Drought

[jjohnson120]

Re: Drought

i got out to the lake late fall to 1st part of Dec. man, every time i'd go out the lake was down just a little bit more. one of my normal boat ramps is closed due to low water. short of it is, my favorite watering hole is drying up just like everyone else is. no rain, no snow. i do hope the weather patterns change and go back to raining and snowing or boating is gonna be bad. well, i've changed my tune for boating. while i'm doing it for monetary reasons, i also have an alternative reason. i'm gonna be boating when others aren't. i got a canoe. pretty darn shallow draft i'd say. my boats paid for and i like it so i'm not selling at this point. the water level will return i assume. but while it's low. i'm still gonna be on the water, just in a different way. by product is less expense while i'm doing this. no boat fuel, no wear and tear on the boat, use a small fuel efficient small pickup for transportation instead of a gas guzzler 1 ton van. i'm hoping it's a win/win way to continue to boat when funds are low along with low water levels.

I always wanted to buy a canoe or kayak, but they are so damn expensive for what they are I feel. I see people spending a few thousands on them, and it's just baffling. I suppose I could understand the expense for extreme use, say in a place like CO, but here in Oklahoma where the most extreme you could get would be the Illinois River, I don't see the point. If I could find one for a few hundred, I'd be down for that. Never know when you need a canoe. :laugh:

 

[ziggy]

Re: Drought

If I could find one for a few hundred, I'd be down for that. Never know when you need a canoe.

i didn't get an expensive canoe. $200 used. 14'. center seat is a cooler and drink holder. i didn't know ya could spend thousands on them. i wouldn't do that either. i looked on craiglist for a year or so before i found the one i got. over that time, the ones i passed up were comparable to what i got, just in the $300 range. i waited till i found one a shade cheaper and got lucky i guess.

 

[jjohnson120]

Re: Drought

i didn't get an expensive canoe. $200 used. 14'. center seat is a cooler and drink holder. i didn't know ya could spend thousands on them. i wouldn't do that either. i looked on craiglist for a year or so before i found the one i got. over that time, the ones i passed up were comparable to what i got, just in the $300 range. i waited till i found one a shade cheaper and got lucky i guess.

I think it's like anything, you can spend as much as you are willing. How do you haul yours? I know mine won't fit in the bed of my truck as I have a toolbox and it's a short bed. I've seen some with trailers, but those are usually the more expensive ones.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Drought

How do you haul yours?

with my 'good' truck. (joke intended)

a fair running '91 toy p/u. mostly spent. except for the custom 4''x 4'' wood rear bumper (i'd have pictured it except it has my lic. tag on it), :facepalm: but it works.

 

[jjohnson120]

Re: Drought

It's funny that it's almost as long as the truck. How fast can you go with it up on there like that?

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Drought

Years ago (60's time line) was another bad drought here. The only lake nearby was a 30 year old Core of Engr. lake that a local Congressman finagled through congress....back when Texas had a lot of folks in Washington (Ralph Yarbrough, Sam Rayburn, Lyndon Johnson, Ray Roberts, Jim Wright, John Tower, Ralph Hall, Lloyd Bentsen to name a few).

Anyway, the funds were short, the lake rather small (10,000 acre surface area kind of thing) so launching ramps were few and far between. Additionally, they were short and narrow. As a result of being short, every time the lake was down the water would eat away at the supporting soil around the launch, especially the lower end.

One Sunday the family and I went there to have some fun. We knew the lake was down, but we had a tilt tongue trailer and the boat was only 16' of light design, and launching it in shallow water was easy.

When we got to the ramp we normally used it was occupied. Some guy had not respected the fact that there WAS an end to the ramp where the drop off was on the order of 10" and had backed over the end and he was stuck.

After several normal attempts, and not being of the mind to get the boat off, ask for some help to get the tires back on concrete and then winch the boat back on, he backs up as far as he dared and gunned his truck forward.

After about the third time of doing this he ripped the whole undercarriage out from under the trailer and went up the ramp with the frame bouncing around on the ramp. Had to laugh, but wasn't funny to him.

We left before he finished his task. This IS a true story, not a tale of the old west mind you, I'm not Bob-Bo-Bell, and this isn't the History Channel. Grin

Mark

 

[ziggy]

Re: Drought

It's funny that it's almost as long as the truck

i think they're the same length. 14'. bumper to bumper. i don't even have a red flag on the back cause it don't stick out any.

How fast can you go with it up on there like that?

so far the norm is 55mph. took a different route to the lake one time and did 60mph. no issues so far at either of them speeds. though i did take it out one day and encountered 20-25mph sustained side winds w/gusts to 30 or so. it shifted sideways a small amount once with a gust. shifting sideways i can't tolerate i don't think. no much sideways room to move w/o falling off. it's next big test will be 55-60 and encountering a semi going the other direction at the same speed. ya know the gust of wind ya get off a big truck. will have to wait and see if it'll take that or not. i think it will, but time will tell.

 

[salty87]

Re: Drought

all public ramps on Lake Travis have been closed for months. i don't think we've ever started a year with closed ramps. going back to the drought of record in the 50's, these ramps didn't even exist.

aerial views of Lake Travis. all of the brown near the water's edge should be lake bottom....39' currently below average depth (not full depth, average depth for this time of year). where you see docks in the main lake, they would normally be up the channels nearer the high and dry ramps. all of the islands would normally be submerged now and only appear at the end of the summer.

January 2013 Lake Travis

 

[jjohnson120]

Re: Drought

We left before he finished his task. This IS a true story, not a tale of the old west mind you, I'm not Bob-Bo-Bell, and this isn't the History Channel. Grin

Mark

This is one of those stories that you will always remember because of how dumb the guy was. My dad did something similar to my boat trailer when he borrowed it, of course not near that bad. Luckily all he did was ruin the wheel bearings, but needless to say he didn't make it very far after he he did that.

i think they're the same length. 14'. bumper to bumper. i don't even have a red flag on the back cause it don't stick out any.
so far the norm is 55mph. took a different route to the lake one time and did 60mph. no issues so far at either of them speeds. though i did take it out one day and encountered 20-25mph sustained side winds w/gusts to 30 or so. it shifted sideways a small amount once with a gust. shifting sideways i can't tolerate i don't think. no much sideways room to move w/o falling off. it's next big test will be 55-60 and encountering a semi going the other direction at the same speed. ya know the gust of wind ya get off a big truck. will have to wait and see if it'll take that or not. i think it will, but time will tell.

That's still pretty fast, and I'd imagine you won't have any issues. I guess I could do something similar with my truck. Where did you get the foam? that seems like a real good idea.

all public ramps on Lake Travis have been closed for months. i don't think we've ever started a year with closed ramps. going back to the drought of record in the 50's, these ramps didn't even exist.

That looks as low as a few of our lakes around here. Really sad.

Article Photos: Water released from Canton Lake on its way to Oklahoma City Gallery

I just don't understand people that leave their sailboats out there like that. I would think I'd be figuring out something so it's not just setting on the lake bed.

 

[briangcc]

Re: Drought

Around here...Lake Ontario is down. Last I saw it it had to be a good 2'-3' from where it normally is.

I've seen recent pictures of the St Lawrence River where docks that normally have 2-3' of water next to them are high and dry. You can see the cribbing on the rock bottom and work on it without getting wet.....for a long ways from shore.

Our normal family vacation spot, Black Lake NY, *seems* to have actually come back up a bit. This past summer it was a good 4' down from where it has been in the past. The metal retaining wall at the state boat launch was completely exposed - normally has a couple feet of water on it. The trailer was off the apron when launching/retrieving my boat at that point...not fun. I can only imagine what will happen if this continues - not sure my truck can retrieve itself AND the boat/trailer while sitting in mud.

Dunno...may be the year I don't boat. With upcoming knee surgery that might just be a blessing.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Drought

fwiw, i did what texesmark is talking about too. fell off the end of the boat ramp @ low water. :embarassed: i did it on the missouri river. man, that senerio is a real bummer. i not only got my wheels off the ramp, i got the shackles of the leaf springs off too. two flat surfaces mating didn't allow me to pull the trailer out at all. fortunately, i had three people (total) with me that day. usually it's just me and the ol lady. my remedy was to have the ol lady drive, me and my son jumped in the drink. we were at just over shoulder high in water. we were able to lift the trailer, w/o the boat on it, up, to get past the suspension. then one more lift to get the wheels back on the ramp. no damage done. but sure did learn a lesson that day. unfamiliar ramps i inspect pretty well for depth if i think there's maybe an issue with falling off. i hope to never do that again.
yep them foam blocks seem to work pretty well.

Where did you get the foam?

got them from here, bottom of the page. i got one of them stores local, albeit on the opposite side of town. still had to make the drive. had to have some.

 

[Natty Light]

Re: Drought

I was talking to the wife last night about the water levels and told her about people that MAY sell there boat... Cause i do have a friend or two that trailer there boat that talked about it in the fall of last year... But, myself and the wife would never sell our boat, even if we couldn't use it on our own lake... We put WAY too much work into the old Powerplay to restore her and love that boat so much. IF toward the end of the season we cant use her because of the drought, ill just park it in the drive way and let her idle and just star at it for hours on end... LOL. Maybe even sit in it and have the wife just spray water at me revving the engine... But we'll see...

I totally get this ^

 

[Natty Light]

Re: Drought

Kentucky lake never made it to summer pool last year and remained about 3-4 feet down from normal. Still able to boat, but had to be cautious outside of the channels. Hopeful that this year is a little "roomier"

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Drought

Just reading about the middle MS river. Said barges have to run shallower a couple of feet or thereabouts and each 6" they loose they loose 100 tons or some awful amount of cargo they can't transport.

Mark

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Drought

all public ramps on Lake Travis have been closed for months. i don't think we've ever started a year with closed ramps. going back to the drought of record in the 50's, these ramps didn't even exist.

aerial views of Lake Travis. all of the brown near the water's edge should be lake bottom....39' currently below average depth (not full depth, average depth for this time of year). where you see docks in the main lake, they would normally be up the channels nearer the high and dry ramps. all of the islands would normally be submerged now and only appear at the end of the summer.

January 2013 Lake Travis

Short story. One time, in the '60's a couple of friends and I went to Travis to try out his new 15' FG boat and his new 4 stroke Homelite OB with a night cruise. None of us had any low water experience with the lake.

We put in at the dam and started motoring up the lake staying in the center of it. Wind was calm, air was cool, engine was purring, spray was making it's sound.....life was good. Running along about 20ish.

All of a sudden, BOOM, we get partially thrown out out of our seats, the engine kicks up screaming and wala.....we are beached. You probably know where....about a mile or so up from the ramp where the river winds around the East side.

Thank goodness that even though it was a semi-V most of the hull was relatively flat and we were able to recover it.......then we went home exhausted.

I had some great times on that lake while there. I liked to fish the Perdenales River too.

Mark