As we left on the Tom-Bigbee Waterway, "Muddy Waters" (a nice family & home schoolers from Florida) locked through 3 locks with us. Beautiful boat, too!
Coots.. looks like a duck, but isn't. Doesn't have webbed feet, so has a hard time taking off and landing in the water. They flap their wings like the crazy, trying to run on the water and finally get airborne. They only get about 2 feet off the water. when they stop flapping their wings they don't glide like most birds, they just drop like a rock.
I think they are something thought up by a sales dept, then given to a industrial designer for the aesthetics. Finally engineering was asked to make it work on a limited budget. Coots are proof that God has a sence of humor. db
Little green frog hitched a ride with us on the back fender of the bike for a day. He was gone back to the wild, the next morning...
Didn't even leave a thank you note. Probably some teenage frog running away from home. db
Looking at the lock and dam from the land side.
We've been seeing many lately - they are like a huge bathtub full of water and then after we have secure our boat to a floating bollard with a line (rope), they let the water out and we drop down 30 feet.
Inside now - The gates are opening - we can proceed...
Many of the inland waterways require dams for the water to be deep enough for the barges. Locks make it possible for boats to get from above the dams to the water below the dams. They are like big bath tubes with gates on each end. If you are a boat above the dam and need to pass thru, the lock master closes the gates at the far end and fills the lock with water so it is the same height as the lake behind the dam. He then opens the gates on the lake side and you take your boat into the lock. The gates then close behind you and the lockmaster lets water out of the lock until it's at the same level as the water below the dam. He then opens the gates in front of you and you pass out of the lock into the water below the dam. It's a reverse process if you are going into the lake formed by the dam. This sounds pretty straight forward but it's not all that simple. In order to use the lock you must first call the lock master on your "ship to shore" radio and ask for permission to lock thru. Pleasure boats are lowest on the priority list so if a barge or some other commerical craft is ahead of you, you have to wait--and wait--and wait. When your turn finially comes a green light like a traffic light goes on by the lock and the lock master calls giving you permission to enter.
You then must tie up to a floating bollard on the side of the lock that goes up and down with the water. That can be a challenge as a boat doesn't have brakes and stay put when you try and stop it. All the time the water level is changing in the lock, the boat keeps wanting to move around like a restless three year old. Going thru a lock is an interesting experience but gets a little old after the first dozen are so. db
A fellow LOOPer - check out their blog: wewillnotdrown.blogspot.com
They have chickens and a dog aboard and were at Columbus Marina when we were there.
Lots of shale along the river in Alabama
We're still meeting new people, seeing new vistas and learning new things as we travel on south.
We are liking the warm temps - 70's most of the time.
