mt17085

@Marco Great pic. When you changed to river rock did you leave the fabric in place? What was the slope? @Krlee What was the slope at Bell Aqua 2 where the rock and fabric was placed and has worked so well? Thanks!!!

Great info! Currently rebuilding an 8:1 slope on clay. @A_B Thanks for the great pic! The rock looks great. How thick? What is the slope? Did they put fabric down first? @bishop8950 You said you put fabric and rock on one end of our lake with hard clay... what was the slope?

@thompjs, Would you mind giving us an update 4 years later on how the rock and fabric are holding up? Any erosion? What slope was it put on? How thick was the layer of rock? Was the sacrete used only on the islands or along the shorelines as well? Thanks!

Thanks everyone for the great feedback! Here is what our draft looks like: "In order to minimize shoreline erosion and maintenance and for the safety of those using the Lake(s), Boats must be approved AWSA or USA waterski 3 event towboats or meet the following: (a) the maximum boat length allowed on the Lake shall be 21’6” as measured from bow to stern; (b) Inboard only, i.e. direct drive or v- drive design; © Maximum Beam not to exceed 98”; and (d) Maximum built in or artificial ballast utilized on the lake shall not exceed 500 pounds. The Association reserves the right to adopt and modify Rules regarding the size, type and use of boats within the Project." And yes, we will allow towers and wake-boarding, just not the big wakeboard boats. Mike

Great feedback - Thanks! I did a quick tally on turn island responses: 11 yes - like the turn islands, 3 no's - do not like them, and 5 responses were neutral or dependent on length of lake. My plan is to leave them in our design for two reasons - 1) Personal Preference - I like them from an aesthetics standpoint. I would put rock on them to reduce maintenance. 2) I'm not a tournament guy and I don't like to stop at each end unless it's to shorten the rope which unfortunately, I don't get to do as often as I would like :). So for me, the islands will eliminate the boat wakes back down the lakes from the spin around. I do however want to make them as small as possible and still accomplish the purpose - maybe 40 to 50 feet diameter.

I'm surprised at the width restriction on Golfguy's lake of 91 inches. Many of the USA Water Ski approved boats are over 91 inches wide. 91 inches would leave out a lot of boats - perhaps that is the intent. For example the Nautique 200 has a beam of 95 inches. That said, the boat path buoys are nominally 90.5 inches apart. How do the wider boats work? I guess the bigger boats' wake "pushes" the buoys to the side???? How wide can you go before you start running over them????

Hey, thanks for sharing earlier discussion on this topic and for additional posts. Wow, lots to think about. Yes, I am confused. It's about half and half. Maybe we split the difference and put an island on one end? In any case, thank you for the feedback so far.

In the process of designing a man-made ski lake. After much discussion, have determined that turn islands would help reduce rollers back down the lake when turning so we have designed them in. And now I hear some lakes have removed them. Would like to know why? Please be specific. Would love the feedback pro or con along with the reasons. I for one do not like to stop at each end and have always believed without the turn island you will get feedback (rollers) back down the lake. Thanks!

Thanks for the responses so far. And thanks for sharing verbiage on your lakes. I know there are lakes out there that allow larger boats. Would love to hear from you as well. Also, would appreciate more specifics of "trouble" and shore "erosion". Do the shore lines wash away into the lake bottom or do they shelf? What type of maintenance is required and how often? With AWSA approved towboats only, is the shoreline maintenance eliminated? Regarding width of lake - 220 ft. is as wide as we can go - don't have the property - so no jump ramp. I'll start a new discussion on turn islands - would love feedback on that subject. Thanks! Keep the feedback coming.

I am in the processing of developing CC&R’s for a man-made, ski lake that is still on the drawing board. How should I describe “allowed” boats? I need to be accommodating to other water sports without compromising safety and without doing damage to the shorelines and infrastructure of the lake. Lake will be 7 ft. deep, 220 ft. wide and 2300 ft. long with turn islands. Shoreline slope will be 12:1 on sides and 6:1 on ends. “AWSA Approved Towboats Only” would make it real easy but would be too restrictive. I would really appreciate input from those with experience and time around man-made lakes. Looking forward to your feedback!