Slalom Course and the Corp of Engineers permits

[jwwilson]

Does anyone have any experience with the Corp of Engineers permitting for a Slalom course in tidal water. Are there any guidelines that they are using as to location from piers or shore?

 

We actually have two courses permitted since 1990 and want to realign one but the new Corp of Engineers officers can't find the original paperwork and don't know what to do. When we did this the first time they made stuff up like 350 feet from shore and pulling the turn buoys when not in use. We are trying to direct them toward less stringent guidelines but would like to site examples if possible.

[MISkier]

Michigan's permit guidelines are 100 feet from docks/rafts/shore along a developed shoreline and 75 feet from shore along an undeveloped shoreline. We have to pull or sink the buoys to 4 feet below the surface each night. We can have the buoys up from an hour before sunrise to an hour after sunset (that is the window for skiing as well) during the weekdays. The window for skiing doesn't change on the weekend or holidays from Memorial Day to Labor Day, but the hours for buoys do change on weekends/holidays during that period. Mainly, you don't get to put the buoys in before noon on those days. After Labor Day and before Memorial Day, the restrictions are lifted.

 

I hope that helps.

[markn]

Several years ago prior to moving to Florida, we had a course at Raccoon Lake in Rockville, Indiana. The Army Corps and Indiana State Recreation Department gave us a permit for a floating course. The course was allowed to be up all season and at the time, there were no shoreline distance restrictions as the course was located on an undeveloped shoreline. The lake was a 2200 acre flood control lake.

Hope this helps,

MWN

[boarditup]

There is also a provision for four buoys to mark the course area for permanent courses. These are the typical red/white information cans that mark swim areas or no wake zones. The legend says "ski area." Typically they are put 50-feet aside the turn buoy line and 50-feet beyond the greens. A local notice to mariners or if in Federal Waters, a safety zone can be written to designate the area in 33 CFR and subsequently on the charts. Either the USCG or the ACOE can submit the safety zone notice for the Federal Register.

 

PM me if you need more info. I have written a safety zone and had it published into the 33 several years ago.

[MISkier]

I omitted any mention of the ski area markings, as I would not want that condition written into anything that @jwwilson is seeking. I don't put the marker cans at the perimeter of my course location. They are big enough and hard enough to cause damage to a boat or injury to a skier/boarder/tuber/windsurfer/PWC-rider/etc. Too many knuckleheads on public lakes to have something that big placed in the water by me and I don't want to be liable for any resulting collisions with those cans. Plus, they are very expensive.

[bogboy]

@jwwilson, hopefully, you can put a full time course in such as markn did at raccoon lake. As a gamble, maybe try just installing the permanent course, and have photo copies of the Indiana corp of engineers approval on hand to illustrate that their own department approved it, albeit a different location. Same with a city counsel meeting, although hopefully it won't come down to that. One on one meeting, written support in hand, with the city manager might help also. Good luck.

[Ed_Obermeier]

As a gamble, maybe try just installing the permanent course, and have photo copies of the Indiana corp of engineers approval on hand to illustrate that their own department approved it, albeit a different location.

 

Really bad idea. Trying to bully your way through a government entity that really doesn't want to be bothered with any of it to begin with is a good way to get completely banned from the lake.

[bogboy]

@ed-obermeier, you're probably right. Sorry, I don't want anybody to get in trouble.