Topic starter
26/08/2014 9:45 pm
Hello, and good afternoon fellow river rats! Today I have pondered the same question over and over, and hopefully you all would help me answer it. Being located close to the Kentucky River, I've always wondered how the steamboats like FALLS CITY, among others, navigated the area. I was on the DIXIE BELLE, a pleasant little sternwheeler around Shaker Village, and I asked the captain if the boat ever makes the trip to the Ohio River. He replied "no," and it was basically because:
a)Some locks are not being used, they've been closed down.
b) The locks are too small for the BELLE to fit through (this was a while ago, I don't know if this is what he said...)
I do know that Lock 4 in Frankfort reopened a few years ago, 2010 I think. I read in that article that that makes 40 miles of navigable Kentucky River. Though, I'm under the impression that the Kentucky River is over 200 miles long. Does anyone know what locks are closed, and the width of the open ones? Next time I'm back on the BELLE, I'll be sure to ask the width.
(If anyone is wondering what boat it is, here's a video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-IarhHQ3tU
Thank you,
ML
27/08/2014 2:08 am
If my memory serves, I believe you can travel from Carrollton to Frankfort using locks 1 through 4. I believe that these are the only operational locks on the Kentucky river at this time. I know they were supposed to be undergoing some repairs back in 2012. Locks 1 through 5 are 38 feet by 145 feet according to an article on Riverlorian.com. Locks 6 through 14 are 52 feet by 148 feet.
Back in 2010 due to high water a dock broke loose and hit the Dixie Belle breaking her loose from her dock. She floated down the river and went over the dam at lock 7. Crews were able to board her put down her anchor and she suffered minimal damage. I believe she had to be hauled out of the river and trucked back to her normal pool. You can check out Wlex 18's website for the story. It ran on May 5, 2010
Bill D.
Topic starter
27/08/2014 10:18 am
Dixie Belle
Thank you, Bill. I know about the DIXIE BELLE breaking loose from her dock, though I did not know she went that far. That flood was devastating to those along the Kentucky River, I remember the water going way over Lock and Dam #4.
Thanks for the Info
ML
27/08/2014 12:43 pm
I think locks 1 and 2 are still out of commission. The filling valve on lock 1 failed in 2006 and has been down since then. Basically you haven't been able to travel from Frankfort to the Ohio River since '06. Dams 3 and 4 were refurbished because they are critical to Frankfort's water supply. Those locks are operable.
I'm not 100% sure, but I think at present you can travel from Lockport above lock 2, thru locks 3, 4, and 5, and up to Salvisa at Lock 6, then you can't go further. (I'd have to review the Kentucky River Authority Meeting Minutes to know exactly). I think lock 6 was impounded in order to stabilize the dam, and has huge concrete cells blocking it. This was done in a way that, theoretically, someday if money was found, the concrete cells could be removed and the lock repaired. A couple other KY River locks have been impounded in this way.
Unfortunately the DIXIE BELLE is basically trapped in her own pool above lock & dam 7, in the Shaker Village/High Bridge area. The DIXIE BELLE was struck by a concrete dock and broke free from her moorings in high-water, in May 2010. The water was so high that she floated over the top of dam 7 and ended-up in the next pool downriver. This was a problem because lock 7 is also out of commission, and the water went down before they could get the boat above the dam on her own power. So they had to haul her out onto a trailer and take her back upriver for re-launching.
I took the BARBARA H 64 miles up thru locks 1,2,3,4 in 2001 to Frankfort's Kentucky Folk Life Festival, to be there as a dockside attraction vessel. It was a beautiful trip. We also went above lock 1 in August 2005 for Jim Reising's River Rumble. A very enjoyable trip, although we were all fortunate that Lock 1's filling valve did not fail until the following spring, or we would have been stuck!
If memory serves, the Kentucky River locks are typically about 35' x 145'. The DIXIE BELLE can fit within them easily.. The BELLE OF LOUISVILLE cannot..
Topic starter
27/08/2014 8:20 pm
Dixie Belle Information
Thank you, I wish that the DIXIE BELLE could, sometime, make a trip up to Frankfort. It would also be neat to see her docked at Cincinnati or Louisville. Being squished in between Frankfort and Lexington, I typically have to make either the one hour drive to Louisville or also lengthy ride down to Harrodsburg for riverboat action. I guess that's dramatized, as many are further away from the action, but it would be nice to see the DIXIE BELLE in Frankfort while enjoying a nice meal at Jim's Seafood. I often go there to eat, and find little river traffic- though, the spectacle of the falling water at the dam is spectacular.
Anyway, I have found out some information on the BELLE on her website (which is really the shaker village's site). She is a 115 passenger capacity boat, so, yes, she could most likely easily fit through the locks. They take two cruises a day (2 pm and 4 pm, each an hour long), cruising April 26 through November 2. I have been on the amazing one hour trip which highlights the mouth of the Dix River, a small waterfall, Kentucky Palisades and High Bridge. Captain Bruce Herring claims that, between him and his brother they'd had about 60 years on the boat. Someone in a video said the boat was "historical," which I laughed at, but it made me wonder when it was built. If anybody has any info please share.
Happy Travels,
ML
28/08/2014 10:38 pm
Marcus,
I contacted Shaker Village and was told that Dixie Belle was built in 1970 and was used to give tours over at Boonesboro. They stopped giving tours and Shake Village bought her in 1980.
Bill
Topic starter
29/08/2014 10:25 am
DIXIE BELLE
Thank you, I am trying for a cruise sometime soon. The BELLE is a very pleasant boat, I highly recommend it.
Happy Travels
ML
29/08/2014 11:27 pm
Long time S&D member Louise "Delly" Robertson was one of the original investors in building what is now the DIXIE BELLE. She, the boat not "Delly", was built along side of Kellog Road near Lunken Airport in Cincinnati. "Delly" reported that the boat's stacks were designed so as to burn the boat's flammable trash at their bases and put out smoke.
Topic starter
30/08/2014 12:05 am
Haha
That's a creative idea, I guess!
Topic starter
22/09/2014 10:14 pm
Navigation Charts from 2011
I have continued research to some extent and found a navigation chart for the kentucky river!
http://finance.ky.gov/about/Documents/KentuckyRiverNavigationCharts2011.pdf
It is based off 2011, but it is one of the more updated articles I've found. I will continue research, and I live close to Lock and Dam 4, so I may visit the area and see if I can gather information there.