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 Aquatic grass around dock and slips		  New Topic  Reply to Topic
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frejoh
Navigator

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USA
116 Posts
Initially Posted - 05/15/2023 :  08:59:47  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
First time for this issue, at least for me. We keep our boat in the water at a medium sized southern reservoir lake. (Discharge from a power plant keeps the water temperature warmer than normal.) With the coming of spring, there is a new problem I’ve never seen before: extensive growth of grass in the water. What was before a sandy bottom is now nearly covered with thick areas of grass, some with leaves on the water surface. No shock that this grass gets wound around our outboard prop as we depart and return to the slip. When I remove the grass, it reminds me of very tall fescue. My inquiry with the marina resulted only in a statement that the power company which owns the lake has said the grass will go away when it gets warmer. (Hmmm, grasses don’t like warm, watery conditions??) The fact there was an inquiry implies I am not the first to raise a concern.
So, what is there to be done? Can the grass be dredged and/cut somehow? I seriously doubt it’s a good idea to introduce herbicides into the water.
Anyone seen this problem before?
Fred Johnson
250 WK #669

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5851 Posts
Response Posted - 05/15/2023 :  12:25:54  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I experienced it once. The vegetation was in a marina. As boats left, they stopped and backed down hard. The purpose of backing down was to get the long grasses off the rudder and motor.

I doubt that there's a practicable way to cut it. It'll just grow back and need to be cut again, and the folks in charge wouldn't want to get into a recurring chore.
Steve Milby J/24 "Captiva Wind"
previously C&C 35, Cal 25, C25 TR/FK, C22
Past Commodore
Edited by - Steve Milby on 05/15/2023 12:31:11
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GaryB
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4275 Posts
Response Posted - 05/15/2023 :  15:35:39  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
We have issues with hydrilla in some Texas lakes. In the Texas Hill Country they've used lake drawdowns in mid-winter for a month or more. I've also seen them use pontoon boats equipped with a grass cutting attachment and conveyor belt. The cutter head reaches down 5 or 6 feet, cuts the Hydrilla and feeds it onto the conveyor which pulls it out of the lake and stores it on the back of the barge.

They've also used people friendly herbicides in the lakes and grass eating carp that are sterile so they can't reproduce and get out of control.

At one time the coves in Lake Conroe just North of Houston were almost completely filled with thick mats of Hydrilla. They introduced grass eating carp that were not sterile and they reproduced to the point they ate everything in the lake and wiped out the fishing for years. If I remember correctly, it only took 2 or 3 years for them to clear the lake of Hydrilla. I kept my Sea Ray there for 10+ years and never saw any signs of it returning except maybe in the far reaches of some coves.

Managing Nuisance Aquatic Plants

Lake Weed Harvester

Association Member

GaryB
Andiamo
'89 SR/WK #5862
Kemah,TX
Edited by - GaryB on 05/15/2023 15:55:00
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Leon Sisson
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1889 Posts
Response Posted - 05/23/2023 :  07:02:41  Show Profile  Visit Leon Sisson's Homepage  Reply with Quote
From one of the links GaryB provided:  Who says paddle wheels are obsolete?  Looks like one solution to screw props getting tangled in weeds.  (I'm linking to the photo instead of inserting it because of its size.)
— Leon Sisson
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Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5231 Posts
Response Posted - 05/23/2023 :  19:06:09  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
An interesting side effect of cutting some types of aquatic grasses: their offspring take root from the cuttings! It’s very possible that a boater from another lake that has an infestation of the grass kindly transported it from that location into your lake. Milfoil in northern lakes is commonly transmitted by sports fishers who travel from lake to lake in their bass rigs or other boats. If possible, you might try poling out to deeper water, then motoring from there.
Bruce Ross
Passage ~ SR-FK ~ C25 #5032

Port Captain — Milford, CT
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islander
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3992 Posts
Response Posted - 05/24/2023 :  05:38:58  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Or somebody dumped a fish tank and thought they were setting the fish free not thinking about the plants.
Scott-"IMPULSE"87'C25/SR/WK/Din.#5688
Sailing out of Glen Cove,L.I Sound


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redeye
Master Marine Consultant

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3474 Posts
Response Posted - 06/08/2023 :  18:25:16  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
< what to be done? >

We had a problem with grass growth about 4 years ago at our dock on Lake Eufaula. We had never had much grass before. We hired a local who came out with a boat with tanks and lines into the water and he treated the doc area ( copper sulfate I think ) It cleared the area out and we haven't had recurrence of the grasses in the dock area.

Good Luck.
Ray in Atlanta, Ga.
"Lee Key" '84 Catalina 25
Standard Rig / Fin Keel
Edited by - redeye on 06/13/2023 04:34:53
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Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.