Back in the middle of the last century, pleasure boating on the Mississippi River took off, and nowhere was it enjoyed more than on Pool 19 below Lock and Dam 18 at Gladstone, Illinois.
Sandbars abounded due to the constant dredging of the river channel to keep a deep cut through which tugs and barges could slide down to New Orleans, and families and high schoolers flocked to the river to picnic and party and enjoy the cornucopia that was post-war America.
Boating the Mississippi is still a local national pastime, and the traditional kickoff day for summer boating is Memorial Day weekend.
BEFORE GOING OUTPaul Kay, conservation officer with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, said all the rivers are still high.
“Traditionally in Iowa, Memorial Day Weekend is the kickoff to the boating season, and that means your boats have been sitting for six months or more and you’ve got problems with fuel and fuel filters and starting an engine,” Kay said, pointing out that those issues should be worked out before launching into a dynamic water system like the Mississippi River when it’s running near flood stage. “It gets troublesome very quickly.”
Kay encouraged boaters to go to a stationary waterbody and operate their boat for a bit to make sure everything is working properly before going out on the big river. “If that’s not an option, always go upriver first,” he said. “If the engine shuts off, you can at least float back to the dock.”
Be sure to pay attention to the barge traffic downstream.
“Yeah, we’ve had boaters hit by barges; thank god most of them haven’t been fatalities,” Kay said. “But the barge is going to win that battle every time.”
WHEN WILL BOATING SEASON BEGIN?Bluff Harbor Marina general manager John Archer said quality boating will likely be delayed a few more weeks this year due to recent flooding.
“The water’s getting down to a decent level, within a week to 10 days it will be below the normal so-called flood stage,” Archer said. “We really need some sunshine. That’s what makes the boating season happen. People like sunshine to go boating. People are ready; they’re chomping at the bit.”
Here’s a refresher course for river rats — and River Rats — up and down Pool 19.
MEMORIAL DAY BOATING FORECASTAs the river ebbs from it’s nearly-record-high flood crest this spring, it is still so out of shape that a trip to Crapo Park might be more fun for a family outing.
According to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, there were 28 reported boating incidents on Iowa waters last year: seven of those were personal injury; 17 involved property damage, and four resulted in fatalities.
Of the four fatalities, one involved alcohol as a contributing factor.
Susan Stocker, boating law administrator and education coordinator for the Iowa DNR, said safety should be the top priority for all boaters.
“Plan to have patience at the ramp and on the water,” Stocker said. “With the recent storms across the state, boaters should use extra caution for floating debris and higher waters.”
Stocker advised posting a lookout on board to spot large debris that is often submerged with only a small portion showing above water. Sunken trees and the like are easy to miss and can cause major damage to your vessel.
Be sure to check ahead that boat ramps are open before heading out. More information is available at iowadnr.gov.
U.S. WATERWAY LAWThink about this: the Mississippi touches both Iowa and Illinois. So which state’s laws apply to vessels on top of the water? The answer is federal law.
The river bottom belongs to the states and is divided roughly right down the middle of the channel, but the actual water belongs to the people of America.
The rule of “the thread of the channel” or “thalweg” — the approximate middle of the river’s channel — was inherited from England.
Under international law, a thalweg is taken to be the middle of the primary navigable channel of a waterway that defines the boundary line between entities such as states.
Thus one cannot avoid prosecution by claiming they didn’t know they were in “Illinois waters” when they set off those skyrockets.
Or sold that marijuana to boaters from Keokuk.
Kay said the Army Corps of Engineers owns the ground in Pool 19; the states don’t, but they oversee that land.
“We might own some islands, but most of it is Army Corps ground, and they defer the management of that in a memorandum of understanding to the state,” he said.
The bottom line: The U.S. Supreme Court has consistently ruled that the public owns the water in rivers, and therefore the public has the right to use that water for commerce and recreation.
A good rule of thumb is this: If you’ve heard of a law against whatever it is you’re thinking of doing, then there likely is a law against it, so don’t do what you’re thinking of doing.
Enjoy the sun instead.
LOCAL MARINE LAWThree local police agencies are the primary enforcers on our section of the Mississippi: the DNR, the county sheriff and the Burlington police. All three agencies have the authority to make arrests, issue citations for lawbreakers and so on — but all three are primarily concerned with public safety.
The Iowa DNR is the primary law enforcement on Pool 19 because they patrol the river looking for safety violations, checking fishing licenses and so on. Kay said that Iowa law dictates that police and sheriff’s deputies can enforce boating while intoxicated charges.
“The actual boating law enforcement for lifejackets, fire extinguishers, all the safety equipment and operation is set out in Iowa code that the Iowa DNR is the only agency that can legally do that,” Kay said.
FISHINGIowa and Illinois have reciprocal agreements for enforcement as far as boating and fishing go, so an official license from either state allows bank-to-bank fishing “as long as you’re afloat,” Kay said. “You couldn’t couldn’t stand on the Illinois shore and fish with an Iowa license.”
SHERIFF’S BOATThe Des Moines County sheriff’s department has a boat and makes river patrols on busy weekends, especially holiday weekends, according to sheriff Kevin Glendening.
The sheriff said when manpower demands were low elsewhere, they like to get the boat out to make sure it’s functioning and get deputies more experience.
“They’ll go out with our more seasoned boaters. A lot of them have gained that experience from personal use, growing up on the river,” Glendening said. “They’re really good on the river, they know the river. It’s those kinds of experiences that have been beneficial to us.”
He said deputies aren’t out there to do breathalyzer tests or board for inspections. “We’re out there to monitor and make sure everybody’s being safe,” Glendening said.
USER-FRIENDLYGlendening said his deputies can conduct safety checks, but a special day is set aside for that at boat launch ramps where people are putting in. “We hand out stickers, say hi to the kids, do safety checks,” he said. “We’re not there to write citations.”
BURLINGTON POLICESergeant Chad Zahn, public information officer and community engagement coordinator for the Burlington Police Department, has been boating most of his life.
He said the BPD has a boat and they try to get on the water once in a while.
“Not as often as we’d like,” Zahn said.
As to drinking aboard, Zahn said the BPD has experienced some issues in the past.
“The biggest thing people need to remember is that when boating under the influence, the levels of intoxication are the same as driving,” he said.
Operating a boat with a blood alcohol content of .08 or higher is against federal law and most state laws.
The BPD launch carries a Breathalyzer-type alcohol detection device.
“We hope this weekend is calm, everybody has fun, nobody gets hurt,” Zahn said. “But in the event we’re needed, we’ll be there.”
WATERSKIINGWaterskiing is not wise right now, or running at night without lights — not with this much flotsam and jetsam in the water. “I strongly advise them to be careful of stuff floating down the river, with the river being so high,” Zahn said. “The amount of stuff coming down the river right now is … whew.”
FIREWORKS ON THE RIVERKay said fireworks follow a reciprocal agreement between Iowa and Illinois, just like the those regarding fishing and boating: it is important to follow the law of the state one is in. If the state someone is from has a more restrictive law, that state’s law applies.
Class C fireworks — bottle rockets and firecrackers and such — are legal in Iowa; only non-explosive fireworks such as sparklers and smoke bombs are legal in Illinois.
So presumably one can launch bottle rockets from a sandbar on the Iowa side — if you can find one — but not on the Illinois side.
If on the river and stupid enough to ignite any kind of explosive on a houseboat, sell that vessel immediately and move to the desert.
WHERE TO LAUNCHBurlington has three public boat ramps: North Boat Ramp on Front Street near the U.S. 34 bridge, South Boat Ramp at 101 Market St., and Sullivan Slough River Access at 3175 Sullivan Slough Road south of town.
“You have what we call the Hole in the Wall, which is the one immediately south of the bridge,” Archer said. “We lost three south of the Auditorium when they built the flood wall, but they put a new double ramp in south of that. That has long, super-nice docks, and it’s protected and has lots of good parking, probably the best parking you’ve got.”
Do not leave a boat at the ramp docks; they are for temporary parking while launching.
DMC conservation director Chris Lee said all county ramps with the exception of Casey Barrow are under water.
He said it will be “awhile” before the Tama ramp opens, Hawkeye Dolbee is “iffy” and Sullivan Slough should be open next weekend.
Additional county boat access sites can be found at iadesmoinescounty.civicplus.com/523/River-Accesses.
WHERE TO LUNCHIf not on a houseboat, and can’t find a sandbar where it is possible to pull the outboard onto the beach and cook burgers and dogs on a charcoal fire in a sand pit, try calling The Drake restaurant at (319) 754-1036 and they’ll deliver at any of Burlington’s docks.
Archer said the best spot for boating food is The Drake because of the new courtesy docks just upriver from the Port building.
“You’re allowed to pull your boat up there, eight o’clock in the morning, stay there all day, stay overnight there, take two days there and no charge and not get a ticket,” Archer said.
One could also lug an Arby’s bag along, but if doing that, be sure to lug the empty bag back home.
DRUG AND ALCOHOL BASICSIf one wants to stay safe, stay out of jail, and most importantly, not harm or kill any of the boat’s passengers, treat the boat like an automobile as far as drinking and driving.
Although no license is required to operate a vessel on the Mississippi, the laws of operating a motor vehicle — a ski boat, a pontoon boat, a private barge — under the influence of alcohol are the same on the river as they are on Highway 61.
According to the U.S. Coast Guard, alcohol is a leading known contributing factor in fatal boating incidents.
Where the primary cause was known, alcohol was listed as the leading contributing factor in 18 percent of deaths in 2020.
Additionally, a boater is likely to become impaired more quickly than an automobile driver, and even moderate drinking can cause significant impairment on a boat.
The environmental stressors of motion, vibration, engine noise, sun, wind, and spray accelerate the impairing effect of alcohol.
These stressors cause fatigue that makes a boater’s coordination, judgment and reaction time decline even faster when using alcohol. Curiously, pot is legal in Illinois, illegal in Iowa, but fireworks flipflop those statutes.
If wanting to do any kind of mind-altering substance while operating a motor vehicle — a car, a boat — jail is a likely outcome. Don’t risk it. One-third of Iowa’s highway fatalities in 2022 were alcohol-related.
LIFE JACKETS AND FIRE LAWAll vessels not tied or anchored to shore are required to have an individual flotation device — a life jacket or ski belt at minimum — for every person on the vessel.
The Iowa DNR says the top two safety violations in Iowa are having inadequate life jackets and operating too fast and too close to other vessels.
It is required by law to have a Type B fire extinguisher on any vessel powered by internal combustion or with closed compartments where portable fuel tanks may be stored; that means outboards, inboards, and so on.
Yes, that means jet skis as well.
TEACH YOUR CHILDRENChildren age 12 and under must wear their floatation device at all times while aboard a vessel that isn’t docked or beached.
Adults have the option of drowning when they fall overboard drunk sans life preserver.
Glendening emphasized teaching children to respect the river.
“Children who are used to a pool or a pond who go out on the river? It’s a much different environment when they’re out in the current and things get to moving very fast,” he said.
And young women getting a fabulous tan lying on the deck? Don’t do that while the boat is under power; no one will want to look at the result if run over by an outboard motor.
“I’ve seen it where a boat ran aground, hit a sandbar that wasn’t there before,” Glendening said. “At the south end of Big Island they have those stump fields.”
Kay concurred.
“The river’s constantly changing,” he said. “Last summer we had a pretty low pool; I hadn’t seen it that low for probably a dozen years, and I watched people beaching boats constantly, because where they traditionally boated, there was only about a foot of water.”
RESOURCESQuimby’s Cruising Guide is the bible of river rat travel — it has the maps, it has the landings, it has the marinas — everything a boater needs to be anywhere on the Mississippi River and 22 other navigable rivers and waterways.
Get one at quimbyscruisingguide.com.
THE BOTTOM LINE“The river is an amazing recreation opportunity, it’s a great resource for us. There’s a lot of fun family time to be had out there,” Glendening said. “Just respect it; it can be dangerous. Wear your flotation devices; they are literally lifesavers.”
And remember: boating on the Mississippi is just like backpacking in the Rockies: Take only pictures, leave only footprints. Let’s be safe out there.
LOCAL VENDORSBluff Harbor Marina, 800 N. Front St, Burlington. Jon Archer, general manager, (319) 753-2590 www.bluffharbor.com.
The Drake, 106 Washington St., Burlington. Bryan Atwater, general manager, (319) 754-1036, www.thedrakerestaurant.com.