Every new development project has its challenges – permitting problems, raising necessary financing, coordinating contractors. Any one who has been involved with a development project has his or her own “war stories.”

Sometimes the problem is as simple as finding the right product for the application. The newly renovated Compass Pointe Resort on Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, was one such project.

Lake of the Ozarks
There are more than 1,300 miles of shoreline around this 90-mile-long body of water. While Lake of the Ozarks boasts more than 57,000 acres of surface water, the lake does not feature large, wide-open spaces. Rather, it is an area made up of narrow, winding, fingers and bays in the hills of the Ozarks.

Unquestionably beautiful, Lake of the Ozarks has become a premier vacation destination featuring 150 marinas, a multitude of lake homes, and more than 30 lakefront restaurants. Given the lake’s emphasis on water sports, it should come as no surprise that there are more than 40,000 private slips on it.

Compass Pointe Resort
In July 2000, the father/son duo of Tom and Mark Kelly began exploring the possibility of purchasing and renovating the Marina Bay property into an upscale development called Compass Pointe. The St. Louis-based developers had been active in the Lake of the Ozarks area for many years and were well aware of the site, its problems and its potential.

“The Compass Pointe site is an ideal spot for a lake-oriented development,” says Mark Kelly. “It dominates a popular point in the middle of the Lake of the Ozarks, has great views, and provides an easy boat ride to numerous lake area attractions.”

Because the Lake’s waterways are tucked into the steep hills of the Ozarks and do not have large open spaces, the Compass Pointe site usually does not have serious problems with wind-driven waves. “The problem,” according to the younger Kelly, “is boat wakes from heavy boat traffic.” Based on lake patrol counts, the point is subjected to the wakes of up to 3,000 boats in each direction, or a total of 6,000 boats on busy weekend days – several of these boats are more than 50 feet.

The resort had not utilized its full potential under the three previous owners because they had been unable to provide protection for boats moored on the property. Without adequate boating facilities, the resort was not able to compete.

The Kellys wanted to install a floating breakwater to protect boats moored at the Compass Pointe site. Regulatory, cost and environmental concerns made it impossible to install a rubble mound-style breakwater. The Kellys also wanted the breakwater to serve as a dock for transient boaters and restaurant customers.

“If we had been unable to find a tough enough breakwater, we would have passed on the project,” explains Mark Kelly. After reviewing the breakwaters available, the Kellys decided to install a ShoreMaster Model 855 floating breakwater. It had a proven track record of stopping the type of waves experienced at the site; and as a floating breakwater, its environmental impact was no greater than an ordinary floating dock so it was easy to permit, and fingers could be attached for transient and restaurant moorage.

As explained by Dennis Tuel, Jr., P.E., “Most concrete floating docks and breakwaters are connected by stringing whaler boards between the sections. The whaler boards are then connected to the sections by spanning threaded rod through the concrete. The problem with the conventional system is that as the pontoon moves in the waves, stress is being placed on the concrete in the areas above and below the threaded rod. Over time, the stress may lead to fractures or cracking of the concrete.”

Unlike conventional systems, the ShoreMaster system is connected with cables that run the length of the pontoon and are hydraulically post-tensioned. The cable is sheathed in plastic and run through PVC tubing molded into the pontoons to protect the cable against corrosion. In addition, polyurethane spacers are placed between the sections. As the cable is tensioned, the spacers compress and form an airtight seal, which keeps the cable area free from the corrosive effects of water. As the system moves, the majority of the force is absorbed by the cable, not the concrete.

It is ShoreMaster’s connection system that allows it to survive Compass Pointe’s heavy boat traffic. The system was created by Rixo-bryggan of Brastad, Sweden, after studying the use of cables to support concrete suspension bridges. In 1993, a patent was issued to a product that protects cables when they are connected to sectional, floating, concrete docks, and breakwaters. ShoreMaster is the North American licensee of the patent.

Now that the heavy traffic of summer is over and the Compass Pointe breakwater has passed the test, the Kellys are able to sleep a little easier with the success of their latest project. Mark Kelly says, “The ShoreMaster breakwater was a keystone to making the whole project a success.”