Author: Garry

Shirley & I are down this weekend and the weather is quite nice. In preparation for the crew coming down for the Father’s Day weekend, we spend quite a bit of time doing spring cleaning. I washed ALL the bedding down to the mattresses and Shirley does an amazing re-org of the kitchen.

At this point there has been a lot of deconstruction of the original dock that was built in 4 stages over 40 years as the cottage evolved. So, perhaps it’s time to record some dock history.

Dock History

The original dock was a 40’ straight one across 3 cribs from the shore. The design was simple in keeping with the days. Cedar trees and railroad ties were used to build the cribs that were nailed and bolted together. The dock was to hold the 26’ Express Cruiser that my Dad owned for quite a few years.

However, one weekend a storm came in from the north and the water level was high causing the last two cribs being ripped off.Those beams and boards were repurposed to form the two boat ramps where the aluminum runabout and the sail boat lived for many years.

The original dock was also home to a storage box that housed the water pump systems. However this box was now floating/dangling on the end of the highly damaged original dock. This prompted me to build s small platform higher up on the shore (where the current “boathouse” is located with the box and contents located to a safe location.

Dock expansion number one was to build a 8’ wide deck from the front of the “boathouse” platform to the remaining original dock. This was it for many years.

Since the lake level can fluctuate up to 6’ the dock could be under water or high and dry with a big drop from the dock top to the water. This prompted what came to be known as the swim platform. The swim platform was a wedge of deck that was cantilevered part way down the original remaking crib of railroad ties. This provided a place where our young family could climb down to the swim platform and jump into the lake or launch on the kneeboard without a huge drop into the water. Also, for the older crowd, a good seat from which to dangle you feet into the lake. A ladder was built and attached to the top of the dock and the swim platform to climb more easily out of the lake.

The next dock expansion was to replace Crib #2 and expand the dock. Crib #3 never did get any action and is still siting there under the water half decomposed.

Much like what is happening now with Eric & I, I proposed this expansion to my Dad and he financed the project and I executed the work. The difference now is the dock/deck is much larger, all on one level with a more sophisticated solid build high enough to withstand very high water levels ?.

This expansion saw a 20’ x 8’ deck on beams from Crib #2 to the shore, then a 4’ x 10’ piece which then connected back to Crib #1 forming a horseshoe shape for a boat. Some years that worked, most years not, due to low water levels. Too low even for the 16’ aluminum Lund. From the horseshoe over to the 8’ wide section in front of the “boathouse” was decked and provided a decent sitting area. It retained this design until the high water levels of 2022 which with all the wave & wake action pretty much tore most of that apart.

Floating Docks

Over the intervening years we “acquire” a pair of 8’ x 16’ floating docks that we rescued from the point. I watched them for a few years and nobody came to claim them so one weekend Eric, Len & I pulled them off the point and floated them down to our place. We bought enough styrofoam billets to float the worst of the 2 and we’re in business with two floating docks for about $300.

For several years one of them was a swim platform anchored off shore which had a nasty habit of escaping the anchor, necessitating retrieval and several more attempts at a better anchoring systems. I enjoyed it and seemed to be the primary user. A boarding ladder was attached, night lights so nobody hit the thing in the dark, carpet and a deck chair. On a wavy day the deck chair was quite a ride, on calm days, an excellent relaxation and suntanning spot.

Floating dock #2 was fastened by a rope system to the fixed dock to allow for some up & down movement and became a launch pad closer to the water level for the kayaks and canoe.

These docks were using old school styrofoam floats that had a habit of breaking up into foam beads if they rubbed on anything, which they did, and made quite a mess, also somewhat environmentally unfriendly. So one year all of the flotation was removed from one of the docks rendering it useless. This happened all without any discussion and no plans on how to make the dock float again. ?. I can’t seem to remember what happened in the end to this dock. I think it was disassembled and taken to the dump by the folks who sank it.

A few years transpire and the remaining styrofoam dock is looking sad and it’s time for a re-build. Currently environmentally acceptable flotation billets are purchased along with lumber & hardware to attach the billets and we once again have a fairly decent floating dock used for grandkids jumping in and out as well as kayak launching.

Ready to go

So much for the history of the dock. With the demolition of the old dock complete and the cottage ready for everyone coming down next weekend to start the build we’re ready for the big project for 2023, actually the biggest project since the cottage was built almost 40 years ago.