River gorge tour boat.

[Fishheadspin]

just heard on 102.3 about a new high speed 55 mph tour boat that would run down the gorge. the people on the radio said that it would produce zero wake and be low on noise and zero emissions....

sounds like "ocean front property in arizona" to me......

Why do we need another tour boat in chattanooga when there are already several that run at 1/4 capacity now?

why do we need to show the entire world the river gorge??? so snowbirds and half backs can come in and buy it up and build cabins and houses there.

 

[outcaster]

How big is this speedboat? Is it like those in Panama City, or Myrtle Beach? I do like the idea of more tourists coming to Chattanooga though.

 

[Fishheadspin]

i never caught the size of it but they said it would have 2 diesel engines.

 

[SpurHunter]

Fishheadspin - 2/19/2008 12:22 PM i never caught the size of it but they said it would have 2 diesel engines.

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and low on noise and zero emissions.... ?????</p>

 

[Fat Albert]

<font color="#ff0066">There is an article in the paper with a picture....it is big....and fast....no wake...due to the way she runs on the water....Hydrofoil....FA</font>

 

[fishinvol]

Fishheadspin - 2/19/2008 12:22 PM

i never caught the size of it but they said it would have 2 diesel engines.

Sounds like beetlespin's next boat to me.emoBigsmile

 

[Fishheadspin]

no where near fast enough for Beetlespin's boat!

 

[NRG]

Gee there goes the gorge too .. dang .. first I hear CFF is changing owners, and now 5 freakin tourist trips a day in the gorge ... as if there aint enuff traffic in there now .. well I guess my fishing in the gorge will be a lot less with tourists all over the place lol

I about flipped my lid when I heard this on 102.3 today !!!

emoVomit

 

[Nickajack Angler]

I saw it on the news tonight. It ain't no small boat. I say bull on the no wake stuff.... hydrafoil or not. That thing is going to be a BIG detractor in my opinion as far as the fish goes. But the sandbox is big enough. I guess we have to share. But I just don't see what the aquarium has to gain from this???? It show that the academia types in suits that sit in offices just want a project to put their name on. Watch the evening news.... you'll see what I'm saying. I hate it. Saw it on the St Croix and Mississippi in Minnesota. Just big ol boats lumbering about.... Has no business going that fast down the gorge. Bet you a dollar some dude runs it aground...I hate to sound like a crab ass and am usually VERY positive, happy guy, but that is not conservation in my opinion. If they were the true tree huggin', granola eatin' dudes we know them to be, why aren't they putting up a dock down there with some UTC kids working it and renting sea kyacks or canoes? That's a much better ride for the tourist and inline with what they supposedly stand for, not some space flight looking boat. Then shuttle them back on the "no emissions" I-24> I hate commercializing a natural resource.... and I'm sorry to be negative on anything guys/gals.

 

[Fly Rod Rob]

Nickajack Angler:

I am concerned about the wake stuff too. I know hydrofoils don’t throw as much of a wake as a v-hull, but still something that massive moving across the water has to produce some sort of wake. I wouldn’t want to be near it when it comes by.

I like your idea of the sea kayak or canoe tours but for practical reasons, I don’t think it would work. I doubt that a tourist here on a weekend in the middle of summer will want to get into a canoe and paddle for several hours because that is too much like work. Besides, if you rent them a canoe or kayak, they are likely to dump it and then someone will get hurt, washed downstream, etc.

I don’t like the idea either, but hope for safety sake that they hire some licensed USCG Captains who know how to navigate and understand the right of way on the water.

-Rob

 

[Fishheadspin]

you pretty much summed up how i feel about it too. i about died when i was listening to the people on the radio talk about it. to beat it all, a caller called in and asked how far would the tour go into the gorge. the guy responded saying not that "deep into the gorge, probably not much farther than Mullins cove"

UHHHH HELLO....Mullins cove is pretty much the other side of the gorge!!!! i wonder if the guy is even from around here, and does he really know the landscape well enough to talk about it!

 

[Guest]

The tour boat idea is just for one thing, money, nothing else. They will never pay for it by charging a fee but they can write it off on their taxes. The tour boat won't make a very big wake like the barges do and I guess there is at least one barge going thru the gorge every day, maybe more. If you want to see a big wake be out on the river and let a 30 to 40 ft cabin cruiser go by wide open and they will wash you up on the bank. There are plenty of these every day in the summer, not many in the colder months.

 

[UTCAngler]

That is unfortunate hopefully they dont try to put cabins all through there.I live near Tellico TN and they're starting to develop the river area just before you enter the park.Hate to see that anywhere.

 

[Nickajack Angler]

Go to the Midwest, MN and Wisconsin specifically... You can see first hand what the building on the lakes will look like. It's rampant. And it's not going to stop. The one thing that helps is the terrain and the rock that is unbuildable in the gorge. Our family contributes to the Aquarium and we are members. I'm going to write an email. That just seems SO against what they are all about.

 

[bd angler]

I live in the gorge and I feel exactly like Nickajack Angler. In the summer it will be extemely dangerous for a boat this size to run up to 50mph with the amount of boat/jetski/yacht traffic already bank to bank in the gorge. This is nothing but a money issue. I think I saw it will be $25 for non members? Hopefully they will price themselves out of business. On top of this I saw where a large number of Georgia yacht owners are moving their boats up here since they have no water. Couple this with the Georgia house nearly unanimous passing of the bill to take part of TN. The pressure on this awesome resource is bound to have a negative impact. I apoligize for the negativity. I usually am a very positive person.emoProtest

 

[zfish]

I agree, no way a 50' boat that does 55mph has no wake. I heard on 102.3 that the river gorge trust has approved this boat. When did they have authority over the river traffic in the gorge?