toy in a lake. Enough water to float an ocean liner carries me down 20 feet. The tender blows his horn to permit my entry. The red light turns green. Or he may also say,”Come on in, Cap”. I am accorded the same courtesy as the towboat captain, despite my tiny boat.

I throw a line over the “bitt”, keep the boat in place. The big can between the yellow lines descends with the water level.
Another horn blast sends me down the river, after the lower gates are fully open.
In the heat of the day I pause, sometimes having lunch ashore. I may pause again for supper, and finish the day in the cooler evening.
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