More personal watercraft parking comes to the Chain O’ Lakes

More than 300 riders were expected to gather at McHenry’s Backyard Bar and Marina Sunday, Aug. 25, for the seventh annual Loop the Lakes event.

They were on Jet Skis, Sea-Doos and WaveRunners, or whatever brand of personal watercraft they rode. Mike Missak of McHenry was planning to be in the pace boat out front, keeping an eye out for the riders set to take a leisurely loop around the Chain O’ Lakes and back again.

“It is not about speed, it is about enjoying the water with upward of 300 of your friends,” Missak said ahead of the event.

Riding a personal watercraft, or PWC, instead of a boat is a lot like riding a motorcycle on the road instead of a car, Missak said.

“It is a different experience. It is more about the ride than the destination,” he said.

There are more and more PWC on the Chain every year, too.

“They are growing exponentially every year and becoming more and more popular,” with a fair amount of the Fox River Waterway stickers required to operate a craft on the Chain O’ Lakes going to PWC, Missak said.

What the lakes don’t have as many of are spots at public docks and private restaurants to park personal watercraft, however.

“You spend $20,000 on a personal watercraft, and there is nowhere you can go,” he said.

He created a Facebook group to help connect PWC owners on the Chain O’ Lakes, called PWC Chain Gang. What he and others have found is that when they tie off to a floating dock or pier, the personal watercraft will get battered around and likely go underneath the dock, Missak said.

The power sports dealership he works at, Nielsen Enterprises, began working with WaveRunner manufacturer Yamaha to install Wave Armor floating docks at restaurants around the Chain O’ Lakes. There are about 30 of the floating docks at seven locations now, Missak said.

He’s also working with McHenry Parks and Recreation Director Bill Hobson to install the PWC docks at McHenry parks.

“We are still working on details … but I think we will be able to come to an agreement,” Hobson said. He’s looking at possible PWC parking just west of the McHenry Riverwalk pedestrian bridge next to the lift station, and at Weber’s Park on the far north end of the riverwalk.

Although details would need to be approved by the McHenry City Council, Missak said none of the businesses that installed the floating docks were charged for them. They were asked to post advertising signage for Nielsen Enterprises.

That has helped get restaurant owners to allow the PWC docks, and to get over one of the sticking points. When a boat pulls up to a dock, it can come with many potential customers — far more than a PWC.

“To them, it is, ‘Why should I spend $2,000 for one dock that will only bring two or three people?’” Missak said.

One of the nice things about the floating docks is that they take up less space and can be put in spots a boat or a pontoon might not fit.

“My thing is to put them in spots you were not using anyway,” Missak said.

Nielsen and Missak are trying to get more restaurant owners to “get with the program or buy their own,” Missak said. “The businesses that have them are always full, and every location given these wants more.”