Sugar Creek teen rebuilds boat ramp as Eagle Scout project
By Anne Trautner
Assistant Editor
When Troy Steinfest went out to see Long Lake’s boat landing earlier this year, he helped pull out a truck that had gotten stuck on the steep slope while trying to put a boat in the water.
“It was all eroded out. Nobody could really use the boat landing,” the 17-year-old Sugar Creek native said.
Earlier this summer, the 240-acre lake was not even visible from the landing on Barkers Road because of all of the trees and brush that grew along the corroding bank.
That was before Troy started his Eagle Scout project. Today, after about 190 hours of work, the once-eroded area has been cleared.
At the end of July, Troy’s family and friends began helping with the project. They cut down trees, removed bushes and eradicated poison ivy. Seigler Grading-Excavating helped build the ramp. Town crews chipped brush.
Troy, who is a senior at Elkhorn Area High School, designed the project and supervised the workers. He is the son of Roxi and Mark Steinfest.
To address the erosion problems, Troy incorporated a water bar into the plan. Made of an old rubber conveyor belt from an old rock quarry, the water bar directs water to the sides of the ramp, and small ridges lead the water away, said Troy, who plans to study electrical engineering in college.
Troy’s project also included creating a new lake floor at the base of the ramp. Troy dug out about 1 foot of sediment from the lake, extending about 20 feet out into the lake, and replaced it with gravel.
He designed the landing to descend 1 foot for every 7 feet it goes toward the lake. The pitch allows people to easily drop their boats in the water, as well as bring their canoes and kayaks out of the water.
“It’s about 500 times better than it was, maybe 1,000. It is beyond our expectations,” Sugar Creek Town Chairman Dave Duwe said. “People were using it before, but they weren’t real happy with it. The problem was it was so hard to get in before, and the drop-off off the asphalt was about a foot when we started. You needed four-wheel drive to put your boat in.”
On Sept. 15, Duwe, Town Supervisor Dave Robers and about nine residents came out to see the finished boat landing.
“It’s always nice to go over the project with the beneficiary of the project, and these guys have some things at stake here too,” said Mark Steinfest, Troy’s father and Scoutmaster.
“You did good work,” Sugar Creek resident John Armes told Troy. “We are happy.”
The township came to Troy for help with the project about a year ago after it received a state grant to fund the project.
“They had gotten the money, but they needed somebody to plan it,” Mark Steinfest said.
Over the past year, Troy met with town officials and acquired permits from the Department of Natural Resources and the Army Corps of Engineers.
Troy, who has been in Scouts since first grade, also built and erected a large wooden sign at the boat ramp. The sign provides the town with a third public place to post meeting notices. The town also posts notices at Millard and the Mobile station.
Before receiving the Eagle Scout award, Troy’s paperwork will be sent to Washington and he will have a board of review.
In the meantime, residents are enjoying his work.
“A lot of people use this lake for ice fishing or duck hunting, so now the residents will have access to it,” Duwe said.
“It is beautiful! It is so nice to be able to see the lake,” resident Joyce Farrington said. “They [Troy and his family] can really be proud.”
