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http://www.omniture.com --> Sections Home Page Local News AP News Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Photo Gallery Since We Asked Sports Tempo Weather Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Readers Choice 2006 Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Our Valley Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend July 17, 2006 Hydrotech Manufacturing owner Stan Horton stands next to the second of nine aluminum boats the company is building for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to use to apply rotenone to Diamond Lake. (Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli) Heavy-duty job needs boats to match By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune While preparations for this week's commercial netting get finalized, a Medford company remains busy building nine custom pontoon boats that will apply the rotenone used this fall to rid Diamond Lake of tui chubs. Hydrotech Manufacturing last week completed the first of the 24-foot-long boats, which have 10-foot-wide decks and are capable of carrying about 6,000 pounds of rotenone at a time. The boats include special pumps to put the poison into the water and each will be pushed by a 90 horsepower motor. "These boats have to carry so much weight that they weren't something you could just go out and buy," said Meg Kenagy, an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman working on the project. Hydrotech owner Stan Horton said a test-drive of the first completed boat last week at Lake of the Woods saw the craft top out at 24 mph. "If this thing is empty, you could ski behind it," Horton said. The boats cost $11,000 to build, and the motors bump the price to about $18,000 apiece. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife bought nine to reduce the amount of travel time between lake docks and areas where the estimated 185,000 pounds of powdered rotenone and 9,000 gallons of liquid rotenone will be applied during the daylong effort, said Mari Ricks, a biologist hired by the ODFW to work on the Diamond Lake project. "We have to address every possible piece of water with chubs in it," she said. The ODFW will own the title to the nine boats, which were bought with money raised by the Oregon Wildlife Heritage Foundation, said Dave Loomis, the ODFW biologist heading up the Diamond Lake project. Loomis said ODFW officials have not decided whether to sell some or all of the boats or keep the fleet for other agency business. "When we're done with Diamond Lake, we'll talk about what we'll do with these boats," Loomis said. Advertisement s Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback online casinos news Home Security Systems California Casinos Men's Clothing Southern Oregon Loans --> GMAT Prep Fundraisers Send Flowers Entertainment Guide --> Casinos Canada Trunks, Footlocker Online Casino Reviews