Removing Aquatic Weeds on the Lake by the Dock · · PAGE 2.

April 20, 2020: The view of the lake behind the house has been obscured by large aquatic weeds for a number of years.  This is DAY ONE of weed removal.  This first image shows the plants are on both sides of the dock for the full length of the dock (121 feet).  I took this photo after the crew had removed some of the weeds.

This image shows one of TWO water craft custom designed to remove aquatic weeds.  It is powered by a 15 HP diesel engine that drives a hydraulic pump.  This is a front-end loader and a weed cutter that are hydraulic pressure operated.  The two prop drives are also hydraulically operated and steered to provide full directional control.  This pontoon boat is working on the north side of the dock.  He started by removing some of the hydrilla weeds that float near the surface of the lake.  They are seen in the water behind the boat and north of the boat as I am pointing my camera north.

There are multiple patches of hydrilla weeds just beyond the end of the dock.  The crew is removing this invasive species of weed to make it easier for them to position their large pontoon barge used to haul away the removed weeds.

The boat on the north side makes a pass to scoop up some of the hydrilla weeds.

The other boat is working on the south side of the dock.  There is a large sickle bar cutter on the right side of the boat.  He has his front-end loader up high above the dock allowing him to get the cutter down below water level to cut the reeds to be scooped up later.

The first thing to be removed from the  weeds on the south side of the dock was this lawn chair that had been missing since the last hurricane came through this part of Florida.  This part of the dock is 12 feet by 16 feet in size.

The rear view of the boat south of the dock reveals the control arm and hydraulic lines going down to the sickle bar cutter down near the sandy bottom of the lake at this location.

The boat captain makes a series of cutting passes that allow him to work his way closer to shore, or where the boat will run aground in shallow water.

The boat on the north side of the dock is making similar maneuvers with the cut reeds being piled up near the dock until the large pontoon barge is brought down from the lake access point north of here.

Multiple passes with the work boats will eventually get things under control.  This image shows the black sickle bar cutter in the upright stowed position as the front end loader is being used to stack the cuttings by the end of the dock.

The boat on the south side of the dock has opened up enough space to start working his cutter into the 10-feet of open space between the 4x4-inch wooden pilings that support the dock.

The boat on the south side uses the steering of the prop thrusters to move the boat sideways to get under the dock with the cutter blade below the water surface.  This activity continued to the end of their work day.