How do you clean out a canal?

(taylormade) · (taylormade) **Join Date: Jun 2001** 06-19-2006, 10:31 AM

I live on a canal that's about 150 yards long and about 30' wide. We're going through a drought right now and the canal has become unnavigable for most people on it. We've been getting a LOT of rain this past week and the canal is back to being SOMEWHAT navigable but I'd like to clean out some of the vegetation and silt. Prop wash has done a remarkable job for the most part but we still have a lot of vegetation that needs to taken care of and there's some muck (silt) that's nasty. Does anyone have any creative ways of dredging? One of my neighbors swears that you can just tie up concrete blocks to the back of the boat and pull them out to the lake....

Thanks.

bocephus 06-19-2006, 10:34 AM

The City of Tempe, where I live uses giant Carp!

(taylormade) · (taylormade) **Join Date: Jun 2001** 06-19-2006, 1:26 PM

Wow, well, I'm not crazy about Carp and even if I were, I'd have to build a gate at the mouth, to make sure that they're trapped in canal. :-)

(spelsh) · (spelsh) **Join Date: Feb 2006** 06-19-2006, 9:39 PM

use a small boat and drag a garden rake or 4 through the vegetation. It works well at my uncles cottage. As for the silt.....?

(pjdave) · (pjdave) **Join Date: Oct 2002** 06-19-2006, 10:34 PM

a good length of chain dragging on th bottom looped from either side of your boat or a two boats, go slow out into the lake and hope not to grab a solid object like a tree stump

(team_o) · (team_o) **Join Date: Jun 2002** 06-20-2006, 6:10 AM

I've seen people drag old mattress springs - the ones not covered by fabric - you have to go slow but it really rips the weeds out...

(driving) · (driving) **Join Date: Jan 2003** 06-20-2006, 6:12 AM

you can also use a piece of chain link fence weighted down

(taylormade) · (taylormade) **Join Date: Jun 2001** 06-20-2006, 6:28 AM

Thanks for the ideas, guys. One of my other neighbors had a thought of "borrowing" an infield chain drag from a local little league field and dragging it behind the boat. I like the chain link fence. These are all great ideas.