Chill'n on the Tenn-Tom

Chill'n, no...down right cold with lows in the upper 30's to lower 40's (no frost on the deck yet) and highs in the 50's but with a North wind in the 15-20 mph range the wind chill has been ugly cold!  So we have been forgoing anchorages for marnias so we can plug the heaters in.  We also are in love with our Little Buddy propane heater.  We use it in the cockpit...use to be in the mornings but now have been going longer into the day.  Given all that has gone on weather-wise on the East Coast its hard to complain.  So we have been trying to rack up some miles...but then...more on the later.

A little about the Tennessee-Tombigbee (Tenn-Tom) Waterway.  It was constructed to be a second commercial waterway connecting the Gulf of Mexico to the Mid-west.  It also connects a number of major rivers allowing transit of freight further East than the Mississippi.  The waterway shortened the trip for vessels to various ports by as much as 720 miles.  Originally proposed in the late 1700's by the French as a way of connecting these two navigable rivers, no effort was ever made to complete the waterway until much later.  After many proposals and studies construction began in December 1972.  However, problems still persisted.  From 1972 to 1985 work progressed on the Tenn-Tom and after spending nearly 2 billion dollars, the waterway was dedicated on June 1, 1985.  This mammoth undertaking moved more earth than was in the construction of the Panama Canal!  Officially, the Tenn-Tom is only 234 miles between the Tennessee River and Demopolis.  The 217 miles between Demopolis and Mobile is the Black Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway.  As a 'short-cut' the whole 450 miles is referred to as the Tenn-Tom.

So far we have traveled 92 miles and have passed through six locks (there are twelve locks for a total of   415 ft drop to sea level).  The first lock was the James L. Whitten has a 85 ft drop!  It is quite a hole!!  Here are some pictures from our trip so far.

The Tenn-Tom is also the route that any species of birds use to go South...not just Snow Birds!!

The Divide Cut is 25 miles of man-made levee on one side and hill on the other forming the river.  Banks are rip-rap lined.

These baffles help slow the enrush of flood water.

This is inside the Whitten Lock facing towards the exit doors.

We locked threw with Dragonfly.  Notice mast towering above lock wall.

Chris staying warm with her Little Buddy.

Entrance doors shut...time to go down!

Floating bollard in up location.

Starting down.

...and down...

...and down...

Exit doors

Bollard track!

Mast looking kind of puny!

Doors opening up.

Out we go!

This is the Montgomery Lock.  The next five locks look the same and have
drops of only 25-30 ft.

For the last three days we started to feel a strange vibration that turned into a clicking sound that turned into a grinding sound!!  We pulled into Aberdeen Marina to sort it out.  Appears to be the constant velocity (CV) joint between the transmission and sonic leg (outdrive).  I removed it and found a torn boot and a rocky rotation.  The manufacture is a company called Aqua Drive located in...New Jersey!!  A call went unanswered...surprise...he's probably running for high ground!  After looking up distributors on the internet found one in Seattle, WA that stocked the part, shipped next day, installed and off we goooo!  Another lock (Aberdeen Lock) and arrive the Columbus Marina...no vibration, no clicking, nooo grinding noises...yeah!!!  Plus it was a beautiful sunny...warmer day.  We met a Looper couple at the dock from Minneapolis, MN.  We all took the courtesy car into Columbus to look at old pre-civil war homes and found the birthplace of Tennessee Williams.  Interesting what towns will make a historical site...Mr. William spent three years in the house...the house has been moved three times and contain no original furniture!  Did have period furniture, some from relatives.  Enjoy the pictures:

Aqua Drive

Ripped boot

Departing Aberdeen

Columbus Marina