New Sailors: Lake Arthur FAQ

Updated March 29, 2001 by Matt Wall (wall@cyrusoft.com).

Note: This FAQ intended only for wet-water sailors. I'm told there's active ice-boating on the lake. The season is highly unpredictable, and often only weeks long during a normal winter.

THANKS and acknowledgements for contributions to this page from: Gerry Brandt, Betty Larman, Dave Green, Cindy Phillips, Ed Sieger, Daniel Vito and Donna Hetrick, Deb Vey, Stephen Ornstein, Joe Shields, the Moraine State Park office staff, and the staff at Wind and Water.

• What kind of facilities are there for launching sailboats on the Lake?
   
• What kind of in-season storage/docking/mooring options are there?
   
• How do I contact the Park Office and the Marina Office?
   
• What permits are required to sail in the Lake? What regulations should I know about?
   
• How do I sign up for a mooring, dry-dock, or marina slip?
   
• What other facilities does the Davis Hollow Marina have?
   
• When is the sailing season?
   
• Where can I get maps or charts?
   
• Are power boats a problem?
   
• Where can I store my boat off-season near Lake Arthur?
   
• Where are the nearest chandlers (suppliers of useful things for sailboats)?
   
• Are there sailboat races on the lake?
   
• What are the prevailing winds, best times of day to sail, etc.?
   
• What's the story of the Lake?
   
• How can I get in touch with other Lake Arthur sailors?
   
• How can I learn to sail on Lake Arthur?

What kind of facilities are there for launching sailboats on the Lake?

There are six boat launching ramps scattered around the lake, indicated on Park maps and on the appropriate page of the Pennsylvania Gazeteer. Three of these are appropriate for sailboats, one on the South Shore, two on the North.

Much of the organized sailing activity by the Moraine Sailing Club is out of Watts Bay, in the center of the North Shore of the lake.

Davis Hollow, also on the North shore and a bit to the East of Watts Bay, features a marina with full facilities.

Bear Run is on the South Shore, near the Park office, and has some trailer parking space for both powered and sail vessels, and a small snack stand nearby.

What kind of in-season storage/docking/mooring options are there?

The Watts Bay facility includes a dry-dock storage option for parking your boat on a trailer, for about $135 a season. You're required to leave the mast up. There are also rack-storage facilities available for Sunfish-type vessels at about $58 per season.

The Davis Hollow marina is mostly in-water storage/docking/slipping/mooring, with a few dry storage spots (about 80). There are almost 1000 spots overall, most of which are occupied. There are different charges for different types of options, most of them charged per foot by length overall.

All facilities are run by the State of Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, aka DCNR or the Parks people. There are  waiting lists of up to two years for some facilities, some facilities have no list. The best thing to do is to get on the waiting list for the specific mooring/docking/storage option you want. There is a $15 application fee, and note that if you want to get on multiple waiting lists, you must submit a fee and application for each type. It's OK to be on multiple waiting lists at once. Once your name comes up on the waiting list, you have to pay for the spot promptly, and technically must get the boat in the water within 90 days for some spots.

There are a limited number of in-season docking facilities for official transients; inquiries as to the availability, etc. must be made through the Marina office in-season.

How do I contact the Park Office and the Marina Office?

The Park Office:

Moraine State Park
225 Pleasant Valley Rd.
Portersville, PA 16051-9650
(724) 368-8811

The Moraine State Park has a sub-website off the State DCNR website:

http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/morain.htm

The Marina (open April 15 through October 30th):

(724) 368-9346

What permits are required to sail in the Lake? What regulations should I know about?

All boats must have a valid State of Pennsylvania launch permit. For unpowered boats permits cost $10 for one year $18 for two years (PA residents). Launch Permits can be obtained from the Park Office.

Boating in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is regulated by the State Fishing and Boating Commission.

Its website is at: http://www.fish.state.pa.us and has current information about laws, registration, and so forth. Click on the small link for "Boating Handbook".

Anyone boating in Pennsylvania probably ought to be aware of the relevant state laws, which are summarized in the annual publication, Pennsylvania Boating Handbook, available free upon request from the Fishing and Boating Commissions. There is now an on-line version of this directly on the URL above, and as a PDF file if you want to print one out, at

http://sites.state.pa.us/PA_Exec/Fish_Boat/01boath/fullbook.pdf

It's about 1.6 megabytes, so you are forewarned.

The telephone numbers, as of February 2001, for information on same are:

Boating Education 717-705-7833
Law Enforcement 717-705-7861
Boat Registration 717-705-7940
Boat Registration TOLL-FREE 1-866-BOATREG (1-866-262-8734)

The Fish and Boating Commission also has boating safety courses available to the public.

There are fishing regulations, too, of course but since I don't fish I didn't look these up. However, I suspect the Fishing and Boating Commission has what you might be looking for.

The US Coast Guard does not have a presence on Lake Arthur, but of course all inland navigation laws applicable to recreational non-Federal waterways must be followed.

Note that Lake Arthur is entirely in Moraine State Park. On water activities are monitored by the Fishing and Boating Commission. On shore activities are monitored by the Park Officers, and are subject to all the DCNR state park regulations.

Its website is at: http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us

The relevant general park use regulations are summarized at

http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/recreation/rulesregs.htm

...although it's probably more efficient to just ask at the Park office if you're unsure as to the local mores, folkways, and regulations about specific activities.

How do I sign up for a mooring, dry-dock, or marina slip?

Obtain a waiting list application from the Park office, return it with $15 per spot requested, and wait. The Park staff, by reputation, are reliable and prompt about calling you when your name comes up on the list. Even if there's no actual wait list, you still must start the process by filing a wait-list application.

What other facilities does the Davis Hollow Marina have?

• There is a 24-hour shuttle service to and from off-shore moorings.
• The marina is open 24 hours a day in-season from April 15 through October 30th.
• Bathroom and shower facilities are available 24/7.

When is the sailing season?

Boats are allowed in the water April 15th and may be sailed through October 30th. There has been ice, reportedly, on the lake as late as April 21st!

Where can I get maps or charts?

There are no nautical charts for the lake. A good general map of the facilities of the park, which includes good landmarks for position-by-sight, is available for free from the Park office. USGS maps may be used for detailed positioning. A Hydrographic map of the lake shows some depths and bottom contours, and is probably the most useful sailing map available. As of March, 2001, it was available for $4.50 from Wind and Water (see information below.)

You can also get a general overview of the park and driving directions from any of the usual on-line Maps sites. Type in "Portersville, PA", and the intersection "I-79 and PA 422" and you should see Lake Arthur up in the corner.

The DCNR says the average depth is 12 ft, and the max is 36 near the dam, and they point out that "A map showing fish habitat project locations, water depths and specific features of the lake is available at the park office, marina office and the gift shop at McDanel's Boat Launch." Here's the DCNR web site: http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/morain.htm

There are a few places to get topographic maps, for example topozone.com. Here's the URL for the one of Arthur (but underwater details don't seem to be shown to the same resolution as land details):

http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat= 40.95122916165866 &lon=-80.10220538124017&s=25&size=m&symshow=n

There's also a company that sells underwater maps: http://www.utmaps.com/catalog/index.cfm?categoryid=27

Are power boats a problem?

Power boats are limited to 9.9 hp. Most of the operators are fishermen traveling from one spot to another. It is always advisable to keep an eye our for inexperienced operators especially those of rental boats.

Where can I store my boat off-season near Lake Arthur?

There are many places close by to the Lake. Some mentioned satisfactorily by MSC members include Burk's Storage on West Park Road (outside, year-round), West Park road storage (nearby to Burk's), the Butler County fairgrounds (inside, off-season only, aka "The Barn"), and a number of limestone caves run by independent operators.

Where are the nearest chandlers (suppliers of useful things for sailboats)?

West Marine is a national chain and is located in a strip mall on McKnight Rd. just south of Ross Park Mall. This writer has found it on short acquaintance to be a bit light on the more esoteric sailing supplies, but it has the basics ranging from PFD's to zSpar to dry bags.

Wind and Water Boatworks is on Route 8, six miles south of Butler and is is run by Paul Egbert, a long time MSC club member Paul offers 10% discounts to club members. It is oriented towards sailing and kayaking; while it's smaller than West Marine, it is more specialized to sailboat needs, MSC members report.  Toll free order number is 1-800-289-8907

Are there sailboat races on the lake?

Yes! The Moraine Sailing Club is an active sailing community which sponsors racing from May through September and social functions from February through early November.

What are the prevailing winds, best times of day to sail, etc.?

It is relatively calm in the early morning and late afternoon. Some have reported it's difficult to get out of Davis Hollow under sail, and to do so often requires alternate power (motor or rowing/paddling). Trees near the shoreline can cause unpredictable breaks in the wind. The prevailing wind is from the West-Northwest, but also shifts to South to South-Southwest with some weather fronts.

Weather for the closest town is usually listed at Butler

http://www.uswx.com/us/wx/pa/014

...which is also linked off the Park's website, so it's probably as accurate as anything. Note the incredibly useful chart on this page that shows wind direction and velocity, although one should note that actual conditions at the lake will and do vary from those of the weather station.

Or, enter in the zip code for Portersville on weather.com

http://www.weather.com/weather/local/16051

This seems to be a bit more general/regionalized than the Butler link on uswx.com, though.

What's the story of the Lake?

Lake Arthur is an artificial lake opened to the public in 1970. It is on the site of an ancient, much larger lake, Lake Watts, and was formed by damming Bear Run. The outlet is into the Beaver River, which in turn flows into the Ohio, thence the Mississippi. There is no navigable outlet or inlet to the Lake, however.

The bottom is thus rocky but aerated, and the stocked fish healthy and edible. It's not a deep lake: according to the hydrographic chart, the deepest parts are only about 30 feet.

Much of the area forming Moraine State Park was reclaimed from 19th century industrial usage. While the Lake is clean, boaters should be particularly sensitive to the impact of their activities on the environment.

There's much more information about the natural history of the area on the park website, and available from the park office.

How can I get in touch with other Lake Arthur sailors?

The Moraine Sailing Club is an enthusiastic and active promoter of sailing activities on the lake, serving as the liaison between the State of Pennsylvania and lake sailors.  MSC sponsors  training, safety, and social activities, and organizes  races and regattas during the summer.

There is an email mailing list maintained by the club through Yahoo's egroups. The mailing list is used primarily for announcements by the club, but is open and unmoderated.

You can sign up for this at morainesailingclub-subscribe@yahoogroups.com - a confirmation message will be sent back to you, to which you must reply before being formally signed up.

The archives for this list are available at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/morainesailingclub and may well contain answers to other questions one might have about sailing Lake Arthur. You probably want to read through the archives and the MSC website before posting any questions.

The Moraine Sailing Club board members can be contacted collectively via this email address: mscboard@yahoogroups.com

How can I learn to sail on Lake Arthur?

Moraine Sailing School closed, so there is now only one option that we know of to learn to sail on Lake Arthur:

The Moraine Sailing Club, in conjunction with the Community Sailing Program, offers informal sailing lessons to all our members, staffed by club volunteers. For additional information about sailing instruction from the Moraine Sailing Club, please contact our Dean of Instruction

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