# Getting mud out of boat slip.



## JuiceGoose (Oct 4, 2006)

I have a camp on big Lake. The last hurricane brought in a ton of mud a silt and on a low tide my slip is out of the water now. The slip is under my camp and is surrounded by pilings. Also the canal isn't super wide so a water born dredge might be tricky. Has anyone used a portable suction dredge company that pulls up with a truck or something? I also thought or possibly using a pressure washer on low tide to try and push some of the mud out. Me thinks that would be useless though.


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## Bonito (Nov 17, 2008)

How about a jet pump for sinking pilings and wash it out ?


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## GuyFromHuntsville (Aug 4, 2011)

Can you use a backhoe?


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## MesquiteMan (Jun 28, 2008)

You might try a 4" gasoline water pump. The kind used to remove water from holes and ditches. Our lakehouse on Lake Dunlap flooded a couple of years ago and there was 6" of mud on top of all the grass down by the waterfront. Not wanting to loose the grass, I used my pump and washed it all off with great results. I put the suction side upstream so it would not pick up the dirty water and went to town. Occasionally I would have to pinch the hose down a little for more force but otherwise, it worked well.


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## MesquiteMan (Jun 28, 2008)

BTW, you can rent these types of pumps at most rental companies.


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## Spirit (Nov 19, 2008)

Just a thought .... can you legally do anything at all? We live on a river and they won't let us clean out our boat slip. We are at the mercy of Mother Nature.


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## JuiceGoose (Oct 4, 2006)

The legality will have to be looked into. The canal itself isn't wide or deep enough to support me blowing all the mud into the middle of it wtihout removing some. A backhoe would be a no go(zing!!!). I might be able to use a big dirty water pump to blow it out to an area that a backhoe could get at it from across the canal.
I'll post a picture of the canal this past weekend.


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## JuiceGoose (Oct 4, 2006)

Here is the canal. It dead ends so there isn't flowing water other then tidal.


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## BigNate523 (May 19, 2010)

probably going to have to be a canal wide cleaning if not you will just get the sludge from down the canal


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## gater (May 25, 2004)

*Silt*



JuiceGoose said:


> Here is the canal. It dead ends so there isn't flowing water other then tidal.
> View attachment 563586


Did one like that last year using a mini excavator. It's the only way you could get under the boathouse. I am not sure what you would be accomplishing though since the rest of the canal appears to be the same depth.

We tried using a 6" pump but the oysters and clams kept plugging in up.

Gater


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## 2slick (Dec 5, 2008)

Think I would invest in a boat lift instead of mud removal....unless U got an air boat, U ain' t going nowhere at low tide in that canal anyway.


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## McDaniel8402 (Dec 7, 2011)

That looks like a whole lot more than just a boat slip issue. That whole canal needs dredged/pumped out. How far down the canal do you have to go before you would be in enough water to float a barge with pumping equipment?


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## JuiceGoose (Oct 4, 2006)

Couple hundred yards. There are plans in the works to clear the canal but years of pushing a boat up to the lift has created a high spot under the boat lift.


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## Ruthless53 (Jul 6, 2007)

Id say you got a bad deal on "waterfront" property!!! That looks really expensive!


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## Barbarian (Feb 12, 2009)

Is that Lake Breeze Dr?

That is north wind issues right there. You would be better served spending that money on a heavy duty lift similiar to what the Sabine Reserve used to use to get our boats from the canal over the levee to the impoundments. That way if your boat got caught in the slip you could just roll it to your yard and drop on trailer and head to Calcasieu Point or you might could use your trailer where you just have to hook it and go. I bet you could engineer and make something that would be substantially cheaper than you can get that dug out.


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## Haute Pursuit (Jun 26, 2006)

You need Railbird to make a few hundred passes through there at full throttle!


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## myprozac (Feb 7, 2006)

Need a trackhoe on both sides of the bank with lots of dumptrucks ready to be filled... get all the neighbors involved.


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## Tortuga (May 21, 2004)

I don't think it would work for you..but when we hung our bote at Teakwood. Boss man told us to drop the slings down to where just the blades were in the water and run the motor in reverse (we all backed into the slips) and blow some of the mud out thataway. Actually worked pretty good...But the mess you are in won't work.. Whole canal needs dredging..

Good luck..


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## coachlaw (Oct 26, 2005)

Al Gore said sea level is rising. Just wait for it. 

Seriously, this is a comminuty wide issue. The entire canal needs to be dredged. You could fix yours, but still not be able to go anywhere.


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## Trouthunter (Dec 18, 1998)

What coach said you all are going to have to have it dredged as a community and split the costs. If it was just a slip on a flooded canal you could hire a shrimp boat to blow it out for you which is what we used to do.

TH


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## rubberducky (Mar 19, 2010)

Been there done that. Water jet it out. It's easy and faster then you think.
James


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk because Reeltime told me to


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## MB (Mar 6, 2006)

Monster truck & tractor pull races !!!

Call it " Canal Wars " ... Get A&E to Sponser it and every ******* in Texas with a 4wheel drive would try to enter the contest.

You could Sell food & Beer, Canal Wars Babe foto's, exclusive mudd baths, events tshirts and more.

The best part is you would have to block off the main water entrance to the canal and after several races / pulls the lanes would have to be manicured ( loose dirt removed from the canal and partly Re-flooded for the next series ...

Once the races are over reopen the canal to the main body of water and enjoy 

*MB*


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## bearwhiz (Jan 30, 2011)

JuiceGoose said:


> Here is the canal. It dead ends so there isn't flowing water other then tidal.
> View attachment 563586


That looks more like a muddy road than a canal.


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## JuiceGoose (Oct 4, 2006)

The camp is on air hart rd. it looks worse then it is. That was low tide on a super strong north wind.


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## Barbarian (Feb 12, 2009)

JuiceGoose said:


> The camp is on air hart rd. it looks worse then it is. That was low tide on a super strong north wind.


Ah. Know right where it is. My parents live about 3-4 miles away. You aren't going to get all the neighbors to help there. I would either invest my money in a rolling boat lift or just launch aat Cal Point for the winter months. It is only 1/4 mile away.


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## JuiceGoose (Oct 4, 2006)

That's what we do during the winter months.
Of of the residents has been working on getting the required permits to dredge. Supposedly they are needed and LA drags their feet.

Barbarian
You live in Deatonville? Another good friend has a camp there and is building that new one at the entrance. The big 3 story.


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## Barbarian (Feb 12, 2009)

JuiceGoose said:


> That's what we do during the winter months.
> Of of the residents has been working on getting the required permits to dredge. Supposedly they are needed and LA drags their feet.
> 
> Barbarian
> You live in Deatonville? Another good friend has a camp there and is building that new one at the entrance. The big 3 story.


No, but born and raised real close. Parents live off Lincoln and Big Lake Hwy. Entertained the thought too times to count about buying a place in Deatonville or Airhart.


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## owens33 (May 2, 2007)

we've been fighting a similar issue for 30 yrs. hideaway on the gulf pulled it off several years ago, but we've always had problems. first, if you ever get all the owners to agree and pay is nothing short of a miracle. second, is where to put the "spoil". there's nothing wrong with this material, but it'll be considered toxic sludge by the ignorant. third, someone's gonna squeal and the epa will be on you with both feet. if you try to get permits from the corps of engineers the delays and requirements will kill it.
i used my 115 evinrude. just back up to the slip and tie off. put 'er in gear and run the throttle up to whatever you're comfortable with. best on a high, outgoing tide. amazing how well it works. the silt seems to just vanish. 
good luck


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## 410MAN (Apr 26, 2005)

I tried that same process, and it worked for about 30 minutes until all the dirt-mud-silt plugged up my water inlet and the water pump impeller was damaged and the housing looked like it had a file used on it. Now thats just MY exoerience.


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## Cody C (May 15, 2009)

A 6 in little dredge pump that you rent works wonders. Especially when you build a new house on the water. You just build a retaining wall and pump all the spoil into it. Heck of a lot cheaper than buying fill dirt. Plus you end up with a deep spot around your dock. Not that you end up with more reds and trout around your dock since its deeper 




Cody C


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## JuiceGoose (Oct 4, 2006)

Ya a neighbor owns a large chunk of the property on Airhart rd and so would be placing the spoil on a couple acres of land. But like everyone stated it's more an issue of trying to do it legally then getting it done.

Funny thing is that neighbors dad lives next door to us at the camp and he was the original digger of the canal. Long time ago he dug it to 8 feet and it stayed pretty clear until the hurricane pushed the silt in.


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## DEADBAIT (Sep 6, 2012)

I think you are S.O.L.


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## Texas T (May 21, 2004)

DEADBAIT said:


> I think you are S.O.L.


Somebody is up to date commenting on a year and 1/2 plus old thread, lol.


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## cubera (Mar 9, 2005)

Slow internet connection?
Slow reader?


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## Spirit (Nov 19, 2008)

New poster ... third post....doing some back reading ... but how the heck do you get that far back. There's lots more to read on here since then. Wonder how the canal issue worked out though. 

Edit: No you're not new...so why you so far behind and how can anyone be on here two years and only make three posts? 

You got some splainin' to do deadbait!


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## snapperlicious (Aug 11, 2009)

Maybe he just wanted an update? Lol


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## Its Catchy (Apr 10, 2014)

X2 on the shrimp boat. We have done that before. Get them in the winter when they are hurting for cash.


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## Won Hunglo (Apr 24, 2007)

Sometimes posts about packing mud never die.


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## Zork (Jan 11, 2006)

I would call a company like T-Rex to come and hydro-excavate it out now that i see a picture.


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