A word about safety.

It's that time of year again!


The weather is getting nice, the fishing is starting to heat up and boat traffic is on the rise. Now, most people who fish isolated lakes throughout the state don't have to worry as much other than keeping an eye out for the yahoo boaters. But as a pilot on a large Tow Boat, I wanted to say a word to those who fish the Tenn-Tom, the pools on the Tennessee River, Kentucky Lake, or anywhere else where you have large commercial vessels transiting your lake.


Most of us out here on these large vessels are fisherman too, and those who aren't are good people for the most part. The last thing we want is to run over a boat and god forbid kill someone. I have seen lives destroyed over this, captains that did nothing wrong but had to live with the burden of taking the life of another.


A little something to think about.
Here on the my vessel, I am 700' long and when loaded down, weight about 13,000 tons. When making 7-9 miles an hour it takes me a considerable amount of time to stop(a half a mile or more in some instances, over a mile if I am down bound in current) even when all 2000hp is full astern. When empty, the barges act like giant sails and can be very difficult to keep under control when the wind is blowing. We often don't have the ability to maneuver fast enough to avoid a collision.


Our cargo is petrochemicals and is very toxic to us all as well as the environment. Sometimes it contains H2S gas, which when released to the atmosphere is heavier than air and will sit just above the water(where a fisherman would be in his boat) and can kill someone in seconds. (I say that to those who ask why don't you hit the bank to avoid a collision. We will if we can but the results could be the same.) Not to mention the lasting effects of a spill.


Please keep a sharp eye out when your running and give them a wide berth when passing.


Don't ever run or cross closely in front of a large vessel. If your engine stalls or gives out, we probably cannot stop or move out of your way. We also have blind spots out there where we can't see you. I know of a boat in Houston that was passing under a bridge near a boat ramp. As he did so, an elderly gentleman backed his boat off the trailer and out in front of his tow, probably wouldn't have been an issue(other than giving the captain a mild heart attack) but his motor stalled when he shifted into forward gear. Sadly it was to late even though the captain made every attempt to avoid the collision. The last thing he saw was the man pick up his granddaughter and hurl her as far as he could before he and his boat disappeared under the bow. She missed the barges by mere feet and was fished out by the crew. He did not make it. The captain hit the bridge and almost lost his license and lively hood, not because he hit a boat, but because he drove straight into a bridge trying to miss it.


If you are going to consume adult beverages, please do so responsibly. A captain I know ran over a boat years ago on the Tenn-Tom just as he was shoving out of a lock, it was unlit at night, and the only reason he knew he hit it was the forty or so beer cans in the water. Four people lost there lives that night.....


When running at night, please make sure you have proper lighting displayed. Bring a flashlight too. Some of the small running lights which people use are very difficult to see at any distance. Aluminum boats have a pretty good radar signature usually but fiberglass bass boats with just a couple of inches of freeboard are like stealth fighters. Really, they show up on our radars about as well as a duck.


Try not to anchor in tight spots or on the blind side of a bend in the river. Imagine trying to pilot a 700' boat up some of the spots on the Tenn-Tom, we use just about all the water that there is in a turn.


Pay very good attention when fishing around a lock. I had a boat fishing the rip rap around the lower side of Wilson lock on Pickwick lake one time. As I came up on him I hailed him on the loud speaker and advised him that he was in a precarious position. If I were to hit the wall my stern will most likely head towards that bank and boats do not make good bumpers.....he shot me the finger.


Learn the area your fishing when you can and think about buying a cheap VHF radio for your boat. We all monitor the same channels and will broadcast our position rather often. Feel free to give us a heads up if you are close, we can take measures to avoid you if we know you are up around a bend and we can hail you if there is a problem. Often times we are alone up there and would love to chat about fishing for a bit too lol.


If you EVER hear five blasts of our horn, CRANK UP AND GO! This means that there is an imminent threat or emergency. You don't want to be close if all heck breaks loose!


And I know people get upset about the wakes some boats throw. But keep in mind, we must maintain a certain amount of headway in the prevailing conditions to maintain safe steering. I personally will slow up for any vessel if the conditions allow for me to safely do so but that is not always the case.


Don't ever assume you have the right of way, maybe you do, but do you want to explain that to the bow of the larger vessel....just as we do with big ships, don't forget the law of tonnage.


Thanks for taking the time to read all of this! I hope I didn't cast a somber mood on your day but this is serious to me. We take safety very seriously out here!! And we want to see everyone make it home at the end off the day. See y'all on the one whistle!

Outstanding post and very good info to heed. I grew up fishing with my Dad on the TN River 60 yrs ago, and never forgot what he told me about the barges. Smooth sailing to you, Sir!:HandsClapping

Thanks for takeing the time to post this

Great advice! I've fished the Tenn-Tom for a long time and still am amazed at the capabilities of you river boat captains.

That was as good a post as I've ever seen on this forum. Very good info, well written, great perspective. Great job and thanks for taking the time to give us some perspective that we might not otherwise ever have.

Good info and thanks for sharing. Always good to stop and think about some of this.