The Bob Lake Association has established a lake hazard marking program in accordance with the Safe Boating Action Plan adopted at the 2019 AGM. In doing so, we consulted with other lake associations, as well as Transport Canada, to ensure we followed proper and well-established guidelines. References used include FOCA’s Shoal and Hazard Marking webpage, as well a Transport Canada’s An Owner’s Guide to Private Buoys.

We have identified eight hazards or rock shoals that become increasingly dangerous as water levels recede over the summer months. Please consult the two Bob Lake map resources that identify the location of these hazards (see our Maps webpage for details):

1. A downloadable PDF – showing the hazard locations (in both GPS and What3Words coordinates) superimposed onto MNRF’s depth chart map for Bob Lake.
2. An interactive Google Map – allowing you to pan & zoom around a map of Bob Lake. Selecting a hazard marker symbol will display its location details, a description of the hazard, and a photograph from the late fall.

Please read the cautionary disclaimer clearly noted on each of these maps.

Each hazard marker is comprised of a cement base, a braided nylon length of rope, and a floating marker (see picture below). During the boating season, the floating markers will be Transport Canada (TC) approved hazard buoys (see picture below). Outside of the boating season, the hazard buoys will be replaced with a winter marker made from a 16-inch section of 2”x4” painted white plus a white sealed 4L plastic jug – preventing the buoys from being damaged over the winter conditions on the lake. Our goal is to have the normal hazard buoys installed on or before the May long weekend, and replaced with the winter markers on after the Thanksgiving long weekend. Each time the buoys are installed or removed, the location of the hazard bases will be validated against the published GPS locations, and relocated if required. This is necessary as there are several conditions that could cause the hazard base to move over the course of a season. A communication will be issued each time the hazard buoys are installed or removed, consisting of a posting on our website and an email to all Bob Lake property owners that the BLA has a record of.

A record of dates when the hazard markers have been deployed or remove can be found on our Hazard Maker Activity Log webpage.

Hazard Marker cement base with rope and winter marker

Transport Canada approved hazard buoys