[Rhodes22-list] Lake Access (was "Getting ready to trailer boat")

[Herb Parsons]

That brings up an opportunity for some "political discussion" (not much
of that around here lately) that's tied to sailing

Lake Grapevine, located in North Texas, is a man-made lake (almost all
of the lakes in Texas are man-made). About 12 miles long and 1 mile wide
(these are estimates, I didn't look it up), it's popular among
sailboaters for number of reasons.

It's very close to both Dallas and Ft Worth.
Much of the bottom area is a combination of natural cliffs and "quarry
made" cliffs, which means that sail boats can safely sail very close to
the banks of the lake.

The orientation of the lake corresponds to prevailing winds, enabling
us to (typically) have nice windward runs going close-hauled almost
straight up the lake, of course giving us downwind runs on a broad
reach. While it makes for typically easy sailing, there are enough
surrounding hills and buildings, along with finicky Texas weather, to
give some unpredictable wind changes, so it stays interesting (for the
most part).

Here's the "problem". As John mentioned, Gaylord entertainment built a
HUGE hotel right on the bank of the lake, between my marina and the next
marina north. The hotel is beautiful, if you like large hotels (it also
gives a significant wind shadow when sailing to the mark at that end of
the lake, but that's not pertinent to the "problem"). 

Because of the popularity of the hotel, the small city of Grapevine
faces some "expansion issues". One that continually crops up is use of
the lake and lake front. (There are, I believe, three other cities that
border the lake, but it appears to mostly be a hot issue in Grapevine).
There are those that don't want to see further expansion, citing the
"natural beauty" of the area and crowding of both the shoreline and the
water.

How do others feel about similar issues in their area? We're not
talking about a big hotel that's coming in trying to force out the
marinas (the type of problem they have in Florida). We're just talking
about other "entities" (some directly water related, some not) wanting
to share the lake.

Here are a few examples:

An outside paintball arena. This has already been built and opened,
about ½ mile from the shoreline, in spite of some very vocal opposition
by some residents.

A new nightclub (owned by the hotel, going up just west of it, on a
bluff overlooking the lake).

Expansion of an existing city park that allows extended stays of RV's,
and has cabins for overnight guests. This too has already been opened,
directly across from my marina.

A proposed business located in the above mentioned park, offering
rental small craft including "water trikes" (the big three-wheeled water
tricycles).

Another large hotel across from the existing one (about ½ mile from the
lake). Approved, but construction hasn't started yet.

A condominium with docks on the lake. This has been proposed, but to
the best of my knowledge, not yet approved.

Another "wrinkle" in all of this is the fact that all of the above is
in the northeast portion of the lake. Most of the rest of the lake
currently seems to be mostly ignored.

Thoughts?



Herb Parsons

S/V O'Jure
1976 O'Day 25
Lake Grapevine, N TX

S/V Reve de Papa
1971 Coronado 35
Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana Coast

>>> jhnblngr at yahoo.com 5/8/2006 1:00:15 pm >>>
small indeed! i'm always amazed at how many people even know where
grapevine is let alone having been here. now that we have the gaylord
texan resort here its really taken off. thanks and welcome john b

Ellner <ellner at pressenter.com> wrote:  Hi Y'all!! It definitely is a
small world. We live in Wisconsin & own a 
Rhodes......were in Austin, TX this past week to visit my
daughter.....and 
I spent Friday in Grapevine, TX at a nursing home visiting my great 
aunt! Mary/SV Toy Blew





At 09:00 AM 5/8/2006 -0400, you wrote:
>Kari,
>I have some of the same questions as John. If you've already sold it
back
>to Stan, questions may be mute. But if it's not a done deal, there
are
>people looking for boats on this list. Sorry to hear you are selling
your
>Rhodes. Hope that means something better is coming your way.
>
>Rob Lowe
>S/V Getaway
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "john Belanger" 
>To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list" 
>Sent: Monday, May 08, 2006 3:40 AM
>Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Getting ready to trailer boat
>
>
> > kari
> > could you send some pics of your boat? why do you have to sell it
and is
>it a good deal for you to sell it back to stan? what year is it and
where
>did you sail it. i'm in grapevine and am curious about how you used it
ie
>daysailing or cruising, dry sailed or in the water at a marina. i'm
>gathering info cash, and courage for buying one but am not quite there
yet.
>thanks john b
> >
> > Kari Day wrote:
> > Hi All,
> >
> > Sadly my husband & I are selling our Rhodes. We are
> > selling it back to Stan. Since we are in Dallas we are
> > trailering it back to Edenton. The only experience we
> > have with the trailer is when we bought it and brought
> > it home.
> >
> > Some dumb questions - To load the boat the manual says
> > to follow the directions in reverse. Is it really
> > exactly in reverse or is there some things that should
> > be done before anything else? Second - I see a lot
> > about raising the mast, but not so much about lowering
> > it. What are the steps? Is it better to lower the mast
> > at the dock with the boat in the water or after the
> > boat is loaded on the trailer. There are no electrical
> > lines near the boat ramp.
> > BTW-we have Stan's mast raising equipment.
> >
> > Thanks in advance. I know from reading this is a
> > generous group.
> >
> > Regards,
> > Kari & Joe Day
> >
> >
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