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Hi gang, Rick Ostler here again from Used Pontoon Boats with news and views from the boating industry. Ed Wilson went from career Army retiree to water taxi in one weekend at the Harbor on Table Rock Lake.
Chris Cooper, 15, was reassigned from gas dock duty at Indian Point Marina to parking attendant.
They were among the busiest people at Table Rock over Memorial Day weekend, as marinas enlisted staff and friends to direct traffic and taxi customers from shore to their boats. Marinas have been gearing up for weeks.
With the lake still some 12 feet over normal for this time of year, parking lots at marinas and public campgrounds are flooded and walkways to boat docks are submerged. Only Port of Kimberling had walkway access to all 46 docks, but parking was limited.
"It's an all-hands-on-deck scenario," said Harbor marina manager Tim Schuller.
Ed Wilson began at 7:45 a.m. Sunday, and shuttles were expected to run until 6 p.m. After that, each dock appointed a "captain" to be responsible for running the shuttle overnight.
"It's been a pretty crazy three to four days," Wilson said, "but it's been a lot of fun."
And, "No," he added, "we don't get very many tips. The best tip I've gotten is 'Don't you forget me out here.'"
The Harbor took six pontoon boats out of its rental fleet to taxi boat owners, said owner Bob Cox. His brother Pat Cox at State Park Marina also took six pontoons to shuttle guests.
The fleet reduction hurt rental revenue over the holiday weekend, Bob Cox said. It also cost more to keep extra staff on hand, but that's part of business, he said.
"We look at it as an opportunity to deliver on what we promise," he said.
The system worked for dock renters like Brenda Henry, of Monett, and her family. When they needed a ride from their houseboat to shore, they used cell phones to call for a taxi. Ed Wilson might show up at their dock, another time it might have been Jim Howe -- former Harbor owner who came out of retirement to pitch in over the weekend.
"What are you going to do?" asked St. Robert resident Tom Bright, before he and his wife, Linda, boarded a water taxi at the shore. "You cope and roll with the punches, or have a sour puss on you."
Some found it inconvenient.
"I would much rather get to my dock on foot," said Lindsay Bauer, of Springfield.
People who were cleaning and supplying their boats for the first time this season had extra cargo to lug on the pontoon taxis, she said.
"We have dock neighbors with dogs who can't walk their dogs on shore without getting a shuttle," she said. "And if you run out of ice, you have to go get a shuttle..."
Chris Cooper at Indian Point, meanwhile, baked in the hot Sunday sun and directed traffic around the flooded lot.
Indian Point Marina, which leases the property from the Corps of Engineers, will come out ahead on parking once the lake recedes, said co-owner Brett Stump.
He's been lobbying lakeshore managers at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for 10 years to allow him more than the six parking spots at the Indian Point boat launch, Stump said.
A week before Memorial Day, the Corps expanded the marina's lease line to include two small sections of trees between the marina and Indian Point campgrounds.
Within two days of the Corps' approval, friends with backhoes, bulldozers and other heavy equipment cut down the trees, graded the property, spread gravel and produced enough parking space for 45 cars on one side, about 20 on the other. Someone else has volunteered to donate landscaping blocks.
By July 4, Stump plans to have the new lot paved and striped for parking.
"This was woods two days ago," Stump said, admiring the lot. "Out of disaster came some positive. The public can be assured of being taken care of."
Thanks to Kathleen O'Dell, News-Leader for this. http://www.news-leader.com
Used Pontoon Boats, By Rick Ostler
Pontoon Enclosures-North American Waterway
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