[Rhodes22-list] Sanford Lake Flooding Aftermath

Thu Jun 11 14:04:42 EDT 2020

Hi Rob,

A guy named Frank Wixom grew up in the area around the turn of the 20th century and experienced the annual spring flooding from the Tittabawassee River.  Frank went out west and made his fortune in the oil business.  He came back to the area in 1905 determined to tame the mighty Tittabawassee.  He spent the next 20 years acquiring the land, permits, and making a deal with Consumer’s Power for the electricity.  They broke ground in 1925 on the 4 dams; Sanford, Wixom, Smallwood, and Secord.  The 4 dam system went on line in 1927 producing electricity and for flood control.  In the nearly 100 years since then, the population and industry along the ~35 mile stretch of river controlled by the dams has soared.  Given the current economic impact and population, it’s hard to believe they would let it go back to the way things were before the dams.  But, there is a growing movement to take down dams across the country in order to let the rivers “run wild”.  The 4 dams were relatively small hydroelectric dams.  Wixom dam had a nominal rating of only ~4.9 megawatts and Sanford dam was a little smaller at ~4.5 megawatts.  Smallwood dam and Secord dam produced even less power.  So, they were mostly for flood control.  This is a real hot mess that’s going to be tied up in the courts for years.  I expect Boyce Hydro will be sued out of existence.  The State of Michigan currently has an ~3 Billion $ tax shortfall due to the COVID-19 economic shutdown.  Hopefully, the Federal government will step in and let the US Army Corps of Engineers remediate the lakes and dams and operate the new system.  As much as I mistrust big government, the Feds are the only ones with sufficient resources to do the job properly.  Deb & I hope we live to see it.  If the class action law suits go as these things usually do, the lawyers will get rich and we will see pennies on the dollar reimbursement many years from now.

Sorry, don’t mean to sound bitter.  It’s been a tough month!

The 2 attached photos show what’s left of the Wixom dam and the Sanford dam.  There used to be a powerhouse adjacent to the flood gates in the Wixom dam similar to the red brick building on the Sanford dam; but, it’s been swept away.

[cid:image002.png at 01D63FE7.825CE690]
If they don’t rebuild the dams, there is actually an opportunity for white water rafting.  You would put-in at the western end of Wixom dam and paddle to the blown out section of the M-30 Causeway over Wixom Lake.  There is a class 3 rapids there now.  For the next ~2 ½ river miles, there are a series of class 2 – 4 rapids as you follow the old Tittabawassee River bed past the wrecked Wixom dam, under the wrecked M-30 bridge in Edenville, and up to the wrecked Curtis Road bridge.  South of the Curtis Road Bridge, the river bed widens out into what used to be Sanford Lake and the current slows to 2-3 mph.  So, you would probably take-out on the west side of the river just upstream of the Curtis Road bridge.  Needless to say, at the moment, this paddling trip would be extremely hazardous due to unstable river banks, wrecked dams & bridges, and debris in the water.  Getting sucked into the wrecked Wixom dam floodgates would be the start of a bad day on the water!  Also. It would be extremely difficult for rescue crews to get to you if something bad happened.

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium

Sent from Mail<https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for Windows 10

________________________________
From: Rhodes22-list <rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org> on behalf of Lowe, Rob <rlowe at vt.edu>
Sent: Thursday, June 11, 2020 9:46:52 AM
To: The Rhodes 22 Email List <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Rudder-Engine Conflicts

Roger,
We were treated to a picture of you, but alas, can't really see you very well.
The before and after pictures are startling.  An yes, no reason to rebuild a dock if there is not going to be any lake.  What was the purpose of the lake?  Flood control?  Water supply?  Recreation?  Hydropower? Might make a difference if it comes back or not.  Keep us posted. - rob

________________________________
From: Rhodes22-list <rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org> on behalf of ROGER PIHLAJA <roger_pihlaja at msn.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 10, 2020 6:31 PM
To: The Rhodes 22 Email List <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Rudder-Engine Conflicts

Allyn,

OK, the rain finally let up long enough for me to slosh out to S/V Dynamic Equilibrium sitting on its trailer.  The distance from the center of the rudder’s lower gudgeon to the center of the motor mount is 24 inches.  If your motor mount is located much closer to the rudder than that; then, this distance might be part of your interference issue.

We just got a letter from Auto-Owners regarding our home owner’s insurance coverage for our flood damage.  We had no flood insurance because our house was not in the 100 year flood plain and our home owner’s insurance policy does not cover flood damage.  The three attached photos show our dock before, during, and after the flood.
[cid:image001.png at 01D63F51.B1FA2570]
[cid:image002.png at 01D63F51.B1FA2570]

            Remains Of The Dock After The Flood
                          [cid:image004.png at 01D63F55.66400510]
Weather permitting, this Saturday, the same contractor that built the dock is starting a month long phase 1 project to remove the debris from our waterfront, repair our seawalls and steps, and replace the rock riprap along our shoreline.  Just this phase 1 project will cost ~K$18.3.  Making it look like the 1st picture will cost an additional ~K$11.7.  But, until we get some assurance they are actually going to rebuild the dams, which will probably take years, we are not going to proceed with phase 2.  Phase 1 will remove the debris and protect our shoreline against further erosion.  But, who wants a 12’ X 40’ dock, complete with water, shore power, dock boxes, mooring cleats, and mooring whips, that overlooks a debris filled, mud flat, wasteland?  A K$30 uninsured loss isn’t going to break us; but, OUCH!  There are certainly plenty of other things we would rather spend the money on.  Deb & I have joined a class action lawsuit that is suing both the State of Michigan and Boyce Hydro for damages and remediation.  But, that will take years and the outcome is far from certain.  I have a friend at MDOT who tells me both the M-30 bridge over the Tittabawassee River in Edenville and the M-30 causeway over Wixom Lake are going to have to be torn down and rebuilt from scratch.  These 2 bridges are next on the priority list after they repair the I-10 causeway over Sanford Lake.  But, this will take a year or more.  Until at least one of those M-30 bridges is reopened, I will have no access to my stuff at Johnson Mini Storage.

Other than that, things is dull!  Good luck with your rudder/engine conflict issue, Allyn.

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium

Sent from Mail<https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for Windows 10

From: ROGER PIHLAJA<mailto:roger_pihlaja at msn.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 10, 2020 1:15 PM
To: The Rhodes 22 Email List<mailto:rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Rudder-Engine Conflicts

Allyn,

Mary Lou Troy is correct.  The rudder blade needs to be all the way down in order to clear the prop.  However, your boat might have another issue.  Your motor mount might be installed too far inboard.  Or, your rudder might have been installed off the transom centerline to port; but, that seems very unlikely.  Try this: Measure the distance from the rudder’s gudgeon centerline to the centerline of the outboard motor mount.  It’s pouring cat & dogs right now, so I can’t go make that measurement on S/V Dynamic Equilibrium.  But, when the rain lets up, I will go make that measurement and let you know what I find.

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium

Sent from Mail<https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for Windows 10

From: Mary Lou Troy<mailto:mtroy at atlanticbb.net>
Sent: Wednesday, June 10, 2020 9:27 AM
To: The Rhodes 22 Email List<mailto:rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Rudder-Engine Conflicts

Is your rudder pulled all the way forward with the control line on the
front edge of the rudder? It sails better with it pulled forward too.

Ours was close after we bought a new motor with a larger low-thrust prop
but the rudder never came in contact with the prop. Hopefully someone
else has had and solved the issue.

Mary Lou

On 6/9/2020 11:38 PM, Allyn Baskerville wrote:
> Being new to the local boat club, I was assigned a slip that can be a challenging getting in and out of. I literally have 2’ to spare backing up and none on the port side. I rely on the engine getting outOf the slip area, though it’s not bad pulling back into the slip. The engine doesn’t turn with the rudder, and I have to be very careful or the prop bangs on the rudder. Depending on the wind, I sometimes have to make some sharp turns.  I need to fix the rudder due to prop damage, but before doing so, does anyone else have this problem? Any solutions for dealing with this? Thanks
>
> Sent from my iPhone

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