On 07-31-2011 at approx. 1330 hrs operator was operating his 2002 Sea Ray vessel on El Dorado Reservoir when he hit a tree that was under the surface of the water.  operator was traveling West, on the South Side of Bluestem point, towards Shady Creek Marina doing roughly 15 MPH.  
operator is not familiar with  El Dorado Reservoir, so he did not know how far South of the shore line to stay.  operator struck the under water tree causing damage to his outdrive.  The outdrive of the vessel was broke free from the vessel with the exception of a few cables and a bent drive line. vessel started taking on water where the rubber sleeve was torn after striking the tree.  NRO towed vessel into Bluestem Point Boat Ramp #2 and assisted operator with loading his vessel on the trailer.  NRO did a safety inspection on the vessel and found no violations.  All of the children that were on the vessel at the time of the accident had on their PFD''s and the two adults had their PFD''s out and accessible.  There were no injuries from the accident.
El Dorado                     