Category: Work Party Posts

Thank you, Bruce Malloy (corporation president), Grant Shaffer (vice-president and boat captain), John Carnes (trustee) and Richard Wills (trustee) for volunteering your time and hard work on this day.

Special thanks to John Reed, for this professional quality, stunning video. It captures the essence of why the Ocean Shores Fresh Waterways Corporation was created, why its trustees are willing to put in so much volunteer time and sweat, and specifically the process of placing the speed limit buoys.

The buoy project is about 80 percent complete. The work crew has been replacing buoys that have moved or disappeared over time. There are approximately 20 speed limit buoys scattered throughout the canal system as reminders that the speed limit on the water is no wake, and a maximum of 5 mph within 50 feet of any dock or the shore.

The Ocean Shores Fresh Waterways corporation (OSFWC) had a great time out on Fishhook canal yesterday 10/15/2022. The weather was glorious. The periodic trimming of overhead branches is critical for keeping the canals navigable. A couple of new volunteers showed up and helped the traditional crew clear and unload a small boatload of overhanging branches. Future work parties will provide residents the opportunity to learn about the lakes and canals, the OSFWC and how we can all better help to keep weeds and algae manageable.

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The Ocean Shores Fresh Waterways gang and volunteers hard at work Friday and Saturday clearing the Bass Canal that was completely blocked from the winter storms. Hats off to these folks who keep our Waterways as pristine as possible for everyone to enjoy. Fridays crew: Steve Borba, Bob Rhodes, Jeff Grill and Joe Hubacek. Saturdays crew: John Carns, David Cleland, Zack Stephenson, Gary Flansburg, Joe Hubacec, Richard Wills, Grant Shaffer, Steve Borba, Pam & Bob Hullen, John Pike, Bob Pfau, Lisa Malloy, and Phyllis Brown. Let us know if you want to help at a future work party.

Ocean Shores suffered a severe ice storm 11-12 Feb 2021. A lot of tree limbs were broken off and many trees were knocked down. Clean-up on land is fairly straight-forward. Getting large branches and trees out of the waterways is a lot more problematic. It is hard, and dangerous work involving chainsaws, grappling hooks, and intense physical labor, all while standing on a small floating platform or dragging tangled branches off of the work boat and stacking them into a pile so the city work crews can remove them.

Ocean Shores Fresh Waterways 2021 Cleanup – YouTube

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Grant Schaffer, Steve Borba, Joe Hubacek, Bob Pfau and Phyllis Brown Were out on the Fresh Waterways on Wednesday 2/3/21 removing a dead tree navigation hazard from the Fishhook canal. This is officially the first Waterways corporation work party of 2021.

Thank you Grant, Steve (Ocean Shores Boat House), Joe, Bob and Phyllis. The all volunteer work crews work hard keeping keeping the Fresh Waterways clear of debris and navigable.

Grant Shaffer and Bob Pfau, are hard at work replacing the old, worn-out 25 Hp Mercury outboard with a new 4 stroke 35 Hp, high thrust outboard. They have also removed the old mid-boat console and are replacing it with this slick, new console which will be mounted near the right-side stern.

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Repositioning the console will create more usable space as the work-crews pile cut tree limbs onto the workboat for transporting to our shore location where we unload and stack the branches.

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These two photos show the old center console and 25 Hp Merc. Moving the console will allow the work-crew to maximize use of the deck space. It will be much easier to stack the branches onboard and then drag them off the boat because the console will be in a corner, out of the way.

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Grant is showing off the new motor while figuring out the optimum cable routing which will determine the precise placement of the console.

The canals are shallow. Many of the tree limbs are too large to stack on board the work-boat. Consequently they have to be towed to the unloading property. The towing drag of logs and massive branches really overworked our old, worn -out two stroke motor. The new motor and console placement will make the work both easier and safer.

All of us appreciate the work that Grant, Bob and others have contributed towards this re-power project. The Fresh Waterways Corporation especially appreciates the city’s help in funding this sorely needed project.