Indiana Rivers

[Bruce8989]

Hi,
New to the forum and to Wabash River Kayaking.

First of all, thanks to those that have done such a nice job providing great resouces relative to the Wabash! Particularly the pics and google connection for Access sites.

I am planning to take a initial trip in the Crawleyville - New Harmony section of the river. Thinking 12-30 miles. Would it be reasonable to estimate 3-4 Miles per hour.

Also: I have a Hobie Adventure Island - pedal / sail kayak. Any suggestions relative to best parts of the river to catch a breeze? This Kayak has a 13' mast -- It can be taken down pretty easily to clear trees and bridges, but a large part of the appeal is wide bodies of water with a breeze.

http://www.hobiecat.com/adventure-island/models_adventure_island.html

I don't really understand the gage ratings etc. relative to river height. Any advice about how to interpret gaging station data relative what heights make for better kayaking conditions would be appreciated.

I plan on going this weekend - Memorial Day 2008. Thanks!

[techedge]

I saw one of those boats at a show this year and really drooled over it. It really looks like a versatile and fun boat.

The flow on that section of the river is not really fast...I would estimate about 1.5 mph under normal flow. So under power 3-4 miles per hour would be reasonable.

The wind power would be dependant on the weather of course, but the river is big there and if there is wind you would get your sails filled.

The gage heights are hard to understand and apply to the river itself...obviously the river is not uniform in depth all the way accross. There is a deeper channel. Use the gage as a rough estimation of flow.

You can follow the gage link and that will put you to the USGS site and there you may be able to ask questions or get a more technical definition.

Let us know how it goes.

[Bruce8989]

5/24/08: according to gage height - river about at 12. I tried to put in at the Dogtown Ferry access point West of Mt. Vernon, IN. Unfortunately the access road was under water, and I couldn't get to the river. Hmmm.

Plan B: I drove to the New Harmony state park access point.. The river was up, but not above its banks, and not completely covering the boat ramp. Having never kayaked the Wabash... I wasn't sure what to expect. I didn't have a shuttle, so my plan was to go upstream a few miles and then return. However, the current was swift...It looked ominous. But I was determined to at least test things out, so I rigged the AI, and put in in the small calm backwash around the boat ramp. My plan was to stay close to shore, head upstream and see what I was up against.

As soon as I turned the corner out of the ramp area, I started peddling for all I as worth... and the current next to the shore looked MUCH MUCH slower than the middle of the river. WOW...zero forward motion.... it was all I could do to hold my position. I was convinced....I let it push me back, and headed right back in.

According to the river gage data I had seen online, the river was not above flood stage... I suppose I could have had a fun, swift ride going downstream, but I'm not sure about that.

I'll return another time or two and see how the rivers flow changes with its height. For what its worth, it was plenty wide to do some sailing, tacking back and forth, and there was a steady breeze...just too strong a current.

So plan C: headed back to Mt. Vernon, and had a great time on Hovey Lake. Great place for a small sailboat, or sail/yak.