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Home > Trip Reports > Running KY river Lock #7
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the lock at about the level we ran it at
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the lock in its prime
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this is what we seal launched from
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Running KY river Lock #7
August 2007
Jessamine CO , KY
posted by endercore
This summer I worked in CO and a buddy of mine drove my boat out for me. I used it all summer, and then decided rather than figuring out how to get it home, that i would buy a new one.
Right as i came up with the idea to buy a new boat my dad called me to say that this new guy he works with had a boat on his car and said he was selling it. As it turns out it was just the jackson fun i was looking for, complete with happy feet, and the nice backband/outfitting, so i bought it.
I arrived back to KY smack dab in the middle of a 4 month draught when the only thing running was the ocoee. Not being able to afford the 4 hour drive my buddy and I headed down to the KY river to try out my new boat, goof around, and just get in the water during a hot summer day. We drove down to the area around lock 7, put on and goofed around. After a good bit of roll practice, and bow stalls we noticed some guys working over by the damn and paddled over to chat with them. They were really nice and told us they just bought the place and were turning it into a hydro power source, cool! anyway we keep talking and mentioned we were debating going over the dam next to their power plant. They said it was cool, tho didn't look like much fun. We agreed and decided to head home.
It rained a little bit that night, and when we got bored the next day Ian and I went back to the river, only this time we decieded to put in ABOVE the dam. As we were headed down to the river a cop drove by and left. We didn't think anything of it, and walked out onto the structures of the lock in the river. We seal launced off a concrete pillar into the pool above the dam, made our plan of attack for going over slide, and went. Ian went first, blew his whistle, and raised his paddle indicating it was ok, and I followed. Just as i hit the water below the dam we heard police sirens, and a nice officer from the KY fish and wildlife office was waiting on the side of the river.
Although we explained we had just talked to the owner and they gave us permission the officer just threatened to impound our boats and take us to jail. He of course didn't do that and we ended up getting cited for operating a motorboat in a reckless manor, and operating a vessel in a restricted area. We went to court, and got the operating a motorboat charge dropped ( i mean common on it was a kayak!!! ) but we still each got charged $228 for operating in a restricted area.
maybe we should have driven to the ocoee after all. im sure it would have been less that 500 bucks, and probably a lot more fun. But atleast now I can say I'm a criminal kayaker. And the only person i know who's run it... the dam gets a pretty gnarly hole going during most normal river levels.
i found all these pictures from google images, did not take any of them.
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