GL: river wing dams

[Coleen Barger]

  A couple of gentlemen inquired about wing dams on the rivers and whether
they should stay clear. My husband Gary and I are long-time river boaters,
with home port on the Arkansas River (our boat is presently in Tennessee
at Pebble Isle Marina). We have plenty of experience with wing dams,
including
one encounter that cost us a prop.
  I have never seen a chart whose sailing line went over a wing dam--wicket
dam, yes; wing dam, no. A wicket dam is associated with a lock; when the
water is high, you don't have to use the lock. The Corps of Engineers
lockmaster
instead lowers the wicket dam and you sail right over. When water is low,
the wicket dam is raised, and all vessels use the lock to transit.
  A wing dam, on the other hand, is constructed to direct water down the
center of the channel (usually where the sailing line is), thus helping
the channel "dredge" itself. On a sandy/silty river like the Arkansas, this
is critically important. The dams themselves are often made of rock and
timber. Sometimes you can see them above the waterline, sometimes you can't
(especially during times of high water). Whatever you do, STAY AWAY FROM
WING DAMS! We only lost a prop (a result of misreading a chart when we
weren't
doing a good job keeping track of where we were, and also back in the days
before we had electronic charts and GPS to tell us exactly where we were).
People have been killed and badly injured on the Arkansas from striking
a wing dam, typically at high speed, destroying the boat and/or motor,
sometimes
throwing people from the vessel.

Coleen Barger
"Calypso Poet" Carver 466
website -- http://www.calypsopoet.net