Anderson inspection info.... "I failed"

Wow this sucks. So I just got back home after failing the inspection at Anderson, and I wanted to pass some info along.

1. Don't put ice in your cooler before you launch your boat. They were trippin hard core on that but let it slide.. Said next time please wait to fill the cooler.

2. Get every single ounce of water out of the ballast tanks. This is going to be hard than you think so I would recommend parking your boat at every angle (uphill/downhill) and with the valves open and pump running. At Anderson the inspection station is right before the entry to the launch and you will be on a nose down slope, so any and all water will come forward.

(FYI - I failed the inspection due to about a 1/2 cup up water coming out of the drains for my
tanks. I thought mine we completely empty since this was my first run out this year.)

*If you can keep your tank values closed for inspection I would recommend this also.

3. Registration in hand is a must or you can't get in the front gate.

4. If you fail the inspection you are banned from the lake for 5 days, yeah that's right 5 days.

5. They require every cushion to be lifted and all access doors to be open, so make sure everything is dry.

6. If you fail you lose the $7.00 but can get a refund on the $12 launch/parking fee, just head back down to the ranger station.

Overall this sucks but I do understand the reasons. Nothing against the inspection team as they are just doing their job and were nice. Hopefully this will help out some others in passing.

Guess I'm heading to the Delta.....

Is this about the quagga mussel?

Cushion lifted and access doors open???

Yes, full inspection.. We even took out all the life jackets in the ski locker...

Wow, that is unbelievable. To bad they didn't do that on my lake. We are now totally infested with zebra mussels to the point where they are crapping out water pumps and are found in piping.

glad we're spending tax dollars on officials hounding you for such uber important issues. unbelievable. thanks for the FYI Mike. I'd fail every check!!

I have seen the reported $ in damage these things do but is anyone on the board actually able to show pics or explain the kind of damage these things can produce? I am just curious. My frequent waterways are already "ruined" with them so I don't have any worries. I couldn't tell ya if these critters have done any damage to my boat. I wouldn't even be able to tell you what one looked like if you cooked it up and served in in a white wine sauce in some alfredo lol!

Thanks for the info Mike.You saved me an inspection failure.

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quote:

By Jarrod Corby (showmedonttellme) on Saturday, May 24, 2008 - 9:55 pm:
glad we're spending tax dollars on officials hounding you for such uber important issues. unbelievable. thanks for the FYI Mike. I'd fail every check!!

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Jarrod, maybe you should read the post right above yours....

Get those dirty bastards in your water system and I will assume your County will be spending a few more tax dollars than paying for some employees doing inspections.....

I saw a warning and pictures of them last weekend at Don Pedro. You suck them into your ballast or even the cooling water pick up. They are too small to easily see when young. They are killed at 140 degrees so if they get as far as the engine they are done. Also 5 days out of water, so if they stick to your hull you got 5 days hence the 5 day wait at Anderson. The problem is as the grow as with all hard shelled animals their shells crack or plug anything they attach themselves to. Hoses, ballast tubing, city pipes. You get the idea. It said they came from Russia so they probably have no preditors here.

So is anderson open from here on out?

they say they are from russia? our diplomatic relations with russia have been deteriorating severely over the past few years? anybody see a correlation? the silent "first strike" maybe?

I believe they came over from Russia, or another eastern european country on a large tanker ship. if I am not mistaken, they were brought in to Lake Michigan first?

nice of you to warn others of the inspection details.

headin there today, thanks for the heads up....

Here is a link to some information from a local lake here. http://www.ci.westminster.co.us/articles/MusselPreventionStandleyLake.pdf

That 1/2 cup of water seems rediculous. Kris please keep me posted with how it goes.

How do they "verify" that your bags are empty? Are they pulling them out of they are soft bags? What about hard bags?

M-Dizzle. Ok maybe a little bit more, 6-8 oz or so, but no more then that.

I have 2000 SAN with built in bags so you can't see them. To "verify" would be no water leaking from the drains on the bottom of the hull. Other then that they wouldn't know. Like I mentioned before, I could have most likely passed this inspection if I would have left my valve's closed. Normal habit for me it to leave them open when I leave a lake to let all the water drain out. This I would think normally works and would allow all the water to drain, but since my boat sits at a slight angle I'm sure some water was left standing towards that rear.

With that being said this is why when I was nose forward on a downslope that water drained from my tanks.

FYI they will make you turn your pumps on and also the bilge to make sure you don't have water standing..

Just trying to help out others...

Mike

they are a huge problem in michigan. i grew up on the st. clair river (between lake st. clair and lake huron) and they were constantly clogging water intake pipes. they look like tiny (maybe 1/4" - 1/2" diameter) black and white clams and they stick to rocks, docks, lifts, seawalls, pipes, weeds...anything but sandy bottoms. they are incredibly efficient filters and often filter out food for small fish and other aquatic species. mainly they make a mess and cut your feet good if you step on them. since being introduced to michigan, they quickly spread inland and continue to do so. they are no joke. do yourselves a favor and empty your bilge/ballast.

Mike, can you please post more details of your experience please. For example, the entire process, was it quick and fast or slow, where all did they look, procedures they asked you to perform, etc.


I will do the same upon inspection. I would like to get some solid information together as a resource for fellow wakeboarders to help them be prepared and "pass" this test.

(Message edited by liquidmx on May 27, 2008)

I Love Minnesota, no inspections, no cops, no coast Garaud, No Hassles, except fishermen!

Well, we passed but barey...The boat wasn't drivin for over a week and there was a little water in the exhaust still that hadnt been completely dry (due to starting it a few hours earlier to make sure the batteries were not dead, dont ask me why it was my buddies boat) They will feel under the hull, look in the bilge area, and ask you to to drain the ballast if you have one. Its just a hassle and a pain the ass, by the time we got the 10 minute lecture from the ranger we had a 15 minute boat inspection after that, it felt like an hour! What is this world coming to!! O and make sure you have your registration!

Did they ask for insurance too or just registration?

No insurance needed, just the registration paper..

Another question I have is where specifically do they check. For example do they check AFTER your boat is prepped for launch? If so could you park, climb into the boat and start wiping down any excess water in areas while in "getting ready to launch"?

People with V-drives: where did they look, the locker and bilge? Where in the bildge? Did they make you pull the V-drive dividers out and climb into a v-drive compartment or just look in the front near the transmission and v-drive area?

I was checking my center ballast today, and you can hear some water in it. Is that a failure, because I don't even know how I would get that minimal amount of water out.

nevermind I just reread the initial post and yes I will fail. I guess I need to learn how to empty every ounce from that bag. Does anyone have any other ideas then pulling the bag out?

Okay I went through this process for the first time today. I think a lot of variances will be found depending on who is doing the search as some people are probably more thorough than others. See below for my experience.

Rick, I ended up pulling my bag out too, just to be safe. I am not sure how the fail system works and if you have to "retest". I would think that if the mussels die in 5 days they could simply put a sticker around your boat and tell you not to come back for 5 days.

I pulled out all my bags, drained them and took a roll of paper towels to my bilge and locker areas. The guy testing me did a very broad search. I did not have to turn on any pumps or get too detailed. He looked around the boat, looked in the exhaust and the ski locker and bilge, that was it. They also checked my registration.

Ultimately if I have to test again I will do the same. Pull out my bags (they are all quick disconnect pro-x's so its not too bad). turn on all pumps to rid any water in the lines and wipe down any areas that may have water. What I did was lower the tongue as far as possible down, wipe, then raise as high as possible and wipe. When I arrived at the launch I would have had no chance to wipe before inspection. At calero they inspect on an even surface which may be more benificial to go through if you have water pooling issues.