Cold frozen rivers in Alabama
Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2010 9:33 pm
I keep my pontoon boat in a covered slip on Lake Guntersville (Tennessee River) in north Alabama. I don't do any extensive winterization other than drain water and add fuel stabilizer since I like to use the boat at least once or twice a month all year whenever there is a nice day. I last went for a ride on the lake in mid-December. Since we had such unusually cold weather the past several days I went to the boat slip to charge my battery and check on things. Much to my surprise the water in the boat slip which is about 4 feet deep was frozen solid with ice thick enough to support a person's weight. The main channel of the Tennessee River was still flowing but there was ice from the shore out to nearly 100 feet in the backwater of the lake which runs from n about 1 to 5 feet deep. The boat launch area was even frozen. Keep in mind this is Alabama and not somewhere in the midwest. I have never seen ice like this on the river and typically I can ride the boat every month of the year. I walked through the marina and noted that nearly all of the boats (incliding mine) were suspended on sling-type boat lifts. A few of the larger ones (not pontoons) were still in the water. It is warming up some now and as soon as this ice melts and we hit 50 degrees I am heading back to the water, maybe this weekend. It is a great time of year to travel up and down the river on a sunny day to watch the waterfowl and bald eagles but this ice is compliccating things. I am glad I put the boat in the lift but I never expected the slip would freeze in this coldest weather for the longest stretch since the 1980s! Hurry spring!
Ken Waites
Ken Waites
