Michigan Harbors

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We're at Whitehall Montague this weekend , the water hasn't came back it doesn't look good right now but they are dredging,we need a lot of water here, I don't know if we'll be able to float the boat this year here.
 
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Was at skipper buds bay city yesterday,they will have to dredge the slip for dropping boats in all the wat to the shipping channel,mine would PROBABLY be ok but some of the 40+ sizes will set on bottom in the slip.
 
Munising and Grand Marais up here on Lake Superior have their dredging funds coming. This works good for Grand Marais, especially after just finishing the breakwall project. Munising is putting off harbor expansion one more year to allow for the dredging project to be completed first. Superior levels are clearly down but not nearly as bad as the southern lakes. On my way home from down-state I was amazed at the extended beaches along US2 and Lake Michigan's U.P. shoreline. I recently heard discussion about the increasing depth of the St. Clair River being part of the problem. Personally I think there are a series of issues all coming together; decreased precip, increased outflow in the Chicago area, glacial spring-back and the St. Clair River being part of them. It's crazy, my buddy down on Lake St. Clair is stuck with 1 foot of water under his hoist. I remember in the 80's sand bagging down there at my Dad's place with water a good 5 feet above where it is today. Maybe we need to get some traditional rain dances going with the locals up here :huh:.
 
KC, I'm hearing you on the rain dances, I did a snow dance in 2001 and we got 21" OF snow that night, I've really got to watch what I wish for..hahahahah Hey get some shots of that Grand marais Break wall, I've read about where the SAND is taking over the whole Marina, I'd really like to see some pics. we Dream of doing Lake superior, but the Marinas are a little small for our boat... yeah know...
 
Weve got a lot of water in the rivers today,and ditches and creeks and yards and fields.Saw the noon news on tv5 and the saginaw river looked way up from last sunday.
 
boltman said:
KC, I'm hearing you on the rain dances, I did a snow dance in 2001 and we got 21" OF snow that night, I've really got to watch what I wish for..hahahahah Hey get some shots of that Grand marais Break wall, I've read about where the SAND is taking over the whole Marina, I'd really like to see some pics. we Dream of doing Lake superior, but the Marinas are a little small for our boat... yeah know...
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I wouldn't give up the idea of touring Superior. There are bigger boats than yours running this lake. Some time spent planning and a few phone calls to check things out and all will go smooth.
 
I have a question for you Great Lakes boaters and it's somewhat related to this thread.

Why don't they use floating docks in the Great Lakes? That does away with the problem of having to climb a ladder to get off your boat? Is it because of the freezing and the ice?

If it's because of the ice and having to remove the docks every year, why don't they put them in at a lower level when they do put them in?
 
GFC,almost all the state run docks are being converted to floaters now,casselivve is port hope i think is and they are just finishing port austins new facility hopefully to open in the spring.Harrisville isnt yet due to lack of money but they are getting a little this year for upkeep.I belive presque isle are all new recently too.Most of tawas floats also_Our docks were replaced about 5 yrs ago and the club just couldnt afford floaters i comparison to the composite products they used.
 
Floating docks are certainly being used in some marinas but, they do not help any when there's not enough water under your boat to put it in the slip. Last year my depth sounder read 1.6' under the boat, well we lost 18" of water so they dredge to get more depth, I can't wait for the day when they have to sand bag to keep the lake waters out, hopefully I'm still alive to see it.There are marinas in Wisconsin that can't dredge they are already at the bedrock, that's not good.
 
Most marinas do not remove the docks for the winter, all of the fixed docks were mostly built when the water was way up at one point I needed at least 3 or 4 steps to get UP to the boat from our fixed docks.

Now if I were on that same dock I'd need minimum 3 steps down to the side deck of my boat.
 
Why don't they use floating docks in the Great Lakes?
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From Waukegan, IL to Sturgeon Bay, WI, I cannot think of any major Lake Michigan marinas that do not have floating docks. Also, most of WI and IL marinas are built out into the lake since the coast is all rock, so we have plenty of water.
 
Anyone have an update on Saugatuck. Any additional dredging? We ran into some skinny water there in front of Sergeants. Thanks, Mike
 
We will definitly keep to the channel and leave any venturing to the Dinks. Thanks.
 
Back in the late eighties we boated out of Saugatuck. Its a sad thing to hear about the depth there now. 2 years ago over on Lake Erie we hit bottom in a Harbor even after the Harbor Master told me there was plenty of water in his basin. Messed up a new prop that he would not pay to fix! We moved to Ohio taking the boat to the Ohio River and we ran into the lack of water again. Only had 1 foot of water under boat at the Marina so we moved again to another place, this time we have 3 foot under the keel. How is the Lake Michigan depth this spring?
 
sfergson727 said:
I might have to drive up to Saugatuck and see what I hit back in 2009 on the maiden voyage of my whaler. (Still pissed off about that) Nothing worse than hitting a unseen submerged piling, and then realize you are in the middle of a mine field of submerged pilings. I'm guessing they are not submerged now.

If anyone is in the area, I was east of the bridge on the southern shoreline when disaster struck. (in truth, had I bothered to look at a chart, I would have seen that there were obstacles there, but it's more fun to blame something other than yourself....) I'd love to see a photo of what I hit.
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At least you only hit it with the Whaler. And new boats have to be BROKEN in anyway.
 
How about the Sunrise Side. How are the water levels on the east side of the state? Looking to go up that way this year from down state. How were the levels in the marinas last year? This years forecast?
 
C. C. & Company said:
How about the Sunrise Side. How are the water levels on the east side of the state? Looking to go up that way this year from down state. How were the levels in the marinas last year? This years forecast?[/QUOTE

Sorry everyone, I'm talking about the east side of Michigan on Lake Huron. Specifically the Tawas area.
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Tawas was fine last year we went twice from bay city,They will be lower this year but you shouldnt have to worry if you pay attention to your plotter and charts.We usually run a mile or two offshore when we are travelling and dont have to worry about skiers and go fast boats that way.Where are you coming from?Be carefull around the tip of the thumb there are and always will be trouble areas there.
 
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