Boat Access.

• PREVENTING THE SPREAD OF INVASIVE AQUATIC SPECIES - Pull the drain plug, its the law.  In Alberta it is now illegal to transport your water craft with the drain plug in place, Alberta Boat Transportation Legislation, 2016.  A watercraft user must demonstrate upon inspection that their water craft has been drained of standing water.  Drain the boat ballast while the hull is still on the sloped ramp so the water goes back where it came from.  This will also drain the tubular frame of the trailer. Those who fail to comply may be subject to a court appearance and fined up to $100,000.  Before you retrieve your boat from an Alberta lake, read this legislation.  http://aep.alberta.ca/recreation-public-use/boating/clean-drain-dry-your-boat.aspx.

The purpose of this legislation is to help prevent the spread of invasive aquatic species such as zebra or quagga mussels.  Remember to do the following:

Clean

• Clean and inspect watercraft, trailer and gear
• Remove all plants, animals, and mud at the access area (ramp) or dock
• At home, soak your gear in a bleach solution for at least one minute
• Rinse, scrub or pressure wash your boat away from storm drains, ditches or waterways

Drain

• On land, before leaving the water body, drain all water from:
  • Bait buckets
  • Ballast (water ballast)
  • Bilge
  • Cooler
  • Internal compartments
  • Live wells, etc

  and dump it in the lake where it came from.

  Dry

  • Dry the watercraft and gear completely between trips and allow the wet areas of your boat to air dry
  • Leave compartments open and sponge out standing water.
     

• Wabamun Town Dock - A very good triple lane (usually used as 2 lanes but to become 4 lanes) sectional concrete ramp with constant slope.  The ramp has a large paved parking lot for pull through tow vehicle/trailer parking, an overflow gravel parking lot, no overhead power lines, is illuminated at night and is well protected from a westerly wind by the long dock.  I have not used the ramp at night to determine if the light is bright enough for launching.  I doubt it.  There are washrooms and a grassy picnic area to the side.  In 2007 a floating section of vinyl dock was added adjacent to the ramp to make boat handling civilized.  You can walk on it from shore, making it very quick and convenient to handle your boat for launching.   This is so nice to use since it is soft saving you from having to hang your fenders.  This helps to speed up launch.  In 2008 three more floating sections were added to the East side of the pier creating much needed floating dock space.  The two original wood floating sections were moved to the West side of the pier.  Each floating section has its own ladder up to the dock. 
  
  The best time to launch a large sail boat here is during a light West wind.  Use two 30' lines, one tied to the bow and the other to the stern, to hold the boat against the wind.  Two people can accomplish this; one standing on the floating dock holding the 2 control lines and the other standing on the trailer giving directions to align the boat to the trailer.  Having guide posts on the trailer guarantees accuracy and speed.  If the wind comes from the East use a long pole to push the boat over the center of the trailer.  Oppose the push with a line to pull the boat back so you have total control. 
  
  HAZARD 1 - The current pier replaced an earlier pier that was located just West of it.  The old piles were sheared off just above the bottom.  When the water is clear you can see the old stubs.  However, some piles stick up high enough to create a hazard for a keel.  I have seen a Catalina 22 sink after hitting one, so slide in slowly. 
  
  HAZARD 2 - DO NOT back your trailer wheel over the split between the concrete sections.  Your wheel will likely drop between the sections and rip a tire off the rim once the weight of the boat is on the trailer.  That would make for a nasty retrieval.  Instead, back the trailer so both wheels stay on same section of concrete or back the trailer in so it straddles the gap.  Gravel was used to fill this gap in 2016 and hopefully it will stay.
  
  HAZARD 4 - There is a sharp underwater drop off at the bottom of the ramp just beyond the last concrete section.   Unfortunately it is caused by power boaters who are reluctant to get their tootsies wet to winch their boat up on the trailer.  They indiscriminately use their engine thrust to "push" their boat up on the trailer rollers.  The propeller swirl "washes a hole" just below the lowest concrete slab and the suspended aggregate settles behind the hole creating a mound.  This makes it very difficult to float a keel boat past it.   If you hook your trailer wheels over the lowest concrete section, you will likely never pull it up over that section with the added weight of a boat.  Therefore, load your boat with the tires on the concrete sections. 
  
  HAZARD 4 - After you launch your boat it is natural to whip around the end of the long pier into the marina to fuel up.  DON'T CUT ACROSS THE END OF THE PIER as there are large concrete blocks on the bottom that have trapped lots of bottom goop that holds your keel.  The safe path is to go straight out for 100M then make your starboard turn around the last set of marina channel buoys.  Stay to the center of the channel, using the channel buoys as a guide, to enter the marina.  Good luck. 
   

• Wabamun Marina - An excellent single lane sectional concrete ramp with continuous slope and a walkway on either side to handle the boat.  Full protection from wind and waves as the marina creates sheltered water.  Pay for use.  Washrooms.  Large parking lot.  No overhead power lines.  Marina contact 780-892-3008. 
  
  HAZARD 1 - DO NOT back your trailer wheel over the split between the concrete sections.  In about 3' deep water the sections have spread apart to create a hole.  If your trailer wheel drops in there it will be very difficult retrieve.  That would make for a nasty launch.  Instead, back the trailer in so it straddles the gap.  The marina leaves a small boat inside the ramp to force a launch into the safe area.

• Sundance Channel (Closed permanently?) - A good single lane sectional concrete ramp but with a discontinuous slope.  This ramp is steeper than the other deep water ramps on Wabamun Lake requiring more horse power with bull low gears to pull a loaded trailer up.  The drop off at the bottom has been partially filled with gravel to prevent the trailer from dropping off.  However, care should be taken to verify that the gravel is still there considering the current that could wash it away.  If this is the case then keep your trailer wheels on the concrete sections as most two wheel drive vehicles will find it impossible to pull a loaded trailer up over the drop off.  I have no personal experience with this ramp but I have witnessed a burned clutch, blown tires and heard many "recognizable" words on this ramp.  I have only heard of a few successful launches there. 
  Having said this, I received the following report in 2003: "I backed my single axle trailer wheels down the ramp past the drop off and onto the lake bottom. I had no trouble pulling the loaded trailer up the ramp with my Jeep Cherokee four wheel drive in low range.  In fact, I dipped my trailer back in to straighten the boat (SJ23) a little on the trailer.  The water is deep enough that I was able to pull the bow over my new front roller on the trailer and right up to the winch.  The key thing is to keep the boat aligned to the trailer while you pull forward, thus allowing it to settle straight.  There is a concern about the current at the bottom of the ramp when Trans-Alta pumps water into the lake at full tilt.  The problem can be overcome with a long line run to the south shore and someone pulling the hull against the current till it's aligned to the trailer.  Not difficult actually" .  Doug.
  The channel is well protected from waves but marginally protected from wind.  Light to medium strength winds don't seem to affect a launch much.  A fixed dock is adjacent to the ramp for temporarily securing the boat.  There is adequate parking, chemical outhouses and no overhead power lines. 

• Wabamun Provincial Park - An excellent dual lane sectional concrete ramp with continuous slope and no charges.  Unfortunately it's in Moonlight Bay, separated from the main body of the lake by the CN railroad trestle.  The technique for this ramp is to power the boat through one of the trestle passages to the Wabamun Town dock to step the mast.  There is no protection from the wind but the bay is small so the waves should be as well.  The trick to aligning your boat to the trailer is to use a long line to shore on the windward side of the hull to pull the stern.  
  There are no overhead power lines.  There is a large gravel parking lot with lots of pull through spots dedicated for vehicles with trailer attached.  If you are competing with the weekend camping crowd at the Provincial park they may force you to go faster than you want.  The trick is to be organized so bring extra help.  If this ramp were located on the main body of the lake it would be my choice, the slope is that good. 

• Other Beach Ramps - There are other ramps around the lake that can be found at most public accesses, one per mile along the beach, with the exception of the Seba Beach ramp which is closed with a chain.  All these ramps are constructed of packed gravel or sand and are not deep enough to launch a pocket cruiser sailboat.  They are suitable to launch a light dinghy or car topper boat. 
  NOTE - In years gone by, a couple of clever guys at EYC built a trailer dolly from two car wheels joined by a 3' long axle e/w a trailer ball bolted to the middle.  A 4' long a-framed handle was welded to the axle and a 200' line was attached to the end of the handle.  The trailer was hitched to the dolly and backed into the water till the boat floated off the trailer.  Very gentle operation.  To retrieve the boat it was floated over the trailer and hauled to the beach by a tow vehicle on shore.  I have used this technique several times at Gull Lake on a sandy bottom.  The trick there was to pull the boat out at walking speed (not faster) and keep it moving.  If you pull too fast things go wrong.  If you stop the wheels will sink in the soft bottom and you will have a devil of a time to move it afterwards.  We always launched in calm water.