Productive day on Lake Travis and the Shaker Plant

[driftwood]

Robert, Lake Travis Scuba, Wendy and I had a nice day on Lake Travis that answered a lot of questions.

First, I had to identify a hill seen in one of the LCRA archive photos to make sure that the picture was from the Mansfield construction site and not another Highland Lake. At one specific angle, the hill behind Hippie Hollow is a perfect match.

Second, we found a very old cistern off the east side of Sometimes Islands. Roughly 5-6' in diameter and 8-10' deep. The lip is made of cemented limestone blocks and the cistern looks like it is lined with plaster. Next to the cistern is the wreck of a speed boat that still had its inboard V-8 engine in place. Guess that he found the little hill the cistern sits on before we did. At the current lake level, the cistern and boat are just breaking the surface.

Third, we spent some time at the Shaker Plant site trying to get a better feel for the positioning of the artifacts that remain. Wendy and me dove a good portion of the wall at depths between 20 and 45'. Saw some of the timber structures but more importantly got a firm location on the broken concrete slab and the pipe that I have seen in archive photos.

The next step will be to do further systematic searches from 30 to 50'. Once we have a grid filled in then we can start shooting buoys to the surface to get GPS readings and to lay line for a scuba trail. When the lake rises back to a normal pool elevation of 681', the trail will remain at recreational depths.

While the lake is down, this is a perfect opportunity to see what is at around the 530' elevation (currently, roughly 100' deep ). The bases for the conveyor belt system, the rock crusher, mixing and loading station for the tram buckets are at this depth. Personally, I haven't been that deep, but from what I have seen in the archives, there could still be a lot down there to discover. I think that we ran across a large grotto on the wall very close to the loading station at the southern end of the Shaker Plant Site.

I had a great time today and a decent beginning to a worthwhile project has been made. Thanks to Robert and Wendy for making it happen.

 

[Lake Travis Scuba]

Among the items identified during the dive, my favorite was the pipe leaning toward the wall in the right section of the attached photo. It is about 20' long and begins at 29' depth at current level. Photo 1940_May_W01062 courtesy LCRA Archives.

This is just one example of the photos to be presented by the LCRA Archives Nov. 4 at 7:00 at the LCRA Red Bud building. Stay tuned for future updates.

 

[PeppermintPaddi]

Wow! Great job guys!

 

[carrielsal]

I went out with Robert this morning. On the second dive we went out to the Shaker plant. Good dive. We came across the pipe in the picture at the end of our dive.
Carrie

 

[tlt]

That speedboat and cistern I am guessing will be a part of that scuba trail.... and gps coordinates. You might want to get the registration # and any serial # on the boat, in case it is stolen...

 

[driftwood]

The boat is one messed up wreck that has been there for a long time. You could get some numbers off the engine, but forget about the rest of the boat.

The cistern and boat are on the opposite side of Horseshoe Bend from the Shaker Plant and a bit further south.

When the lake is higher, you might be able to dive the upper wall of the Shaker Plant, swim over the top of Horseshoe Bend and find the knoll where the cistern is located but it would be a very good feat of navigation to get there. If you miss the knoll, you will be headed toward the old river channel with no reference points to navigate by.

A reasonable dive plan would be start at the cistern and head southwest to an area with concrete blocks (purpose/origin unknown at present). From there you can cross Horseshoe bend and hit the Tram Line easement to end your dive. That trail should keep you between 60 and 30' deep when the lake is full.







The first photo is the engine and what is left of the boat, steering wheel and fiberglass keel. The second photo show the cistern, boat wreck behind, and Horseshoe Bend (in the far background, are the hills behind Hippie Hollow). The third photo is a detail of the cistern showing the limestone blocks and plaster (?) lining.

 

[Willie]

Very cool. I would like to know the GPS coordinates for the cistern to place it on one of the old maps.

Willie

 

[travisdude]

Very cool. I would like to know the GPS coordinates for the cistern to place it on one of the old maps.

Willie

N30deg 24'01.1'' W97deg 53'11.0''