Nashville Info

[Sadey]

Looks like there is a good chance both my kids will be living in Nashville. If so, we plan to move our 60MY to spend our summers there. Any residents that could shed some light on where to slip and any other details about keeping a Hat there permanently? Winter storage is of concern to me specifically. In Wisconsin it’s expensive but easy, heated storage and Sky’s lengthy storage checklist (battery switches off) is all there is to it. No worries other then finding a building that has a large enough door, 31’. What do y’all do down south?

 

[captainwjm]

Looks like there is a good chance both my kids will be living in Nashville. If so, we plan to move our 60MY to spend our summers there. Any residents that could shed some light on where to slip and any other details about keeping a Hat there permanently? Winter storage is of concern to me specifically. In Wisconsin it’s expensive but easy, heated storage and Sky’s lengthy storage checklist (battery switches off) is all there is to it. No worries other then finding a building that has a large enough door, 31’. What do y’all do down south?

35 year boater in Nashville here. Nashville is a great town, my daughter still lives there.

We kept our 55 Viking on Old Hickory Lake, above Nashville. There are several marinas in Hendersonville and Gallatin, as well in Mt. Juliet and Lakewood. All have floating covered docks. Cedar Creek Yacht Club is also an option. We chose the lake over the river since we mainly spent our time anchoring out. Below Nashville on the river is Rock Harbor Marina and Commodore Yacht Club also with floating covered docks. The river is subject to fluctuating levels and fast current, especially in the winter.

Either way, you are on the Cumberland River which has a fair amount of barge traffic. Locking through on the Cumberland is easy, just be mindful that the barge traffic has priority. The lake is 25 miles upstream of downtown and Rock Harbor is 15 miles downstream.

Boats stay in the water over the winter. We never winterized as we boated year round. Heaters kept us safe, but we needed to be alert for power outages. Ice storms are the main hazard. When that occured, we had to get aboard and run the genny to keep the heat on. Fortunately, really cold spells didn’t last more than a few days.

It’s not the Caribbean, but it’s not a bad place to have a boat.

 

[Sadey]

Thanks for the great info. Any idea of the typical height of the covered slips? We have a mast that’s welded and puts us around 25’ with the sticks down.

 

[Eddieclemons]

Thanks for the great info. Any idea of the typical height of the covered slips? We have a mast that’s welded and puts us around 25’ with the sticks down.

Typical is around low 20s for max air draft. Your girl can't be pulled after you pass Grand Rivers KY due to beam, everything mechanical below the WL will have to be addressed by a diver if possible. We currently have a early 90s ED under cover at my club, but she has a motorized arch. Without checking I think your going to end up uncovered. I would really need to know your lifestyle to give you your options. If you want to talk, feel free to PM me and I will give you my phone #. I can do some leg work for you if your serious.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

If you're serious, you need to hinge that arch. You know how much work it is to take it down and you'll be doing it again to get through Chicago. Hinging it gives you many more options.

 

[Pascal]

Curious to know why so many marinas there have covered slips. Snow?

Starting to look at buying some land in eastern TN and eventually build something. It would be fun to move the Hatt to one of the lakes between Chattanooga and Knoxville if we ever decide to retire

I have to say dockage prices are a lot more affordable than they are here

 

[Freeebird]

Curious to know why so many marinas there have covered slips. Snow?

Starting to look at buying some land in eastern TN and eventually build something. It would be fun to move the Hatt to one of the lakes between Chattanooga and Knoxville if we ever decide to retire

I have to say dockage prices are a lot more affordable than they are here

There goes the neighborhood.

Snow is the enemy of covered slips. People want them for shade. They’re great for that, but birds and spiders make a mess.

Brother Dave, we need to talk, and we will.

 

[captainwjm]

Thanks for the great info. Any idea of the typical height of the covered slips? We have a mast that’s welded and puts us around 25’ with the sticks down.

Gallatin Marina, where I kept mine, had room. There was a large older Hatt there, bigger than my 55 Viking that fit. And, mine was a motoryacht model which was quite tall, well over 20’.

Covered slips are for summer sun protection mainly, as FB said snow and ice are the killers. Nashville Yacht Brokers advertise this area, north of the hurricance zone, but south of heavy winter snows as “the covered corridor.”.

 

[Sadey]

Thank you for all the great replies, even you’s Randy. I’m not sure if this is going to happen or not but it looks like it’s more of a possibility than not. I must say not hauling the boat every season is nice but not being able to is of great concern. I guess you just get used to it up north. I’ll be curious to see what if any year over year cost difference there is. Unfortunately as Freebird can attest, cutting and hinging my arch doesn’t gain us much unless I lose the mast altogether. Even hinging the arch doesn’t gain much and then there’s the two Bimini tops that are attached to the arch that become a giant you know what pain. The admiral does not want to be undercover, spiders and such. I tend to agree with her. We bought this style boat to be able to look out and enjoy the view and although covered is nice it’s not our cup of tea. I would guess that since this boat left the indoor facility at Hatteras all the way until I purchased her she was outside except maybe a total of a years worth of days, most of it down south where the sun is much more intense so she’ll survive. I’ll be reaching out to other few of you in the near future and again thank you for the info!

 

[captainwjm]

There are uncovered slips around if you look. It’s just that having a covered slip is considered the norm.

 

[Pascal]

There goes the neighborhood.

Snow is the enemy of covered slips. People want them for shade. They’re great for that, but birds and spiders make a mess.

Lol… we May end up a river fresh water Hatteras owners some day

I although covered slips were to protect boats from snow. Are you guys saying it s mostly for shade?

What do you do to prevent snow acculturation in winter or is it not a problem in eastern TN?

 

[captainwjm]

Not that much snow, but ice is a concern. However, it is usually a once every 3-4 year event. Bigger issue is power outage during really cold snap. We rigged an outside light that came on if the power failed, marina staff would then be alerted, notify owners, etc.

 

[Freeebird]

Lol… we May end up a river fresh water Hatteras owners some day

I although covered slips were to protect boats from snow. Are you guys saying it s mostly for shade?

What do you do to prevent snow acculturation in winter or is it not a problem in eastern TN?

Not much you can do about it. Actually, there’s nothing you can do about it unless you have your own covered slip at your own dock vs being in a marina.

The blizzard of ‘93 was interesting. My boat wasn’t winterized, but when I called my marina to see if they still had power, they were facing a more serious problem. The floating docks were actually sinking, due to the weight of the snow.

I hopped in my trusty Blazer, picked up a friend who I had sold a boat to, and headed to the marina where we both had boats. The staff was unhappy that we were moving out from our covered slips because our boats were helping hold them up. Sorry, but that’s not my problem.

The power did go out, but we were nice and toasty in our open slips while running our generators for several days. Things melted, the slips survived, but it was fairly short lived. The next good snow (either 95 or 96, can’t remember which) brought them down. My buddy’s boat suffered moderate damage, some were destroyed, but I had moved to another marina at that point.

My personal choice would be a covered slip in summer, and an open slip in winter. No worries about roofs collapsing and the added benefit of free heat via the sun.

 

[Pascal]

That makes sense. Is snow accumulation on the boat itself a problem?

 

[Freeebird]

That makes sense. Is snow accumulation on the boat itself a problem?

Only if you open a snow covered hatch.