How to tie to Dolphins?

[O C Diver]

Clewiston Dolphins

While you don't go through the Clewiston lock (unless you're stopping in Clewiston), there are a set of dolphins to port on the rim canal just before you get to the Clewiston lock and the canal that takes you out on the lake. The dolphins are great to tie between with plenty of water depth. The cleats are very high off the water requiring a long boat hook to put the line on the cleat. During the summer, when the lake level is up, this would be much more manageable. There's just one thing (maybe a billion things) that makes this one to pass on. The bugs are horrific! You're next to the marsh and all manner of flying creatures will come to visit you after dark. If you leave the anchor light on, you will have to wash 100,000 dead bugs off your boat the next day. Strong winds, rain showers, or temperatures below 45 degrees eliminate the problem.

This is looking out from Clewiston, past the lock, and onto the lake. The canal onto the lake is straight ahead of the lock. The rim canal from Moore Haven is perpendicular to the lock to port. On the left side of the picture, you can just start to see the dolphins in the rim canal.


The dolphins looking away from the lock.



Start at 3:28 in the video to get some reference from the lock to the dolphins.

Don't anchor in lake Okeechobee as it's very shallow out of the channel and if the wind comes up, the waves will be a short steep chop!

Next up Port Mayaca Lock.

Ted

 

[Caphenning]

I am not quite sure there is a rule that says they are for only commercial craft to begin with.


I would be interested in a link that says they were.


I did find on the ACoE website under commercial craft....


3. At no time will a tow or barge be left unattended. Tows will not tie off to mooring dolphins overnight or any unnecessary length of time during hours of operation."


but no mention in the recreational craft section about tying to dolphins at all...whether permissible for any length of time or not.

They are most certainly available to anyone who wants to use them on a first come first served basis. The odds of a barge coming by at night are a statistical anomaly away from 0.

The thing is they were designed for barges and commercial craft, not yachts. The are not designed around protecting finishes and polished rub rails, nor provide hardware to secure small boats to.

 

[O C Diver]

Port Mayaca Lock

Don't anchor on the lake!

If you want to learn to tie between dolphins, this is the place to do it. There is only one row you want to use. These are between the overhead highway bridge and the guillotine railroad bridge. There's plenty of water around them and they are quite far from the shore.

Looking at the lock from the lake.


Don't tie between the dolphins on the lake! Very little water there at low lake levels.


The row of dolphins across from the first boat.


Tying between the dolphins. Left facing the guillotine bridge. Right facing the lock.


The guillotine railroad bridge. Not my favorite bridge.


Great video! Forward to 1:03.

Next up St. Lucie Lock.

Ted

 

[O C Diver]

St. Lucie Lock

Last lock.

The St. Lucie lock isn't that far from Stuart. There are lots of good anchorages, marinas, and a large mooring field to choose from. The water going over the spillway can have significant current at the dolphins East of the lock. As a result, I've never tied to them and would recommend against it.

The dolphins to the West of the lock are easy to tie to and numerous.These are where you want to tie to.

Looking from the East to the West. You can clearly see the long row of dolphins on the port side of the waterway sweeping around the corner. Lots of water going over the spillway at low tide, makes for significant current.


Dolphins well off the shoreline West of the lock.


The dolphins east of the lock and down current of the spillway. When transiting west bound, you come out of the current from the spillway before reaching the entry fenders.


Yes, tugs and barges transit the Okeechobee Waterway.



Ted

 

[Frosty]

O C Diver: Impressive guide to this series of locks and dolphins. That obviously took a fair bit of work to put together. I learned a lot. Thank you!

 

[rsn48]

I've tried tying dolphins. They squirm around, they squeal, they are a bit of a pain in the ass to get tied.

 

[ScottC]

Why are they called "dolphins"?

 

[O C Diver]

Why are they called "dolphins"?

I don't know if they do it on porpoise.

Ted

 

[Capt Jack]

Great information. Thanks Ted!

John

 

[O C Diver]

You don’t tie to dolphins, you toss an eye over the center post and tie to the boat/barge.

You will find that the Army Corps of Engineers builds locks and dolphins to suit local conditions. The cleats are massive, about 2' from tip to tip, and bolted through several pilings with 1"+ diameter bolts. As many commercial vessels can't span 2 dolphins, the cleats are meant to be used for securing vessels.

Ted

 

[menzies]

Why are they called "dolphins"?

Mr. Google basically tells me that no one knows. Lots of conjecture of translations from German and French, but nothing conclusive.

Even links to the lift points on cannons which were often molded in the shapes of dolphins!

 

[O C Diver]

They are most certainly available to anyone who wants to use them on a first come first served basis. The odds of a barge coming by at night are a statistical anomaly away from 0.

Commercial vessels have priority over recreational vessels lock transiting, laying on dolphins, and bridge openings. While I've never been asked to move, commercial traffic has right of use over recreational. A recreational vessel can't sit in the middle of a row of dolphins and prevent commercial traffic from tying up.

It may be different on the West coast, but Commercial traffic (tugs and barges) move 24 hours per day on the AICW and major rivers such as the Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Illinois, Tennessee, and the Hudson. Generally the only time they stop is to wait for their turn in a lock, heavy fog, or shallow water at low tide.

Ted

 

[ScottC]

Mr. Google basically tells me that no one knows. Lots of conjecture of translations from German and French, but nothing conclusive.

Even links to the lift points on cannons which were often molded in the shapes of dolphins!

You mean I've stumped the 10,000+ years of cumulative wisdom of the TF??!!!

Only thing that came to mind was the 1960's television series, "Flipper". Always "standing" almost vertically in the water, using his tail, when happy. Anyway, I seriously doubt that's where the name originated for these "devices".

 

[Knot Fast]

Ted,
Thanks for your great effort on sharing this info. I am excited to start tying to dolphins in September!

Another good nugget for me from post #4: come in “perpendicular to the line between the two dolphins… adjust closer or further from the (up wind) dolphin with the bow thruster.”

You have proved your opening #4 statement wrong: “While I won't claim to be an expert at doing it, I have done it probably 20 times, almost all solo.”

Clearly, you are an expert on this unique waterway!
David.

 

[O C Diver]

Thanks!

Ted

 

[Mako]

I use 1" line and about 2" plastic pipe cut into 2-3" lengths. They work as rollers like the mast rollers on an old schooner. It helps the line move up and down with the tide and not catch, but be pulled fairly tight.

Very cool idea Lepke! I can see several uses for being able to toss onto and "snap off" a line from a piling without having it always snag.

 

[BruceK]

 

[Caphenning]

Commercial vessels have priority over recreational vessels lock transiting, laying on dolphins, and bridge openings. While I've never been asked to move, commercial traffic has right of use over recreational. A recreational vessel can't sit in the middle of a row of dolphins and prevent commercial traffic from tying up.

It may be different on the West coast, but Commercial traffic (tugs and barges) move 24 hours per day on the AICW and major rivers such as the Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Illinois, Tennessee, and the Hudson. Generally the only time they stop is to wait for their turn in a lock, heavy fog, or shallow water at low tide.

Ted

I have never seen a barge running the Okeechobee canals at night, they’re pretty infrequent to begin with.

 

[O C Diver]

I have never seen a barge running the Okeechobee canals at night, they’re pretty infrequent to begin with.

It's not a question of whether YOU have seen it or the frequency of commercial traffic. There is a dredge company with dredges, tugs and barges between the Port Mayaca lock and the St. Lucie lock. They are also building a commercial boatyard that now has a travel lift of atleast 200 tons in the same area. So commercial traffic can be moving between Stuart and the St. Lucie lock, St. Lucie and Port Mayaca, and Fort Myers and Franklin lock any time day or night.

Ted

 

[dennismenace111]

Ive never done it but I think I would put my nose into the current and tie a couple bow lines to the dolphin running out of each side of the bow. I guess you could run a stern line to the next dolphin but if your nose is into the current you really shouldn't need to.

Don't forget to light your anchor light.

pete

There is no current to speak of and after dark, no wakes and no traffic! I'd put a line on the bow and have a good night sleep! It's just one of those places you can't really get in trouble. If one was really concerned, run a line from one side of the bow to the dolphin and back to the other! In the morning release one side and pull the line thru .

 

[dennismenace111]

I sure wouldn't want to do it unless it were explicitly stated somewhere (on a sign or a chart) that the dolphins were no longer used by commercial craft and that use by pleasure craft is permitted.

There are no commercial craft on the Okeechobee Waterway! Mostly because lake levels are just too low! No barges, no tugs! No push boats!


It's glorious!

 

[dennismenace111]

The Okeechobee Waterway was built in the 1930s with the idea that it would be a shortcut for commercial cargo. It never worked out!

Today, there is no commercial activity other than BoatUs or Tow Boat toeing some poor soul to a marina! There's very little activity after dark as the locks shut down at 430pm.

There's virtually no current to speak of and few wakes other than the odd John Boat or over powered bass boat.

Pull up to the dolphin and ruin a line thru the hole in the clear and back to your boat. You can then back down to another dolphin astern and do the same!

But really, in most cases, the bow line is all that's needed!

Don't over think this. It's not rocket surgery or brain science!

It's expected that if you're waiting overnight for the lock to reopen, you're going to tie up to the dolphin!

Word to the wise.... Before you enter the LOCK make sure you and anyone on deck is wearing a PFD. The lock master will not start the process till you're secure alongside and everyone has a PFD.

 

[Rockbottom]

I have tied to the Dolphins many times on the Okeechobee Waterway, notably several times in a GH37. It is always very straight forward and makes for a good nights sleep. I have never had problems with commercial traffic. The only thing that I think was not spelled out adequately is that many of the Dolphins are a pretty good distance apart so make sure that you have LOTS of line. I quite often use a slip knot to tie up with, a small bowline with the end run through to form a big loop that goes around the cleat. I tie at both ends. I usually use a boat hook to drop it on the cleat and the slip knot makes it easy to retrieve.

 

[O C Diver]

While there is not a lot of commercial traffic, any one who has crossed the Okeechobee waterway in the last 5 years has motored right by the tugs, barges and dredges at the SW 96th St bridge less than 2 miles West of the St. Lucie lock.

The new commercial boatyard looks to be about 2 miles before Indiantown marina.

I mentioned in post #4, having 100' lines.

Ted

 

[Jblogon]

Everyone give a big hand to OC diver. Great post

THANK YOU

 

[O C Diver]

Everyone give a big hand to OC diver. Great post

THANK YOU

Thanks! Hope you find the information useful.

Ted

 

[snapperwhipper]

Great reading this post,brings back memory's. Me and my girlfriend now my wife made
this trip about 30 years ago on a four day weekend from St Lucie all the way to Fort Myers in my 17' Aquasport. Two days over, two days back, stayed at Roland martins marina both ways and had a great southern dinner both nights (you can't sleep on a 17'
boat). This was my first experience at locking but not my last, did the blue Danube on a
river cruiser, back then no cellphones but had the VHF and a well tuned Johnson and a few spare parts. Loved the drone footage.
Mike a wannbe grand banks owner

 

[O C Diver]

Great reading this post,brings back memory's. Me and my girlfriend now my wife made
this trip about 30 years ago on a four day weekend from St Lucie all the way to Fort Myers in my 17' Aquasport. Two days over, two days back, stayed at Roland martins marina both ways and had a great southern dinner both nights (you can't sleep on a 17'
boat). This was my first experience at locking but not my last, did the blue Danube on a
river cruiser, back then no cellphones but had the VHF and a well tuned Johnson and a few spare parts. Loved the drone footage.
Mike a wannbe grand banks owner

Welcome to the forum!
Glad you enjoyed the trip down memory waterway.

Ted

 

[Knot Fast]

Up the Caloosahatchee to Franklin Lock

We are cruising!

O C Diver - thanks for your many posts on Okeechobee Waterway!
Wayfarer - thanks for the tips on making easy, cool videos!

We left St Pete Saturday and I write from Roland Martin's Marina on the shore Lake Okeechobee.

Watch the movie:
Caloosahatchee to Franklin Lock

Our plan is to go to Stuart and turn left. When it gets cold, turn around.

Tomorrow, maybe the Port Mayaca dolphins....

 

[menzies]

That's about 37 miles, not a bit too short?