LOTO wave problems recognized...
08-04-2003, 08:39 AM
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LOTO wave problems recognized...
Found this on another site. Could get interesting for those of us who boat at LOTO.
Big boats' wakes in Ozarks prove an elusive problem
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
updated: 08/03/2003 11:18 PM
SPRINGFIELD - Hundreds of miles from any ocean, the surface of the Lake of the Ozarks sometimes is churned so powerfully by large, fast-moving boats that 3- to 4-foot waves arise in a flash.
When the wakes from two or three boats collide, the result is a "rogue wave" - a split-second phenomenon unknown on the ocean, where waves build and travel in a more predictable way.
And it takes just seconds in those conditions for smaller craft to be inundated, which has become a regular event as more and bigger boats appear on the lake each year. The number of annual swampings reported to the Missouri Water Patrol since 1996 has ranged from six to 21, but recovery workers say the actual number is much higher since boaters usually don't call the patrol unless their vessels sink.
Kevin Kelly, chief of recreational boating safety with the New Orleans-based 8th U.S. Coast Guard District, which covers 26 states, told the Springfield News-Leader he was shocked by the wake-produced chop he experienced on the Lake of the Ozarks on a holiday weekend.
"It's like rough seas," Kelly said.
The perils were brought home to many Missourians on July 4 with the drowning of Wendy Gott, a 34-year-old Barnhart woman who was trapped inside the cabin of a 31-foot runabout as it sank just outside the no-wake zone in the Grand Glaize Arm.
As the waters get worse at the lake, more people are going to larger boats to smooth out the ride, so it's a self-perpetuating problem, boaters say.
Spurred by citizens' complaints, two state legislators and the Water Patrol are trying to craft safety rules to accommodate all parties: smaller boats, large boats and the business people who depend on boaters and don't want to lose boaters to other Missouri lakes.
A new report prepared by the Water Patrol for state Reps. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-St. Elizabeth, and Wayne Cooper, R-Camdenton, said private and public agencies have limited regulatory authority regarding size and number of boats.
The report noted that the U.S. Coast Guard could regulate the size of boats on Lake of the Ozarks. But it would require a costly and time-consuming analysis.
Coast Guard officials are seeking a formal legal opinion, and other agencies, including the lake's owner - St. Louis-based power company AmerenUE - are researching what can be done. AmerenUE regulates docks, seawalls and other structures and looks at the environmental impact of lake use as part of its shoreline management plan.
"Our preference is to defer those issues to the Water Patrol and the state," said AmerenUE spokesman Mike Cleary.
At last count, Cleary said, 25,000 docks dotted the lake, which has more shoreline than California's Pacific coast.
The Water Patrol can only enforce state laws on the waterways, such as night speed limits, and prudent and sober driving, but cannot set speed limits or restrict the number or size of boats.
But the patrol can expand no-wake zones and grant permits for warning buoys if research indicates a need. Safety concerns among residents and commercial property owners prompted the patrol to study and eventually extend the existing no-wake zone on either side of the Grand Glaize Bridge on weekends. Accidents and property damage have decreased there since then, said Water Patrol Col. Jerry Adams.
Tim McNitt, who operates a boat recovery business, is among residents who say the patrol should impose similar restrictions to minimize boat swampings in other high-traffic areas, especially along the 1l-mile serpentine stretch from the Grand Glaize Arm to Anderson Cove - an area known as "Party Cove," which draws hundreds of boats every summer weekend.
Water Patrol officials say they're reluctant to impose any more boating restrictions than necessary anywhere on the lake. They especially don't want to make it so difficult for boaters going to Party Cove that revelers move the problem to another part of the lake.
Legislators and Water Patrol officials are finding that each option has competing interests.
For example, limiting the maximum size of boats on the lake would draw howls of protest - and wouldn't necessarily solve the problem, Cooper said.
"You can have houseboats that are maybe 60 feet, but they don't cause huge wakes," he said. "It's how much water the boat displaces that makes the wake."
At least they recognize the REAL problem!!! So far.
Big boats' wakes in Ozarks prove an elusive problem
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
updated: 08/03/2003 11:18 PM
SPRINGFIELD - Hundreds of miles from any ocean, the surface of the Lake of the Ozarks sometimes is churned so powerfully by large, fast-moving boats that 3- to 4-foot waves arise in a flash.
When the wakes from two or three boats collide, the result is a "rogue wave" - a split-second phenomenon unknown on the ocean, where waves build and travel in a more predictable way.
And it takes just seconds in those conditions for smaller craft to be inundated, which has become a regular event as more and bigger boats appear on the lake each year. The number of annual swampings reported to the Missouri Water Patrol since 1996 has ranged from six to 21, but recovery workers say the actual number is much higher since boaters usually don't call the patrol unless their vessels sink.
Kevin Kelly, chief of recreational boating safety with the New Orleans-based 8th U.S. Coast Guard District, which covers 26 states, told the Springfield News-Leader he was shocked by the wake-produced chop he experienced on the Lake of the Ozarks on a holiday weekend.
"It's like rough seas," Kelly said.
The perils were brought home to many Missourians on July 4 with the drowning of Wendy Gott, a 34-year-old Barnhart woman who was trapped inside the cabin of a 31-foot runabout as it sank just outside the no-wake zone in the Grand Glaize Arm.
As the waters get worse at the lake, more people are going to larger boats to smooth out the ride, so it's a self-perpetuating problem, boaters say.
Spurred by citizens' complaints, two state legislators and the Water Patrol are trying to craft safety rules to accommodate all parties: smaller boats, large boats and the business people who depend on boaters and don't want to lose boaters to other Missouri lakes.
A new report prepared by the Water Patrol for state Reps. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-St. Elizabeth, and Wayne Cooper, R-Camdenton, said private and public agencies have limited regulatory authority regarding size and number of boats.
The report noted that the U.S. Coast Guard could regulate the size of boats on Lake of the Ozarks. But it would require a costly and time-consuming analysis.
Coast Guard officials are seeking a formal legal opinion, and other agencies, including the lake's owner - St. Louis-based power company AmerenUE - are researching what can be done. AmerenUE regulates docks, seawalls and other structures and looks at the environmental impact of lake use as part of its shoreline management plan.
"Our preference is to defer those issues to the Water Patrol and the state," said AmerenUE spokesman Mike Cleary.
At last count, Cleary said, 25,000 docks dotted the lake, which has more shoreline than California's Pacific coast.
The Water Patrol can only enforce state laws on the waterways, such as night speed limits, and prudent and sober driving, but cannot set speed limits or restrict the number or size of boats.
But the patrol can expand no-wake zones and grant permits for warning buoys if research indicates a need. Safety concerns among residents and commercial property owners prompted the patrol to study and eventually extend the existing no-wake zone on either side of the Grand Glaize Bridge on weekends. Accidents and property damage have decreased there since then, said Water Patrol Col. Jerry Adams.
Tim McNitt, who operates a boat recovery business, is among residents who say the patrol should impose similar restrictions to minimize boat swampings in other high-traffic areas, especially along the 1l-mile serpentine stretch from the Grand Glaize Arm to Anderson Cove - an area known as "Party Cove," which draws hundreds of boats every summer weekend.
Water Patrol officials say they're reluctant to impose any more boating restrictions than necessary anywhere on the lake. They especially don't want to make it so difficult for boaters going to Party Cove that revelers move the problem to another part of the lake.
Legislators and Water Patrol officials are finding that each option has competing interests.
For example, limiting the maximum size of boats on the lake would draw howls of protest - and wouldn't necessarily solve the problem, Cooper said.
"You can have houseboats that are maybe 60 feet, but they don't cause huge wakes," he said. "It's how much water the boat displaces that makes the wake."
At least they recognize the REAL problem!!! So far.
08-04-2003, 09:07 AM
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How many of these swampings occur when he capacity limitation of the boat are exceeded. And for the record Wendy Gott is dead because the owner of the boat endagered everyone on that boat by taking it out while it was taking on water. Reporters never get the facts straight. I do agree that the cruisers are the major problem at the lake as far as wakes are concerned.
By the way S.O. your boat is beautiful we were floating about 60 feet away from you at party cove on the 4th. We were in a red 27 excalibur.
By the way S.O. your boat is beautiful we were floating about 60 feet away from you at party cove on the 4th. We were in a red 27 excalibur.
Last edited by FWK; 08-04-2003 at 09:09 AM.
08-04-2003, 09:27 AM
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There needs to be a moritorium on Condo development. The Condo's are bringing in more boats per foot of shoreline than anything else. Additionally, a lot of those new boats are larger cruisers. I personally think that the lake should be made directional. Way too many operators think thay need to drive on the left side. I guess because of the left hand steering.
08-04-2003, 09:45 AM
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Re: LOTO wave problems recognized...
Originally posted by SummerObsession
"You can have houseboats that are maybe 60 feet, but they don't cause huge wakes," he said. "It's how much water the boat displaces that makes the wake."
"You can have houseboats that are maybe 60 feet, but they don't cause huge wakes," he said. "It's how much water the boat displaces that makes the wake."
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08-04-2003, 10:02 AM
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Yes, the boats cause a lot of wakes, but no one mentioned the sea walls. When I was there a few years ago, I thought it was the roughest fresh water lake I had ever seen, and I truely believe the walls are a large part of the problem. Our lakes, Mead, Powell and Havasu allow the water to dissapate up the beaches and not bounce back (except in the sheer canyons). Does anyone else who's been there agree?
08-04-2003, 11:16 AM
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Originally posted by burtandnancy
Yes, the boats cause a lot of wakes, but no one mentioned the sea walls. Does anyone else who's been there agree?
Yes, the boats cause a lot of wakes, but no one mentioned the sea walls. Does anyone else who's been there agree?
08-04-2003, 11:25 AM
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prob witht the sea wall theory is that in the absence of man made sea walls, the existing shore line is not gentle to begin with. The sea walls do not help, but it is bad to begin with for much of the shoreline along the busy sections of the lake
08-04-2003, 11:28 AM
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they run on the left side of the lake when they want to cut the corners short. I dont get it, you are spending time on the lake for the most part, if you are concerned with how long it is taking you to get to where you are going, go a little faster, dont make the trip shorter.
08-04-2003, 11:31 AM
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Originally posted by FWK
And for the record Wendy Gott is dead because the owner of the boat endagered everyone on that boat by taking it out while it was taking on water. Reporters never get the facts straight.
And for the record Wendy Gott is dead because the owner of the boat endagered everyone on that boat by taking it out while it was taking on water. Reporters never get the facts straight.
