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Moving to Nashville- Need Advice


jfish1288

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I am moving to Nashville at the end of July. I'm going up next week to try to find a house/apartment (probably Hillsboro Village area, near vandy for sure) and a storage unit for the boat. I would like to store the boat near the body of water I will be using the most, and I could use some suggestions. 

I know the options include Percy Priest, Old Hickory, and the Cumberland; but I don't really know what the pros/cons of each are. Obviously somewhere with smooth water to be found for wakeboarding is preferable. I also like to find a beach or shallow cove to hang out and enjoy some music and adult beverages during the middle of the day, so that is a consideration as well. Proximity to the Vanderbilt area and ease of access is also important.

Which body of water would I probably want to concentrate on?

Any other Nashville area advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

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A handful of local guys boat on PPL and OHL so they will be chiming in here in a few I imagine. I almost exclusively boat the Cumberland, but downstream up north on the TN/KY border. The Cumberland in the Nashville area is really too narrow for my tastes, especially with the amount of commercial traffic in the area. Plus there is a lot of industry in that stretch that make it not very appealing to look at week in and week out. There are really too many better lake options in the area to have to mess with the Cumberland. It is a nice ride down stream to the island near the dam in Ashland City if you are looking for a change of pace. IME the only pro to the river, especially where I am at is that we can always find good water between the cliffs as it takes the wind out of the equation for boarding.

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Center Hill Lake is about 50 miles east of Nashville which is where I boat all the time but in my opinion it would be very well worth the drive over the other two you mentioned.Just my 2 cents worth:whistle:

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Center Hill is a great option or Old Hickory lake.  Percy Preist can be a bit rocky in spots. Helps to have someone show you around on that lake and spots to avoid. You can also go about 50 miles south and check out Tims Ford lake. That is about 15 mins from me. 

I would think the closet lake to you  would be Percy Preist if you will be in the Hillsboro Village area. 

Edited by Garner
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11 hours ago, wake1923 said:

Center Hill Lake is about 50 miles east of Nashville which is where I boat all the time but in my opinion it would be very well worth the drive over the other two you mentioned.Just my 2 cents worth:whistle:

What makes Center Hill better, or Percy Priest/Old Hickory worse? Hazards, water quality, crowds, access, scenery?

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Center Hill is a pretty lake but, a bit of a drive from Nashville. I always get asked if I am driving to the Kentucky Lake (45 min drive), and respond "why I have the river literally 3 minutes away". It is fun to drive to the lake occasionally, but I would rather waste my gas in the boat and not in the truck. Due to the size of the lake I have heard a few complain about the water being rough in areas, but you can always find a cove I imagine. The scenery and the water clarity is the attraction, you can see the bodies in the bottom of the lake. :) OH as with any lake can and has a history of eating props if you don't know the lake and guys have said the same thing of PPL, but it is the rocks that get them there. If your local body of water is working for you, why make the drive unless it is for a lengthy vacation?

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3 hours ago, wdr said:

Center Hill is a pretty lake but, a bit of a drive from Nashville. I always get asked if I am driving to the Kentucky Lake (45 min drive), and respond "why I have the river literally 3 minutes away". It is fun to drive to the lake occasionally, but I would rather waste my gas in the boat and not in the truck. Due to the size of the lake I have heard a few complain about the water being rough in areas, but you can always find a cove I imagine. The scenery and the water clarity is the attraction, you can see the bodies in the bottom of the lake. :) OH as with any lake can and has a history of eating props if you don't know the lake and guys have said the same thing of PPL, but it is the rocks that get them there. If your local body of water is working for you, why make the drive unless it is for a lengthy vacation?

Makes sense to me. Do you mind if I ask where you are putting in on the river? I got the impression from your first message that it was a decent distance from Nashville, but your "3 minutes" comment has me confused. 

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The Cumberlamd River starts in KY, flows south into TN through Nashville and then back north through Clarksville where I am at continuing northwest and dumps into the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers back in KY. Nashville is a straight 1 hour drive from Clarksville down I-24 and about 3 hour drive by boat @ 25mph. Clarksville has a real nice marina and 3 other ramps for launching and one more about 3/4 mile from my house so it is real convenient when the water level at summer pool.

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Don't know much about the boat storage... but my Nashville "musts" list is small but distinguished.... 

Nashville Hot Chicken. Prince's was the original, Hattie B's helped make it more famous. Eat both if you live there so you know the difference.
Seeing Tall Paul play at the Peg Leg Porker on a random summer Tuesday night.
Five Points Pizza.
Bar hop and get drunk on 2nd Ave (broadway is for tourists) and somehow manage to find an Uber to get yourself home.
 

 

Other than that... I bid you good luck, kind sir. 

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I live on OHL. At first I was very hesitant to get on the lake due to all the stories I have heard. It seems that there is a rivalry and those in the Mt. Juliet area trash talk OHL all day long while those of us that live on OHL don't like Percy Preist as much. The joke is that if you piss in Percy this year you swim in it next year. Percy is a closed body of water. Percy has a rock bottom so it does "look" cleaner than OHL due to the fact that OHL has a mud bottom. OHL has a lot better flow of course due to the Cumberland River running through it. According to everything I have research OHL is actually the third cleanest lake in our area. That being said the rains tend to stir up the silt on the bottom, the barge traffic stirs up the timber along the sides and the rain from inflowing streams does dump debris in the lake. You do have to be careful after spring and summer rains to avoid some of the sticks and debris in the lake and in the channel. Unfortunately the area residents do not seem to appreciate the lake as they should and do not do a good job of picking up their trash. It's quite sad really. It is such a beautiful area for the residents not to take any better care at times. But for the most part the lake is clean and upriver is awesome. The steam plant and some of the sights are cool. I personally OHL now and rarely go anywhere else unless it's for a 3 or 4 day getaway. OHL also has several really good marinas on my end of the lake as well as several good restaurants. Awedaddy's is my favorite! Hendersonville also has one of the best boat shops in the region. TNT WATERSPORTS. And the entire area is a boating community from what I have observed. There are also several party coves on OHL such as 4ft and 2ft. Volleyball nets, sandbars ect....

Centerhill lake is a real treat. Located in Smithville Tennessee. It is a fine lake with beautiful water and a couple of great marinas such as Pates Ford and FishLips bar and grille. However it is about a 78 mile drive for me and I live east of Nashville in Gallatin. So if you are downtown it might make your drive a bit further. Centerhill also suffers from debris after the rains but it is simply just a Great Lake no doubt. It is not however very close to any accommodations, restraunts or hotels and the roads leading into the marinas are winding and narrow which can be annoying and dangerous after a full day out on the lake and drinking a few beers but that is just my humble opinion. There are other options such as Tims Ford and Dale Hollow which are both beautiful lakes but they are about 90 minutes away from where I live. if there is anything I can do to help you with your search feel free to reach out to me here and I will pm you my contact number. Good luck. 

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2 hours ago, ibelonginprison said:

Don't know much about the boat storage... but my Nashville "musts" list is small but distinguished.... 

Nashville Hot Chicken. Prince's was the original, Hattie B's helped make it more famous. Eat both if you live there so you know the difference.
Seeing Tall Paul play at the Peg Leg Porker on a random summer Tuesday night.
Five Points Pizza.
Bar hop and get drunk on 2nd Ave (broadway is for tourists) and somehow manage to find an Uber to get yourself home.
 

 

Other than that... I bid you good luck, kind sir. 

I second Peg Leg Porker... Damn good BBQ and a great low key atmosphere!

I am going to have to recommend Biscuit Love, get the East Nasty!  I spent the summer in Nashville last year and this was my favorite thing I ate.

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I boat Percy Priest Lake nearly every weekend. It is true that you could use some local knowledge first couple times out. Let me know when I can help you out with it, wouldn't mind at all.

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16 hours ago, BadgerBoater55 said:

I second Peg Leg Porker... Damn good BBQ and a great low key atmosphere!

I am going to have to recommend Biscuit Love, get the East Nasty!  I spent the summer in Nashville last year and this was my favorite thing I ate.

Biscuit Love - almost forgot that one. Good catch. 

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Thanks for the advice guys. I think I might find PPL is most convenient for me, but I won't know for sure until I find a place to live and a storage unit. Either way I will definitely try to go out with some locals the first couple of times. 

Keep the advice coming (boating and otherwise)

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If you want to wakeboard and not surf, then the Jefferson Springs area of Percy Priest Lake is great, but you need someone to show you the hazards.  It is beautiful and narrow, but due to the width, almost no damn tubers.  A bit of a battle with the local fishermen, but not too bad.  It is our go to place when we are not down on Smith Lake in Alabama.  That lake is unbelievable - by far the best I have every been on, but too far for a day trip. 

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