INLAND BOATING

With thousands and thousands of miles of navigable rivers, the United States offers a tremendous variety of cruising options. Rivers offer many different challenges to boaters, and you need to know what to expect before you start off on your next river adventure.

Hazards that occur on rivers vary greatly depending on where you are cruising. For instance, rivers off the Chesapeake Bay may include such things as shallow waters and soft, muddy bottoms that make running aground very likely, especially if you don’t pay attention to the tide. Rivers in Maine may offer great tidal changes and submerged rocks that will do extensive damage to your boat if you happen to strike one. Other things to watch out for are low-head dams, bridges with restricted clearances, over-head power lines, and even buoys that are submerged or moved by a fast moving current. Natural hazards include bars and shoals, submerged rocks, floating debris (which may accumulate into partial dams called "strainers") and strong tides and currents.

Navigation on rivers may also be somewhat different from river to river. Rivers such as the Mississippi that have a great deal of river bends and also have a large commercial traffic presence probably offer the greatest challenge to recreational boating.

River bends must be handled with great care, as you often cannot see what is around the bend. Though most boaters tend to operate their vessels in the middle of the waterway, the waters are actually deeper on the outside of river bends. It is prudent to stay as near to the outside of the channel as you can in order to keep in the deeper water, and you will also be able to see oncoming traffic earlier--especially commercial traffic. Rules of the Road state that vessels following the current have right of way over vessels going against the current on the Western River System. But you would be foolish to claim this right if you have right of way over a barge or other commercial traffic that must maintain constant speed and steerage to stay in the channel. When in doubt, or when you are faced with a much larger commercial vessel, give way! Stay in contact with river traffic, and if you are approaching a commercial tow, consult with the captain to see on which side he wants you to pass, or if he wants you to wait for him to clear the bend before you pass. Remember, it is much easier for you to maneuver than it is for a commercial vessel.

Using maps or following aids to navigation on lakes and rivers can be confusing at best, and very dangerous if you are not familiar with the system being used on that particular body of water. Different agencies such as local map companies, the U.S. Corps of Engineers and NOAA, use different symbols to show the same object. Similarly, symbols may take on completely different meanings on different charts. Pay attention to the map legend to note what different symbols stand for.

Lakes offer a vast range of boating opportunities. Most lakes are small enough to see all of the shoreline, and are generally very safe waters on which to operate your boat. Many lakes are actually reservoirs that may offer dangerous bottom features such as tree stumps, fences, rock outcroppings, and even submerged houses. Larger lakes, such as the Great Lakes, can be just as challenging as the ocean. Waves can build up quickly, and tend to behave differently than they do on the ocean with tall, close waves rather than long swells.

Rules of the road still need to be followed even though many smaller lakes do not fall under Federal regulation and private lakes may not even fall under state regulation.

Dams also offer unique enticements and challenges to boaters. Most reservoirs and many rivers have large cruising areas that have been created by dams. Dam spillways often hold trophy-sized fish in their turbulent waters. But the dangers are real!

• Dam spillways, either from a large dams’ sluice, or from a low-head dam, create an undertow that can swamp your boat and pin you underwater. Many spillways are marked with buoy lines that mark the danger area- pay attention to them!
• Above the dam, you have hydroelectric intake tubes, water gates that can have large amounts of debris trapped in front of them, and low-head dams that can be difficult to see until you are on top of them.

The best course of action when cruising a new area is to check your map or chart for dams, especially low-head dams, and steer clear!

Over the last one hundred years much of America’s interior has been opened to cruising boats because of canal and lock systems such as the Tenn-Tom waterway and the New York State Barge Canal. While these canal systems were formed for commercial traffic, recreational boaters now heavily use them. Canal systems can have virtually every type of waterway that you can boat on, from narrow rivers, to wide lakes. Here are some things you need to consider on waterways with locks.