Topic starter
17/05/2008 6:11 pm
This beautiful raft of lumber recently paid us a visit, but decided to move on down the river before we could snatch it.
My guess it is an ancient "TEKCIW", spelled backwards. What do YOU think it is? Where could it have come from, we wonder?
17/05/2008 6:52 pm
Sam,
Most interesting photo. You never know what your going to see in a drift pile. I'm sure you noticed the hinges in the lower portion of the photos. Could be your right on that it's an old wicket, or is it a piece of an old wooden lock gate? We should send word to Cap'n Steve if you saw this at Rabbit Hash, cause he's sure to see it in a day or two down at Lamb Landing. I'll bet that Cap'n Bill up at New Richmond's cleaning out his garage and this is a souvenir he tossed out.
This raft would have made for a fun trip down to Markland, but then I think I'd want to make a quick exit, although a more limber man could walk almost from one bank to the other on the drift collecting at the dam, I'll bet.
Aaron
17/05/2008 10:21 pm
Looks like a perfect floating dock for our cottage, complete with handy hardware to muscle it out of the water in the fall/shove it into the water in the spring. Lake ice is a dock killer...I'll tell you, that floating drift is a helleva lot longer than the floating dock I built in 2000. Once you blow off the loose stuff, that wicket looks very nice...I can envision my Whaler and my Starcraft snuggling nicely. And is this an abandoned item or an item that everybody is searching for? Are there still working wicket dams...Forgive me, I really should know this, shouldn't I?
Wonder what the wood is...oak, hickory? And if it is an old wicket, I'm amazed it's still self-floating, considering the years. Or am I still all wet here?
Topic starter
17/05/2008 10:22 pm
Here's a great link to Wicket Locks and Dams. After seeing this page, I wonder if the beauty that drifted by was actually a wicket... it definitely looked bigger than the ones pictured on the website.
http://marionky.biz/local1373/LOCK/
18/05/2008 2:14 pm
Sam, My guess is the walkway of an old railroad trestle that finally rotted and dropped in the river.
Topic starter
18/05/2008 10:10 pm
Professional Help Sought
No rot on that baby. It got away from someone's stash during the sudden mid-May rise. It IS old, though, and may be RR related. The retired lockmen from L&D 50 have been trying to figure out what it is and reported:
This is not a wicket on the Lower Ohio River. But I send the photo to
some of our retired lock personal and see if it comes out of one of
the tributaries.
...looks like the old style runners used under the m/boats (maneuver boats)