I have looked and looked and I may have missed it but I cannot find clear info on whether Douglas/French broad river above the dam is considered navigable.
My first guess is it's not since I can't find anything, but with as hard as it is to find info about waterway classifications I may be missing it.
Above the Douglas dam? Yes it's navigable, huge lake.
Should have clarified, not able to be navigated, considered "navigable" by the corps of engineers and falls under uscg jurisdiction.Originally Posted by bassfisher444
Reason I'm asking is for guiding on the lake. If it's not navigable it doesn't require a uscg license.
That is an interesting question. Since you cant pass thru Douglas and most of the upper East TN lakes you would think that but below is a link for the Holston side that basically says the Holston (technically, Cherokee but similar to French Broad) side is.
https://www.timesnews.net/sports/the...5708e3d34.html
Looking at this link shows the French Broad is considered navigable. I didnt read every portion of the document but noticed it showed the French Broad on it. Noticed it doesnt say Nolichuckey or the Pigeon river that flow into that area though.
https://tile.loc.gov/storage-service...-008033001.pdf
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I think the term "navigable" in this case means can you lock through the dam to navigate from one body of water to the next. I'm not familiar with Douglas Lake, but I think it is an impoundment and you can't "lock through".
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I finally found the answer. The French broad is considered navigable from the mouth(TN River) to the TN/NC state line. So Douglas lake is considered navigable.
It's a bit odd because the definition of navigable waters is : "waters that are subject to the ebb and flow of the tide and/or are presently used, or have been used in the past, or may be susceptible for use to transport interstate or foreign commerce."
The French broad is only considered navigable within the state lines of TN so interstate and foreign commerce aren't being transported. If it said the NC state line through the entire TN River it'd make some sense but slydoggie is correct, Douglas dam doesn't have a lock.
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