Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

for those who boat on lake oconee, does anyone know the status of granite shoals marina. It looks as if it is closed down with no activity for months. i am getting used to filling up with gas cans but I was sorry to see the place close and had hoped it was only temporary.

Hey there and welcome........
noticed they had put some silt fence up the other day. Hope they plan on getting started with something soon. I first heard Reynolds bought it and then said Harbor Club bought it. I should be talking with a neighbor in the next few days and if there is anything in the works he would know. Personally, I hope they bulldoze the place and fix something nice. Are you on the lake or just use that marina. We are across from Reynolds and the Ritz. On the poor side of the lake.
doc

Poor side here, too. Up by granite shoals. I'm so poor that I've just got a chair, picnic table, dock and boat lift - no house. I've got a Bentley 2005 with a merc 115 4 Stroke. I noticed on the county tax assessor website that renyolds bought the marina from the long time owner, and then a new owner got it a few years ago. We've really got only two extreme choices - grill out , or dine at the ritz. I like both but something in between would be nice. I was out Sunday. Perfect for cruising and swimming. It's good to have a 'neighbor ' on this forum.

I didn't know Lake Oconee had a poor side. You know, there's just so much waterfront property on any given lake.

I thought Reynolds Plantation was the poor side--since they've been in bankruptcy. And, I'm not talking about the "poor" property owners of Reynolds that have been taken for a ride throughout the Reynolds debacle. It's just a shame that real estate companies can take property owners for such a ride.

Hopefully, the new buyer of the development will help stableize everything there. It is nice to be on a great lake without the costs and problems associated with all that. The fish aren't bothered by all that and the scenery hasn't changed.

Bama know what your are saying. The home owners, I have talked with say they are actually happy it was sold and glad Met Life bought it. Also think Reynolds got caught up in the buying frenzy going on a few years back and got extended here an on some other property out of this area. Starting out, I think he had good intentions when he started developing, unlike some that promise golf courses and a clubhouse and it never gets built. He held off at least 10 years after the lake was impounded before developing anything. Remember because we probably didn't even have 6 boats on our end of the lake back in the 80's. You could camp and do just about anything you wanted back then. Not really meaning to take up for Mercer or Jamie and they sure are not as well thought of now, but think the homeowners agree they are happy that someone that has the capital to make it an even better place have arrived. Personally, I would not want to live on the other side for a number of reasons, Plus we get all the good sunsets on our side.
doc

Doc:

Some moderately successful people have the tendency to bite off more than they can chew, thinking they're invincible. Nobody told them they were mortal.

In the case of Reynolds Plantation, they started a big real estate development down on the Brunswick, GA coast when the economy turned south. Their demise on that project simply drug down Reynolds Plantation. With incredible golf courses and a Ritz Carlton Hotel, Lake Oconee didn't need such a developer. It's a first class place.

I didn't realize you'd been on Lake Oconee for so many years. Our Tennessee River fish camp has been in the family since 1945, and we're up to the fifth generation.

Yep long time native of this area and have always loved it. My grandfather had a 100 acre farm about 5 miles from where I am now. We would always come down and stay a week during the summer, when I was a kid. He called all his buddies and we fished in a diff pond everyday almost. Those old timers were some really great people. Charles Askew owned a lot of acreage on both sides of the river which became the main body of the lake.He offered to cut my folks out a lot right next to his house. Not sure why they didn't take him up on that.Before they impounded the lake my folks bought a lot and then decided to by another across the street. Greensboro is not as nice as it once was in my opinion, but sure beats the heck out of Atl. Still it is pretty quiet during the week unless the Ritz has a band or something going on.
doc

doc, under your name and boat description, it seems to indicate that you don't have the Bentley anymore. did you sell it and what are you planning to get? mine has been trouble free for 7 or eight years, and it has lived all it's life at the dock as I don't even have a trailer. i read a lot, i think on the prior forum to this one, and made sure i got one big enough (24) and with a big enough engine. I've seen others around come and go with big fancy speed boats, but the standard 24 foot pontoon seems perfect to me. however, i can see an advantage to the third pontoon without much downside, except maybe initial cost.

Yep sold it a month or so ago. Nothing wrong with the boat and actually loved it. My dealer called an said he had someone looking for a tritoon and so I came up with a price and he took it. Will probably pick up another next year very similar to what I had. Who did you purchase your bentley from? Going forward I am going to try and trade out every few years still did pretty good on the sale of the last one given it was a 4 year old boat, even if it was like brand new.

doc

that sounds good doc. it's always fun to search and get something new. i bought at T and S in Oakwood. i've known terry there all my life and i knew that i could absolutely trust his judgement regarding a boat for me. I'm not that knowledgeable so i was lucky to have his help. I guess at some point, i might want to upgrade to something a little plusher, but I don't really care about speed. I'm happiest going about 15 to 20 mph. I do like a smooth ride and energy efficiency, so a tri toon might be better for me. On our lake, do you think having the tri toon is a significant advantage?

Really like the tritoon I sold. Made the guy a great deal compared to buying a new one. Due to the price increases since, I bought my replacement cost is more than I had thought. I had an older 24ft San Pan 2 log for probably over 10 years and really enjoyed it. Since it was older an had the smaller dia logs there was considerable drag and plow. I was cutting the grass one Sat an a tritoon came into the cove and just seem to glide after he backed off the motor. I got to thinking about the bowrider, I use to have an how much of the lake I covered back then vs now.With the toon I rarely went any further than the damn or about 4 miles.. Decided right then that the tritoon was my next one. Not so much for the sake of going fast just the ability to do so and cover more area. I would normally cruise like I did in my old toon with the 90 most of the time, but if you need to get somewhere a little quicker the lifting strakes an 150 do the job. Guess you know but watch the standing timber from Sandy Creek going up to the damn. Thought I was clear of it and past it but I was wrong. Well actually the wife was at the wheel, but I should have been watching more closely knowing it was there. Think some of the marker buoys were missing that day.
doc

thanks for the reply doc. i'm like you and rarely go past the dam. i'll probably look at tritons next time, but that might be a long time into the future. I don't recall even knowing about them and it was between a deck boat and regular pontoon last time i bought. i try to be careful of the standing timber; i know about the marked area opposite the Ritz, and then the obvious marked timber on down toward the dam on the right just before Emerald Shores. Then there are some marked areas on down where it opens up in view of the dam. Is it one of those areas where you had problems? Also, have you found a good place for ethanol free gas that is convenient . hope your getting out somehow on the water during this great weather this weekend. My little boy and i just sat through 4 hours of GaTech football seeing a loss in overtime. Even with the loss, it was a fun outing.

Yep I watched the Tech game also. Figured they might loose if it went into overtime, because the momentum had shifted.

Have not located an ethanol free station. There was a station listed on the ethanol free website but when I looked the pumps said ethanol.

I hit the trees just infront of the entrance to sandy creek. Right out from where that little island is at the mouth of sandy creek.

Think you made the right choice between the deckboat and pontoon. When I had my bowrider I went to the I-20 bridge. Never made it over there with the tritoon, but would not have been a problem since the toon was probably faster than the bowrider. Still took me about three hours.Glad they had just built the blue springs marina cause I was on fumes once I got to I-20.

doc

Hey Mckinley, you should have bought on Sinclair. Then you could have had a house too.