Navigating Party Cove

From a boat owners point of view, the "Party Cove" can be a bit intimidating, especially for first time visitors. Here's some help on getting out there and seeing what all the fun is about and bringing your boat back in one piece.

A Boating Guide to Party Cove

U.S.Coast Guard Authority On The Lake Of The Ozarks

What authority does the Coast Guard have on the Lake?

U.S. Coast Guard Authority On The Lake

Lake Area Road Improvements Finalized - Amendment 7

UPDATE:  Amendment 7 failed to be approved by voters on August 5th, 2014.  Based on a statement made by the Chairman of the Highways and Transportation Commission, it seems the state believes voters just don't understand the circumstances, that funding is needed to make these kinds of improvements. I do not think this is the case, Missourians would welcome the projects listed below and well understand they require funding, but they simply do not want that funding coming from a general regressive tax such as on sales.  Try overhauling the gas tax.
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Should voters approve the State Constitution 7th Amendment to temporarily increase sales tax 3/4% for highway improvements, the Missouri Dept.of Transportation has a finalized list of projects for funding. Statewide, the majority of the money, some $500 million, would go toward converting Interstate 70 into six lanes from St.Louis to Kansas City, but the Lake area would also get much needed improvements.  The largest of these would be a new interchange at Hwy 54 and Hwy W at an estimated $13.28 million dollars. It is unclear whether this new interchange would be located near the Business 54 exit at Bagnell Dam where a roundabout was recently installed to access Hwy W.

The second largest project at $5.53 million is the resurfacing and adding shoulders on Rte 42 from Rte 17 to Rte 63, a popular route for those coming from southwest St.Louis off I-44.

The third largest project, at $2.92 million is the resurfacing and addition of shoulders on Rte W from Rte 5 to Rte Y.  This route is heavily used by the local community and often used by those coming from the northwest heading towards Osage Beach.  Hwy W is a twisting, turning road and a main route along the "north shore" and badly in need of shoulders and resurfacing.

Other projects listed for the area:

Construct a sidewalk on Osage Beach Parkway from Mace Road to Rte D in Osage Beach

Replace/repair Rte PP bridge over Messer Creek Morgan Road and Bridge

Add center turn lane to Rte 52 from Fairground Road to Rte 5 in Versailles Morgan Road and Bridge

Resurface and add shoulders on Rte O from Rte 5 to end of state route Morgan Road and Bridge

Replace/repair Rte V bridge over Linn Creek

Replace/repair Rte D bridge over Bank Branch

Replace/repair Rte A bridge over Conns Creek

Replace/repair Rte A bridge over Tavern Creek

Fixed funding contribution for infrastructure improvements at Camdenton Memorial Airport Camden Aviation

Fixed funding contribution for new terminal facility, parking lot and hangars for Lee C. Fine Memorial Airport in Osage Beach.

Quality of Shoreline

The Lake of the Ozarks is known as a boaters lake for many reasons, but the one taken for granted most often is the quality of shoreline. With few exceptions The Lake offers a consistent and uniform grade to shore, allowing boaters to confidently navigate nearly every square foot of lake. But how did the lake become this way?

The Perfect Shoreline

New Roundabout for W and Business 54

This is great news for the area.  MODOT will be constructing a new roundabout for the intersection of Hwy W and Business 54 starting tonight.  This intersection has been a source of many accidents, thankfully none fatal, over the past five years and is very confusing.  The roundabout will slow things down for everyone, but should dramatically reduce, if not eliminate accidents.  Construction is supposed to be completed by Tuesday.

Update:  Now that the new "turnstile" has been in use for a few weeks I think MODoT needs to expand the roundabout even larger.  The problem is that the circle is so small that it is difficult to establish right of way easily.  Most roundabouts are large enough that yielding to traffic already in the circle is obvious and intuitive. When small like this it reverts back to something more like a stop sign intersection.

Is Your Dock Electrically Safe?

Updated: ESD and Your Dock

Nothing fires up action in local government quite like having to take responsibility for a lack of adherence to safety standards that results in a death.  After 3 deaths in 2012 due to faulty electrical wiring, both Osage Beach, Village of Four Seasons, and Lake Ozark have made changes in local ordinances regarding dock wiring.  All docks must now conform to National Electrical Code standards and be inspected before Ameren will grant a new dock permit or when property ownership changes.  Both the Osage Beach and Lake Ozark Fire Department Districts provide the inspection for a fee.

Electricity and water are always a tricky combination, and water soaked skin makes for a near perfect conductor, but proper design and installation of a dock's electrical system can mitigate the risk to acceptable levels.  I encourage all property owners to have their dock wiring inspected and certified regardless of whether or not it is required and, if found deficient, have a certified electrician do the work. It is not enough to know basic wiring and common sense to wire up your dock anymore.

For instance, many docks have, and are now required to have, a shoreline over current protection (fuse, or circuit breaker) or disconnect device located on-shore to disconnect main power to the dock, but what is not commonly known is that this device must be within six feet of the ramp AND a minimum of 42" above the ramp walkway, or no lower than 665' elevation.  Currently, it is very common to see dock disconnect junction boxes set only a few inches above the ground, although most are within 6' of the ramp.  A thorough understanding of electrical bonding is also needed as all metal parts of a dock must now be connected to ground.  There are commercial systems available designed to monitor for leakage current in the water, but these are NOT required, and unnecessary if the wiring is to code.  The many requirements of the NEC are beyond most weekend-wire-nuts like me to know and implement properly, but there is no law in saying you have to have a licensed electrician do the work.  Just don't complain when you have to pay to have it re-inspected several times to bring it to compliance or even start from scratch.  Wiring is expensive and getting it wrong can be very costly.

Ameren does not provide inspections but they do provide some insight into what you can expect.
Dock Expanded Electrical Requirements (PDF) (2019 Note: This is an archival version from the date of this post. An updated version is available here).

As property owners we have a responsibility to our families, and our neighbors, to keep the lake as safe as possible for everyone.

Low Water. A Kayak's POV

You can easily see the summer waterline on the left

Have toy, will retrieve.  Where's the water?