How to go through a lock on the Mississippi River small boat

Lock and Dam 3 Red Wing Minnesota

[@amandatolleson7740]

This was so interesting. Love the sound of the go fast boat!

[@user-jz3vc9kd2j]

I was a lock operator at Ky lock...one of the busiest in the nation. 57 foot between upper and lower pools....wheeler lock in florence Alabama is around 97 feet. Nice video.

[@13572danube]

Thanks for the kind words. Interestingly enough, the first operator in this vid saw this and we've become friends since then.

[@cmvelo1]

Thanks so much for this video - very much appreciated (as I am a boater on the Upper Mississippi River) and am fairly new to locking through. 💯 🙌 👍

[@fuse-autotech6770]

Happy to help. It can be intimidating if you don't understand the process. Every lock system is different but this is standard practice up in this neck of the woods.

[@robertweisskopf]

Second time ever through a lock I took a 14 ft Jon Boat with a 5 hp outboard through by myself. It was the Lock just north of Lacross. it was an interesting event.

[@peregrine63701]

Hi Dougie from a KQRS listener

[@2fast65]

Crazy to think just this morning i was listening to KQRS and you were talking about boating and this video showed up in my suggested videos have a great day Doug be safe and i love the radio adds.

[@13572danube]

Thank you so much. Enjoy the fall season. It's my second fav.

[@BellsRidesAboardSeaBoss]

Great detailed video, thank you for sharing

[@billjensen1925]

Great video - very very well explained with some great courtesy tips too. Thank you. Cheers from Wisconsin. :)

[@charleyl264]

This applies to many locks, but I haven't seen many that supply the rope to hang onto as shown in the video. One of my ropes looped over a tie point on the lock walkway is my usual method, or I just hang onto one of the steel ladders in the recesses of the lock walls. I can adjust the length of the rope loop as needed, as the lock level changes and then just pull on one end to retrieve my rope at exit time. They expect you to take a tie point as close to other boats as safely possible, so they can get as many small boats in the lock as possible, and remain at that tie point until the lock doors are opened. Really good bumpers help, because many locks have really rough walls from being hit hard by barge traffic. You don't want your boat rubbing on these rough walls. Going up is harder than going down, because the water being let in at several points causes turbulence that pushes and pulls the small boats around. Going down does not create this turbulence.

[@robertruyle583]

Clear, concise, and very informative. Thank you, very well done.

[@13572danube]

Thank you Robert. That's very kind.

[@ronloomis8245]

I have wondered for several years how the locks work. Great video. Big KQ fan.

[@amandatolleson7740]

Me too. Wish we had done this before I sold my last boat. Will go with another boat owner or wait until I buy another boat.

[@mnmully]

Thanks! I have been on the Croix for years, and now want to venture south past Prescott. Exactly what I needed.

[@13572danube]

See ya in two months!! Can't wait to get back on the river. We are in Kings.

[@johnclapperton5556]

Nice to see everyone being smart and as you said, courteous.

[@bradr2142]

I worked in reconstructed Ford lock and dam for about 3 maybe 4 years. All because the little boats where flipping over when filled up. Was a great job blowing that thing up.

[@BradGOlson1]

Well done. This will be very useful for new boaters.

[@toyman9642]

Hello Doug Sprinthall, If you're considering a trip through the Ontario Trent/Severn waterway, I suggest avoiding July and early August. My family had a waterfront cottage on the first lake in the system (Rice Lake) and it was a "steady stream" of boat traffic during that time. Vacation time. Lock wait times can be an hour or more in some instances. My trip through the system was late August. There is a lock fee (I believe that you can obtain a pass (don't know the cost now) for the entire system. If you have LOTS of time, after getting to Georgian Bay, you can continue up the Bruce Peninsula and across to Manitoulin Island. It's beautiful there. p.s. Tobermory is at the northern tip of the Bruce and it's a mecca for scuba divers. Lots of shipwrecks. Enjoy.

[@ronwright8951]

Thanks for the video. Just got my first boat (26ft Regal) and I live outside of Louisville, so I had no idea how locking through works. Can't wait to try it (if the river ever goes back down!). Happy Memorial Day.

[@Clickumentary]

Nice.. always great to hear the interaction at the locks. Until you've done this a lot I suppose it can be a bit stressful. Beautiful day!

[@13572danube]

Here's a funny story about the interaction. I work for a dealer group in town and do a lot of radio advertising. The first lock master in the video, saw this video, recognized me from the radio, we connected and sold him a hot rod honda. It's truly a small world.

[@wd9ufo]

Well done, thanks for posting. I used to live by lock and dam 21.

[@lelandbottomley8962]

Good job Doug as a retired Lock & Dam operator very good information.

[@13572danube]

Thanks Leland. Means a lot from a guy who does your job. Interestingly enough, I became friends with the first operator in the video after he saw this.

[@lelandbottomley8962]

@@13572danube Always enjoyed locking thru pleasant people. Here is a good one. Locked a guy thru on a small boat towing another. I asked where he was going he said, New Orleans. The next day locked him up and said I thought you were going to New Orleans he said he was I said you are going the wrong way. He had got turn around went back upstream after the night. Told him to hold the line and I would lock him back down and the next night throw a stick in the river and follow it. This was at Starved Rock Lock on the Illinois River. Had some good laughs on that one.

[@13572danube]

@@lelandbottomley8962 That guy was in for a long trip. Wow.

[@toyman9642]

An amazing boat trip is through the Trent/Severn Waterway System in Ontario, Canada. From Lake Ontario, near Picton, you travel hundreds of miles through numerous lakes, rivers and canal locks, all the way to Georgian Bay. Detailed charts show channels, places to stop for fuel, supplies, waterfront restaurants, campgrounds, etc. Have a look at two great parts of the trip, The Peterborough Lift Locks and Big Chute. I believe the lock system is open from the Canadian May 24th long weekend until Thanksgiving in October. A wonderful trip.

[@13572danube]

Toy man. We are just starting to talk about the loop. It's likely 4 years away but I have the fever.

[@paulgassler1021]

Thanks for posting this video. Slow and smooth with a dash of patience! Miss hearing you in the mornings with Tom Barnard pitching cars and trucks.

[@13572danube]

Paul, thanks so much. Hard to believe this thing has 20K views but as you know there are a lot of new boaters on the river this year. Still doing spots with Tom and we do a podcast together called Car Selling Secrets. I really like working with him.

[@Godofthemoon1]

Brand new to boating thanks for the video!

[@chefprov]

Thanks ,,, I have always wondered what the procedure was 👍👍😎😎

[@kurtbauman2761]

had fun at that lock once. 3 hour wait, anchor would not hold, went through at 2am and had to pass a barge in the dark in the narrow. its all very easy. i've never called ahead.

[@billmiller3075]

Nicely done, thanks

[@scottlindell3810]

You sound like a car salesman….thanks Doug.

[@jpshipwash6240]

Very informative, thank you very much.

[@harrymelamed848]

During the fall we would take our boat off the lake and hit the river. So much fun going through the locks up in the twin cities.

[@zihrgotti]

Very well explained, great video.

[@pauhanacamano]

Good video, thanks for the info

[@user-xu5wq6qz6d]

Мечта с детства побывать на Миссисипи! Великая река!🙋👍👍

[@doughesson]

Did you mention that the lock Master likes to run as many small craft up or down as possible at once? It takes a LOT of water to fill the chamber for the next downbound lockage, even for a 600' x 110' chamber.

[@danm9092]

Interesting. I took a canoe with two other guys early fishing season 1970-71 north of Red Wing. I cant remember the lock but it was near the town where Anderson windows come from We were ready to portage the canoe past the lock when the operator said he would lock us down river. We put in the lock as you see in this video with the line the operator had. The lock was much bigger than my 16" Grumman so I had to do a bit of paddling to the gate. .. We fished a bit (Frankly this was as dumb as it gets as we were drinking beer as well. Nothing like trying to pee in a canoe in early spring in Minnesota) We caught nothing soo headed back and were locked back upriver. An experience I am lucky I'm alive to tell. We were living in Anoka or Champlin at the time.

[@13572danube]

Great story and I've seen canoes and kayaks in the locks. Never tried to pee out of a canoe though. I don't have the greatest balance in the world.

[@dsnicker9719]

I love the lady in the bow doing, without a huge strain, exactly what she is supposed to.

[@captseamus]

She acts like she can hold the boat in her hands no matter what happens, Big mistake. Good way of getting a rope burn. Get the rope, run it under the lowest railing and wrap the cleat once, now you got full control of the rope and the watercraft! Don't tie the rope off until the Skipper tells you to... Seamus, 100T USMM CAPT

[@kaseymoses1688]

This will be great for my geography class! Thanks!

[@13572danube]

I'd never thought about it for that. It would explain how the locks work and how important they are to shipping. I heard somewhere that a trillion dollars of cargo goes through the locks every year.

[@tectorama]

Interesting to watch after seeing the tows go through lock 19 at Keokuk.

[@woldspromo131]

great video. Thank you

[@billzweig8381]

Out here in the west on the lower Snake River we have 100 foot lifts.

[@freightdawg6762]

Excellent

[@tycamau1237]

cảnh đẹp quá đi

[@doughesson]

It you can not see the wheelhouse windows on a towboat, the Captain or Pilot, whoever is on watch & driving, cannot see you. 15 empty barges will make a blind spot of 900' or more. We've gone out to the head of a tow of empty barges,at #3 even & seen a houseboat in the blind spot. They were about to be run over & we wouldn't have felt the collision.

[@jerryrogers757]

Good info. thx

[@peterfarrell9187]

Smart safe skippers have themselves and crew wear their PFD's while in lockage. Might not be the law but smart thinking skippers know what's safe and how to keep themselves and their crew safe during these procedures.

[@skylords2608]

Very informative. Thank you

[@amanphoto]

Great video. Nice Carver. What size rocna anchor do you have and how does it fit on the bow?

[@13572danube]

If I recall it's a 33lb. I got it cause I kept bending danforths. Their is a roller at the front and it snugs up against that.

[@doughesson]

Locking through is very dangerous. I'm surprised that the lock personnel weren't calling you down for not wearing a PFD. No, the worst possible thing is getting caught between the boat & lock wall to be crushed.

[@pauldicarlo3057]

Thanks for posting. This is helpful to see (as I'm not even a rookie yet). If you are going against the current in that stretch of the river (I live in Rochester, MN), what kind of speeds have you seen? (Trying to determine the type of boat and ability to fight the current to boat up and down the river from Lake City).

[@13572danube]

Current depends mostly on time of year. I ce out through early may is the strongest though a heavy rain can have an effect. Generally the wider the river, the less the current. Strongest current I've seen was 6mph in red wing.

[@pauldicarlo3057]

@@13572danube Thanks!

[@richardstorie229]

Question? Here at Pickwick flotation devices must be worn by all while locking through. Is this for all locks.

[@jeffreysmith662]

What if you are colorblind with them there lights.

[@toddmccowen8206]

arkansas tie ups go up and down with the water , i never shut down my engines .i was told by a lock master to leave my engines running as he just spent two hrs getting a 50 ft boat out the way of a large tow -engines would not start .when his wife killed the engines she cut all power and he didn't know so there u go .

[@kencummings953]

Water must have been up. They weren't in the chamber very long. When the river is low I've seen a twelve foot difference from one side of the dam to the other

[@integr8er66]

Going down is easier than going up, you pull away from the wall rather than being pushed up against it and scraping the side of your boat

[@skoggiehoggins1445]

Proper.

[@sdowell150]

Question, I heard you say they monitor channel 14, would that be Marine VHF or standard c b

[@13572danube]

Marine. It might be the same as cb but I'm not certain.

[@janentomenkafka]

@@13572danube Hi Doug, marine VHF and citizen band use different bands.

[@kencummings953]

Every now and then someone will try to tie the rope to their boat railing. Not sure what they're thinking but the lock attendant always double checks stuff like that before he or she closes the gates.

[@brianweber4154]

Prairie island in the distance

[@davidmike8991]

Nice video but a word of warning, you're in for a rude awakening if you ever go through Alabama on the Tenn-Tom Waterway down to Mobile. They aren't as genteel as, apparently, the lock masters in Minnesota are. (Except at the Howell Heflin Lock and Dam where the lock master is actually a great guy.)

[@user-jz3vc9kd2j]

The lock master doesn't operate the lock or even talk on the radio. Each lock and dam only have one lock master. They usually stay behind their desk. The operators work the lock. I was a lock operator at Ky lock...one of the busiest in the country. 57 foot elevation difference from upper to lower pool. Wheeler lock in florence Alabama is about 97 feet difference

[@fudhater8592]

What did I miss? It looked like the water level never changed...

[@13572danube]

It was only a couple feet. Pretty common up here in mid summer. Technique is the same regardless of altitude change.

[@fudhater8592]

@@13572danube Got it. Yeah even for a couple of feet you'd need the lock

[@boataxe4605]

I thought that all locks required people on recreational boats to wear life jackets.

[@jimmysamson8214]

Why would you shut your engine off. I know you said it's courtesy I've worked on commercial fishing boats must my life and we never shut the engine off going through the lock

[@janentomenkafka]

Around here people only switch off their engine in small locks with high walls, because of the fumes/smell. In bigger locks nobody bothers. Also, in some locks the water can push your boat forward or backwards when docking up. In these cases the engine is helpfull to stay in place... nobody likes to hang on the ropes for dear life. And certainly not when there's also commercial barges in the lock.

[@captseamus]

Cleat the rope lady! Your Captain needs it cleated for a "brake" and "pivot point"...

[@anthonykraft2186]

My crew does it in 45 min

[@toddmccowen8206]

thumb wall

[@pteliy]

Hola!

[@bryanross9964]

No life vest on. While in lock should have got you a fine safety first captain

[@kencummings953]

Heck, I grew up near a lock and dam and I've seen people run the dam.

[@northernwiman.7472]

I’ve been through the locks on the upper Mississippi hundreds of times. I rarely see anyone wearing life vests. Much less getting fines or reprimanded by lock personnel.

[@markduncan6690]

"A Stupid Boston Whaler" Show me this stupid Boston whaler!

[@CityNDN]

That isn't a small boat.

[@bobwalton3642]

Maybe you could be a instructor how to go thru the lock they could call you the lock master

[@jugglerpilotdude]

they did not require you to wear a PFD? your wife?

[@captseamus]

Everyone wears a life preserver while locking through the locks and dam, even the Skipper! You fall over in the boiling locks the turning water will drown you!! Think about it.

[@erickamekonapeper4007]

It’s irresponsible to say do not cleat going up especially if it’s only 2 ft lift! You definitely need to cleat up! You tend to your line for sure and don’t half hitch just figure 8 but for current safety you do NOT HOLD YOUR LINE! It’s safety! Do not instruct if you don’t know because someone with a heavier vessel will listen to you and harm themselves or another just because you think it’s cooler to hold your heavy Vessel instead of using your equipment correctly! DO NOT LISTEN TO HIM IN BALLARD WASHINGTON YOU WILL GET LYNCHED! AND CAUSE INJURY OR HARM! 🤨🖖🏼🇺🇸

[@janentomenkafka]

I would say it alll depends on the situation. Locking down is usually a breeze. When locking up the water can be quite violent when it rushes in. Especially when there is a big difference in height. Then we loop the rope around the bollard on the boat so we need less force.