How Do You Move Your Boat to Watts Bar Lake?

You found the place. Now the real question: what about the boat?

For many boat owners the boat is not an afterthought. It is half the reason for the move. This guide covers the order of operations for getting a boat from your old water to Watts Bar Lake and into a slip at Tennessee National.

Should you bring your boat or buy one here?

Bring it if it suits a big inland lake. If it does not, sell it where you are and buy the right boat after you arrive.

Watts Bar Lake is a freshwater TVA reservoir with more than 39,000 acres of water and 722 miles of shoreline. It has long open runs and quiet coves. Pontoons, runabouts, fishing boats and cruisers can all work on a lake like that.

Be honest about three things:

• Fit. A boat built for big open water may be more boat than a reservoir asks for.
• Age. An older boat can cost more to move and refit than it is worth. Get a transport quote before you decide.
• Size. Your boat has to fit the slip. Have its length, beam and height ready when you call the marina.

Selling before the move also skips the transport bill.

How do you get a boat to Watts Bar Lake?

There are three ways: tow it, hire a hauler, or bring it by water.

Towing. Check the trailer before a long interstate haul. Wide boats can need permits, and the rules differ from state to state. Each state's transportation department has them.

Hauling. A professional hauler handles permits and loading. Get more than one quote. Ask for proof of insurance during transit in writing. Spring is the busy season, so reserve early.

By water. Watts Bar Lake is part of the Tennessee River, and locks connect it to the rest of the river system. Some owners hire a delivery captain. It is the slowest way and rarely the cheapest. Check lock status with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and river conditions with TVA before any trip. Boating from Tennessee National to Knoxville explains how the locks work.

Whichever way you choose, clean, drain and dry the boat and trailer before it goes into new water. That keeps you from carrying plants or mussels from one lake to another.

How do you register a boat in Tennessee?

Through the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, known as TWRA.

TWRA handles boat registration, including which boats must be registered and what paperwork a boat from another state needs. We do not quote the rules or fees here because they change. Check TWRA's current requirements before the move.

Three more items for the same list:

• Boater education. TWRA runs Tennessee's boater education program. Find out whether it applies to you and to anyone else who will drive the boat.
• Your old state. Ask whether it wants the old registration cancelled or transferred.
• The trailer. A trailer is handled separately from the boat. Ask the county clerk's office.

Then call your insurance agent. Tell them where the boat will be kept and how. Ask the marina what proof of insurance it needs for a slip.

Where will the boat live when it arrives?

Settle this before the boat leaves your old driveway.

Tennessee National has a full-service marina with 140+ boat slips on Watts Bar Lake. If a slip is open, a new owner does not have to solve a dock on day one. Call the marina before the boat ships and ask:

1. Is a slip open that fits my boat?
2. What are the slip terms, and for how long?
3. Is the slip covered or open, and is there power?
4. Where do I launch on arrival day?
5. What are the winter options?

Start at boat slips. The longer list of questions is in the marina checklist.

If you are thinking about a private dock instead, know that a dock on a TVA lake needs TVA approval and that community rules apply. Marina slip or private dock compares the two. For the cold months, see where to keep a boat in winter.

What should you know for your first season?

Learn the lake slowly. Every reservoir has shallow spots that do not show from the surface.

• Stay in the marked channel until you know the water. Go slowly anywhere off it.
• Watch the level. TVA holds the summer pool at about 740 to 741 feet and the winter minimum at 735 feet. Familiar spots are shallower in winter. TVA posts the current level at tva.com.
• Give working boats room. The main channel carries commercial traffic.
• Use the long season. East Tennessee has four seasons and mild winters, so boating runs well past summer.
• Ask the locals. Marina staff and neighbors know where the good coves are and where the bottom comes up fast.

More on life on the water is at marina and lake life.

The honest part

Moving a boat is money and logistics. Sometimes the smart move is to sell and start fresh on the new lake.

Two rules save the most trouble. Do not ship the boat until you have a slip confirmed in writing. And do not rely on this page, or any blog, for registration rules. TWRA writes them, and TWRA is where to read them.

Facts about Tennessee National come from the community. Lake facts come from TVA. Rules, taxes, loans and insurance change, so confirm anything that affects a purchase with the right office or professional before you buy.