Ice damage to boats, docks still emerging 

Wintry storm rains punishing blows on Ozarks lakes.

By Wes Johnson
      News-Leader 

Pomme de Terre Lake — The sound of electric drills and groaning metal echoed through Nemo Landing Marina on Monday as volunteers helped dismantle twisted and flattened boat dock roofs crushed by ice and snow. 

"I heard what I thought was snow thunder," recalled marina owner Hugh Vaughan. "I got up to look but it was snowing so hard I couldn't even see the dock. I found out the next morning it wasn't snow thunder, but the docks collapsing."     

Much of the media focus on damage to boats during a recent ice and snow storm has been on The Lake of the Ozarks, where hundreds of docks collapsed, sinking dozens of boats and causing an estimated $100 million or more in damage. 

But the storm that struck in late November also affected Pomme de Terre Lake, Stockton Lake and Table Rock Lake. 

A 14-slip dock at Orleans Trail Marina at Stockton Lake lost its roof under the weight of 2.5 inches of ice and nearly 16 inches of snow, according to owner Ron Plymate. 

"The roof just kind of laid over and mashed down the railings on the dock," Plymate said. "We didn't lose any boats — they all stayed afloat." 

He estimated his loss at $120,000, which will be partly covered by insurance. 

At Table Rock Lake, 40 mph winds and two inches of ice and snow caused one dock at State Park Marina to collapse. 

Co-owner Bob Cox said a 40-foot Sea Ray power boat sustained about $10,000 in damage when roof beams fell on the boat's bow. 

"It bent the stainless rails and scratched and gouged the fiberglass," he said. 

Insurance will help pay to rebuild the docks, Cox said, which will be designed with extra support to avoid similar collapses in the future. 

Three of the four marinas at Pomme de Terre Lake sustained roof collapses.

Hickory Ridge marina owner Neysa Jenkins estimated her loss at about $400,000 from two collapsed docks. 

"We were lucky, though. We only had seven boats damaged out there," she said. "Three of them sunk." 

At Nemo Landing Marina, the damage was much worse. 

Vaughan's wife Brenda estimated their losses at $500,000 to the boat dock and $350,000 in damage to boats docked there.

The roof at their marine store also split in half from the weight of the ice and snow. 

"We don't have any insurance on the dock — we built it ourselves," she said. "But we're going to rebuild. We've already got a bid on it from a company in Arkansas."

Vaughan said some older docks at his marina simply sank under the weight of 3 inches of ice and 15 inches of snow. 

The newer ones collapsed. 

Monday afternoon, Hugh Vaughan and a group of nine volunteers from Lebanon Suzuki Kawasaki Polaris Inc. scrambled over bent steel beams to unscrew and remove the flat steel roof panels. 

Once the roof panels are removed, they'll begin unbolting and cutting the heavy steel support beams. 

The work is grueling and hazardous. 

Wes Rose, wearing chest waders found that out the hard way. He slipped off a beam and landed in the 45-degree water Monday. "I didn't go under completely, just a little water went over the top of my waders," he said. "Best thing is I saved the drill. The biggest danger is not knowing what's under the water, beams and stuff, should you happen to fall in." 

Wayne Crosby, owner of Lebanon Suzuki, was glad to help Vaughan clean up.

"It looked like Hugh needed the help," he said. "He's kind of overwhelmed." 

Crosby, who sells many boats and personal water craft that end up on Pomme de Terre, said a submerged boat engine isn't necessarily ruined. 

He said a motor can stay submerged three or four days in fresh water and still be cleaned up. 

But a motor that's pulled out needs to be cleaned quickly before air has a chance to start rusting internal parts. 

At Lake of the Ozarks, the Camden County Emergency Management office is still tallying the damage, which included dock collapses at large private marinas and lake homes. 

Spokeswoman Vicky Barr said at least $30 million in damage has been reported, and she estimated it will ultimately exceed $100 million."So many of the businesses with major dock damage can't even see how many boats are under there," she said. 

Barr said at least 30 boats sank, including one yacht worth $1 million. 

Divers are on the scene trying to locate some of the sunken boats that went down in 60 feet or more of water. 

Barr said there were concerns initially about large amounts of fuel potentially leaking from submerged boats. But so far that hasn't happened.