Boats for Sale in Tennessee
Tennessee is reservoir country. The TVA and the Army Corps of Engineers dammed the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers into a chain of big lakes, and most people in the state live within an easy tow of one.
Registration
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) handles boat registration, and renewals can be done online or through license agents. When you buy, get the current registration and a bill of sale that lists the hull identification number (HIN), and check that the HIN on the transom matches the paperwork. TWRA's boating pages spell out what it wants for a transfer, so read them before you hand over cash.
Boating safety certificate
The rule is set by Tenn. Code 69-9-226. Tennessee residents born after January 1, 1989 must pass a TWRA boating safety exam and carry the TWRA-issued certificate when running a vessel with more than 8.5 horsepower. Nonresidents in that age group need a NASBLA-approved certificate instead.
The certificate isn't required if a supervising adult is on board who is 18 or older and either certified or born on or before January 1, 1989. Operators of 8.5 hp or less, sailboats under sail and holders of a Coast Guard operator license are exempt. You have to be at least 12 to take the exam. You buy a Boating Safety Exam Permit first, then take the exam online or in a class.
The lakes
West Tennessee has Kentucky Lake, the long TVA impoundment of the Tennessee River that runs north into Kentucky. Paris Landing State Park sits on its shore. Pickwick Lake is down in the southwest corner where Tennessee meets Mississippi and Alabama.
Around Knoxville the reservoirs are deeper and clearer: Norris, Douglas, Cherokee, Fort Loudoun, Tellico and Watts Bar. Chickamauga Lake sits just upstream of Chattanooga.
Middle Tennessee boaters use J. Percy Priest Lake and Old Hickory Lake outside Nashville, and Center Hill Lake further east. Dale Hollow Lake straddles the Kentucky line.
Popular boats
On the big TVA lakes you'll see bass boats and crappie rigs all year. Summer weekends bring out pontoons, bowriders and wake boats on Percy Priest, Old Hickory and Norris. Several of the Corps lakes have marinas with long rows of houseboats, so used houseboats do come up for sale here.
Season
Most pleasure boating runs from spring into October, though anglers fish through the winter. Water levels matter more than the calendar. TVA publishes operating guides for each reservoir, and many tributary lakes are drawn down in fall and winter and refilled in spring. That can leave some ramps high and dry in the off-season.
Buying tips for Tennessee boats
Winter drawdowns expose stumps, rock ledges and old roadbeds, so look hard at the prop, skeg and lower unit for dings and repairs. On a houseboat, pay for a marine survey and ask whether the slip at the marina transfers with the boat or whether the buyer has to go on a waitlist. On a tournament bass boat, ask for the engine hours and service records. Don't take the seller's word on the trolling motor and electronics; test them. Check TVA's lake-level page before a sea trial so you don't plan one on a lake that's at winter pool.
1 boat for sale
Frequently asked questions
Who needs a boating certificate in Tennessee?
Tennessee residents born after January 1, 1989 running a vessel over 8.5 hp need the TWRA certificate, unless a qualifying adult supervisor is aboard. Nonresidents in that age group need a NASBLA-approved certificate.
How old do you have to be to take the TWRA boating exam?
At least 12.
Why are TVA lakes lower in winter?
TVA lowers many reservoirs in fall and winter and refills them in spring, as set out in its operating guides.