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Old 11-24-2011, 06:11 PM
 
1 posts, read 1,862 times
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I piloted the ferry for Point Venture from 1970 to 1975. We carried up to 12 cars. we only charged 1 dollar a car and still the business was profitable. It operated on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I did all the maintenance on the boat and my three sons helped to direct cars. It was powered by 671 Detroit Desiel with a super charger. It went through a 4.1 reduction capital transmission. It had a 44 inch propellar with a 28 inch pitch. At one occasion we transported a D-9 bulldozer with a ripper and dozer blade on it. This unit weighed over 250,000 pounds. It was transported from point venture to lakeway resort landing.
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Old 11-27-2011, 04:01 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
16,787 posts, read 49,063,260 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by garyruckel View Post
I piloted the ferry for Point Venture from 1970 to 1975. We carried up to 12 cars. we only charged 1 dollar a car and still the business was profitable. It operated on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I did all the maintenance on the boat and my three sons helped to direct cars. It was powered by 671 Detroit Desiel with a super charger. It went through a 4.1 reduction capital transmission. It had a 44 inch propellar with a 28 inch pitch. At one occasion we transported a D-9 bulldozer with a ripper and dozer blade on it. This unit weighed over 250,000 pounds. It was transported from point venture to lakeway resort landing.
Interesting. Do you know why it stopped operating? I would thing there would be a demand if it was profitable.
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Old 10-07-2012, 07:18 PM
 
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What would prevent a company from starting a ferry service again on lake Travis from Lago Vista to the Lakeway area? I would think that it could be a profitable venture. Electronic toll tag type payment system & a couple of ferry boats to manage the commute. I would imagine the changing lake levels would be the main deterrent. A bridge would be phenomenal. Anyone else think this would be a good future option?
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Old 10-08-2012, 08:15 AM
 
Location: Central Texas
13,714 posts, read 31,173,187 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Drcolin View Post
What would prevent a company from starting a ferry service again on lake Travis from Lago Vista to the Lakeway area? I would think that it could be a profitable venture. Electronic toll tag type payment system & a couple of ferry boats to manage the commute. I would imagine the changing lake levels would be the main deterrent. A bridge would be phenomenal. Anyone else think this would be a good future option?
I'm not so certain such a service would be profitable. I just don't see why many people from Lakeway would want to go to Lago Vista. The reverse route might be more popular, but I am guessing.

Do you mean a true "ferry" that handles vehicles and people? Or just a "shuttle" for people only?

I think Lago Vista is near mile marker 30 and Lakeway at 17. The on water distance between the two places is about 13 miles. The typical "shuttle" is a pontoon boat and probably wouldn't travel much faster than 15-20 MPH in normal water conditions. That trip would probably take about 40 minutes. A round trip would burn perhaps 10 gallons of fuel @ $5.00/gal. They need pretty steady traffic to recover their costs. A boat capable of handling vehicles would go slower. And each destination would require a significant investment in new vehicle-capable docks.

Very handy mile marker map below:

Mile Markers of Lake Travis - CommunityWalk
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Old 06-15-2013, 06:09 PM
 
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Unhappy Lake Travis Ferry (Flagship Texa) burns at Windy Point

Unfortunately, the Flagship Texas ( [url=http://www.theflagshiptexas.com/]Lake travis waterfront, lake travis rental, weddings on lake travis, party rentals texas[/url] ) burned to the water line June 13, 2013 . It was docked at Windy Point Park (which my dad purchased in '68 and my brother still operates) and was preparing for a wedding cruise that night when a fire started in the kitchen. The car deck had been enclosed for a floating event facility.

And I DO remember when it was in service (just like I remember the Hacienda Restaurant, the Chef Drive In and the Stallion.
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Old 06-19-2013, 04:41 PM
 
Location: The People's Republic of Austin
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Video of the fire on the Flagship Texas. Sad.
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Old 05-10-2015, 10:18 PM
 
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i remember the ferry and the bar k dude ranch. i loved the quick draw gun fights i had with the cowboys when i was young.
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Old 02-09-2016, 03:29 PM
 
1 posts, read 1,052 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by N. Olikee View Post
I realize I may be dating myself, but does anyone remember the ferry that went across Lake Travis around / near Lago Vista to......I dunno? Somewhere on the other side........like maybe where there's an Old Ferry Rd. near Pace Bend Park? This was back in the '70s.
The ferry crossed at the end of Lohman crossing rd at Point Venture and landed at Lohman crossing rd at Lakeway down the hill from the restaurant and Hotel. i used it in 72-73, it would hold about 8-12 autos.

There was talk of a bridge, but Lakeway didn't want it.

Last edited by p roland; 02-09-2016 at 03:46 PM..
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