Tenn-Tom to Demopolis, Alabama

I have been slacking off on the Blog for a while.  A lot has happened, some good, some not so good, but nothing really bad.

 

We left Grand Harbor on Sunday the 28th of October for an anchorage just before Whitten Lock.  An anchorage called 5 fingers.  The area is full of small finger-like anchorages way off of the main channel.

 

We filled with fuel and water and emptied the holding tank.  We should be good for a few days to a week.  We left at 0930 and headed into the divide cut, part of the Tenn-Tom waterway.  It is the man made portion of the Tenn-Tom.  It's very straight and deep.  We even had a tailwind for the first time in a long time, and the current was with us again, the first time since we  had left the Mississippi.

 

All went well until we reached the end of the divide cut.  We met a tow coming our way.  Our favorable tailwind was a terrible headwind for the tow.  He was pushing empty barges that were sticking out of the water quite a bit and catching a lot of wind.  He was actually coming up the river virtually sideways against the wind.  He radioed to us that he would need ALL of the channel to get by us.  Betty L and I slowly moved to the side of the channel about even with the red channel markers, well maybe a little outside the channel markers.  About the time Betty L screamed "Don't come in here" on the radio, I felt a quick "thump, thump".  The props had bumped against something.  I put it in reverse and backed off a little, and managed to squeeze past the red buoy into a wider part of the channel.  Betty L radioed that she was hard aground (stuck on the bottom).  I told her that the barge wake may float her off when it went by, and it did.  I was getting a slight vibration now, which meant that I bent something.  As long as I kept it under 1000 rpm it was manageable and tolerable and we could still go about 8 mph.

 

We started again for the anchorage which was only a couple of miles ahead.  It was a beautiful spot with calm water.  We anchored close to Latitude Adjustment, Belly L, and Gemini Dream came in later.

Leaving Grand Harbor, Betty L, Satisfaction, Latitude Adjustment, and Proud Lady.

  

Latitude Adjustment "cheating"



Anchorage - Us, Betty L, Gemini Dream, Latitude Adjustment

Betty L and Latitude Adjustment

Us and Gemini Dream

 When we got to the anchorage, Bob on Betty L, decided to dive under the boat to see if he had damaged anything when he went aground.  He returned to the surface and was happy to report that nothing was damaged.   He asked if I wanted him to look at the props on our boat.   I was happy to let him.  Our dive gear was stored under the bed and not easy to get at.  It was also very cold!!  Bob took a look and said that our port propeller had a couple of "wrinkles" on 2 of the 4 blades.  He said that the starboard prop felt good.  That explains the slight vibration that I was getting.  I figured that I would wait until we get further south before I have it fixed.  There are local marinas in Mobile Bay that  can have the prop repaired.  By the time I get there, I'm sure that there will be other things that need to be looked at.  Little did I know just how fast those "other things" would crop up.

 

 

Bob preparing to "dive" under Betty L.

 

Next morning we all got ready to leave and get to the Whitten Lock.  Remember the Port engine that  was giving me trouble?  Well, it wouldn't start!!  Gemini Dream stayed behind to help while the others left for the lock.  I had taken the jumper switch off of the fuel solenoid because I thought the problem had been resolved by resetting some of the oil pressure and temperature sending units.  Now I needed it again.  So with Gemini Dream waiting, I rewired my "cheater" switch and put power to the solenoid again.  It started!!   I turned the switch off and the engine kept running just as it was supposed to.  Gemini Dream and I headed off to the Lock and managed to catch up before the lock closed.  However, just as we pulled into the lock, the engine quit again!!  I managed to maneuver it up against the lock wall so Pat  and Cindy could tie up to the bollard.  After we tied up I went below and switched the cheater switch on again and restarted the engine.  I can't take much more of this, so I was determined to get the engine looked at the next time we stopped at a marina.  We called Midway Marina because they advertised that a diesel mechanic was available and they were close.  A short day, but we still went through 3 locks.  We finally arrived at Midway on the Tenn-Tom.  Gemini Dream was having alternator problems, so they stopped at the same marina with us. The mechanic had no experience with Caterpillar engines, but when I explained what I had to do to get the engines running, he dug into the problem.  After only a couple of hours, he came up with a relay that he suspected was bad.  He said that it was the same as a Mercruiser tilt relay.  So he had someone bring one to us while he looked at the alternator problem on Gemini Dream. 

The relay arrived and the engine started!  I made him put the old relay back to make sure the engine would NOT start.  It didn't!!  I was happy and not too broke when the bill came.  Gemini Dream did not fare as well.  They could not get the alternator that he needed or the parts to fix his old one.

Next morning we headed out together for Aberdeen marina.  It was way off of the channel and took some winding around to get to it.  Once there, a convenience store and a liquor store were within walking distance.

One of the "shacks" along the Tenn-Tom

Me in my environment.

You see a lot of weird things along the side of the river as you can see below.

Phone booth?

Totem Pole?

By now we were traveling together with Gemini Dream.  I guess it's true misery loves company.  The rest of the boats that we left Joe Wheeler with us are now way ahead.  With us stopping for repairs, and my speed being limited by the "wrinkled" prop, we had been left behind.  Not far behind, but at least a day or so.  At times we would almost catch up, but as it turned out, we wouldn't get back together until we got to Mobile.

We arrived at Columbus Marina in Columbus, Mississippi and decided to spend a couple of days provisioning and doing some minor repairs.  I was still nursing a small coolant leak on the starboard engine, and Gemini Dream was dealing with a steering problem as well as the same alternator problem.  We went to a few auto parts places to try to get them an alternator but could not find anything.  So we left and headed toward Tom Bevill lock.

We tied up to the dock at Tom Bevill Lock.  The dock was there so you could visit the old snagboat Montgomery.  You were not supposed to stay there over night, only to visit the snagboat then anchor nearby.  We decided that Gemini Dream would stay tied up to the dock, with us rafted up to the side of Her, until someone told us to move.  No one did! So we spent the night.  No power or water, but  also no swinging at anchor either.

Snagboat Montgomery

Visitors Center at Tom Bevill lock

Bucket List "rafted" to Gemini Dream

Marley on Gemini Dream

Yacht heading south for the winter.

We anchored the next night at a small anchorage and rafted up with Gemini Dream again.  This time we both set anchors and then tied together to give us a more stable anchorage.

 

 

 

Another Lock

 

Next stop Demopolis, Alabama. Stayed here a couple of days also and tried to get parts for Gemini Dream. No luck here either.

By now, I had figured out a solution to another nagging problem that I was having. My radar was not picking up targets that were straight ahead of me. A small problem when trying to run in the fog or rain. The buoys would not show up! I could see them as they went beside me and then behind me, but I wasn't going that way!! I originally thought that the radar needed to be pitched down a little, but when I got up on top of the hardtop and took a good look, I notice that the metal bows on the bimini top were directly in front of the radome. No wonder it wouldn't work! I searched the Internet and found a 12" pedestal that would raise the radome above the bimini. I had it shipped to Mobile where I hoped it would be there when we got there or at least shortly thereafter.

A good place for a party. Matt on Gemini Dream got his portable smoker out and we smoked some chicken, pork and beef. We had a great meal along with the crew of Catmandu. They had been running a little slower than us. They are a Sailing catamaran and don't travel very fast with only a small engine.

We left Demopolis on Wednesday headed for an anchorage. The last thing we did before leaving, was to fill up with Diesel. While doing that, I dropped my cell phone off the back of the boat. I've had a cell phone for 20 years and never lost or damaged one. Consequently I never insure them. I think I'm still ahead of the game, but my new one (which I couldn't get until Mobile) is now insured.