aquaforce

Hi Tenn boaters and whoever is familiar with this public ramp beside Hales Bar at Nickajack.
I want to launch my 42' Formula and slip at Hales Bar a couple nights on a weekend. Is the public ramp near there suitable for a 42' offshore boat? Any concerns or warnings I need about using that ramp to launch there.
TIA

1fastlx

Never put a 42 in there but it works just fine for the 30s we put in. You should have no problems there.

aquaforce

Thanks for the response. That sounds encouraging for our plans. I think we will run up there the weekend of the 23rd.

1fastlx

Last time we made the trip we got lucky enough that October fest was happening in Chattanooga. Big bonus for us!

aquaforce

That sounds cool. I will have to check dates of what all is going on. We are going to Chattanooga for lunch runs and we can see what all else to catch on the river. We want to do more boating up this way and catch events on the river.
Happy boating

aquaforce

We used the public ramp there and my opinion is that it is not suited for anything more than a bass boat. The dock was extremely short and the water was so shallow at he end of the dock I could wade around the dock so that was of no use for an offshore boat. Backing in the ramp is more steep than most I have used which was not a bad thing but my long trailer lost a light lens on the driver side in the water. Must have hit something that I could not see. The ramp is so steep that I had to use 4WD which is the first time I have ever had to do that with this Dmax. I could use it in a pinch but I would prefer a ramp that is not surrounded by such shallow water.

We had a great time there at Hales Bar Marina and running the river up to Chattanooga. There was a festival at the Marina grounds so we had some entertainment there too which was pretty cool. Can't wait to get back there again.