Remove boats from lake now, park official urges

Staff report

GUILFORD LAKE

State park officials hope the recent cold snap, coupled with the failure of the underwater mechanism that lowers the lake level to prevent winter ice damage to boats and docks, serves as a wake-up call for boat owners to promptly remove any remaining boats from the lake.

The warmer weather over the next several days will provide a good opportunity to remove the boats from the water, said Karl Mattern, assistant park manager.

The park offers $30-a-month winter boat storage in its main beach parking lot off Camp Boulevard; and Bow to Stern Services in nearby Hanoverton offers boat removal, winterization and storage.

Despite the cold snap, the wind has limited ice formation to a thin layer in two of the bays, which is expected to break up in the warm-up. No ice damage is noticeable now, Mattern said.

“We plan on using the divers to get the gate open somewhat” Monday to begin the seasonal lake lowering that had been scheduled to begin Nov. 15, he said.

Mattern has sent a letter to all dock holders alerting them to the current lake-draining mechanism failure and to the park rule calling for annual removal of boats from the water.