It’s that time of year again where fall is well underway and the overnight temperatures are getting close to freezing. That means it’s time to get the cottage ready for winter.
Boats are away for the winter
The boys, Eric and Scott come out with me Friday night to execute the Closeup Checklist. The main focus is taking care of anything that will freeze. We empty the fridge and remove food that won’t survive 6-7 months of sitting around in the cold.
Three big tasks are putting away the boats and cleaning up the dock, draining the water system and winterizing the septic field. We get started, after coffee ☕etc. around 9am
The boys do all the heavy lifting while I handle septic system. I won’t get into the details but it can be a bit yuckie if you think about it too much.?
The 3 of us move through the task quite quickly. May hands make light work.
By about 1:30 were done and heading into Kenora to pick up lunch and drive home.
The dock was built a little higher than the old dock so it needed a higher ladder to get out of the lake. To meet an immediate need I stuck in a 12′ aluminum extension ladder. It seemed to be about the right height/length.
The aluminum ladder tied to the swim platform
So, when it came time to build a proper wood ladder 12′ seemed to be a good idea. So did angled steps so the ladder wouldn’t be straight up and down.
If it’s too high it would be easy to cut it down and or remove a couple of steps.
The angled steps seemed like a good idea, but it took three attempts to get it put together correctly. Thank goodness for power tools, and deck screws.
Levels on Lake of the Woods have always been up and down. In fact the regulatory board that governs the lake levels considers a 6 foot variance, “normal”. In practice lake levels don’t normally change quite that much but then there are the exceptions.
2022 was one of those exceptional years where water levels were at record highs, higher than has been seen in over 50 years. On Lake of the Woods this caused problems for many cottages whose dock systems couldn’t handle these high water levels. We were one of those cottages with a fixed dock system that experienced trouble, a lot of trouble. The lake rose over the top of our docks and the wave and wind action ripped 80% of the dock apart. Some of it floated away and had to be “rescued”. This resulted in the dock rebuild project where the dock was rebuilt at a much higher level and to a much stronger construction standard that, in the unlikely event of it being flooded, should hold together until the waters recedes.
At this time the lake level is 322.997 meters or 1,059.69 feet above sea level. The record level for Lake of the Woods is 324.31 m (1064.0 ft), set in July of 1950. In 2022 the levels peaked at 1063.1 which is 3 feet higher that what is typical and the 2nd highest level on record.
With the current level of 1059.69 the top of our new dock is 57” higher than the lake or 4′ 9″ higher. The dock would be 5″ out of the water in a 1950s level flood so we should be good.
The swim platform is only 24 1/2 inches above the current lake level which makes it good for boat access.
57″ down to the current water level.
Water Level, Swim Platform level and Dock level Also a temporary aluminum ladder for getting out of the lake!
Eric makes a quick trip to the lake late Sunday night on August 13th and spends two days on dock work as well as taking the sea-doo into Kenora for a repair.
At the end of day one.
In front of the boat shed
The best of the old docks 2x6s are used to deck in front of the boat shed. Old 2x4s are also used in a section.
And a video review of the end of day status . Looking very good!
Shirley and I are down for the full long weekend and the rest of the family comes out for Saturday and Sunday. This weekend the hatch cover is built and carefully fitted into he dock. The rest of the weekend is spent enjoying all the hard work that has been put into this project.
Some of the dock furniture is put in place and I enjoy the view
Before the family arrives I enjoy the first sit on the new dock and enjoy the view.
Eric is out for a solo couple of days prior to the long weekend to get more of the dock in place. It’s almost too nice a day to work with calm and sunny conditions but the build carries on even in the heat.
The hatch to allow under dock access to crayfish and turtles is taking shape.
At the end of day two the main portion of the dock is fully decked and ready for use on the long weekend!
This weekend it’s Eric, Parker and Dane for a “guys” weekend at the lake. Eric is focused on dock work and Parker and Dane have some new lake toys to play with!
Dane’s birthday present was a kayak and with two boys you pretty much need two of everything so Parker has one too!
While the young guys are exploring the lake and their new kayaks Eric is hard at work on the dock. Here it is at the end of the weekend.
Eric has taken a day off work to pick up another 4,000 lbs of lumber for the dock project.
Load #2 Arrives at the lake
He is joined by Jared and Ryan to help unload and build for part of the weekend,
End of the Saturday(?) looking northLooking back southDeck to ramp transition areaDecking going on at around noon Sunday (?).
It’s Sunday morning and Eric is now running solo in putting on the deck boards. The new deck is starting to look quite massive compared to the original dock.
There is a big crew down for the weekend. Eric, Des, Parker & Dane, with Len & Darlene. Jared and Eric’s friend Barret and Scott.
Crib #2 is the first to be rebuilt. During 2022 the high water caused it to separate under the water line and the top half floated off to be recovered and re-attached and levelled up to the new height.
Crib# 2 is the first to be rebuilt
Crib #2 to the shore needed a new concrete pad as the original crumbled away so Scott forms up a bit of custom work.
New custom concrete pad to support the beam that will run out to Crib #2
To mix the concrete the old wheel barrow is pressed into service. This wheel barrow has been at the cottage from the very start and I can remember it from my parents house for years before that. A bit of vintage equipment that gets a surprising amount of use.
Eric, Scott and our vintage green wheel barrow. Crib #1 being built on the ramp in the background
The original Crib #1 needed to be totally replaced. It was built from railroad ties that were nailed and bolted together but over 40 years in the water took their toll and there was not much left.
While Eric and Scott are lining things up with Crib #2 and the shore, Jared is busy building Crib#1
Jared building Crib #1
The pile of rock in the foreground was emptied out of the old crib and will go back into the new crib. Lots of manpower involved everywhere in this project. Between the rocks and Jared you can see the old railroad ties from the original Crib #1
Once Crib #1 is built it is floated into place.
But the bottom of the lake was hiding some surprises that presented a challenge to getting Crib #1 into the desired place. This took quite a bit of time and the muscle power of all the guys plus the leverage of a 6′ iron bar borrowed from the neighbour to move a large rock.
Some struggles getting #1 into position
Some of us were on the shore watching the young guys work on the problem. I was farther back with the camera.?
Len on the ramp as the young guys work on getting Crib #1 into position
Next up is building and positioning the beams to connect Crib #1 to Crib #2
Building a beam to connect Crib #1 to #2
Beam in placeWalking the plank
After a long morning the crew breaks for lunch prepared by Darlene & Des.
After lunch with the beams connecting Crib #1 & #2 in place, more beams and posts are put in to join the shore to Crib #1
By the end of the day all of the posts and beams are in place and some joists are being positioned. The crib work seems to get all the attention but there is a complex post and beam going along the shoreline to carry all the joists from the cribs.
Fabulous progress was made in a single weekend thanks to a very hard working crew. My heart felt thanks to all. ❤️
This is the start of the rebuild which is the deconstruction of what remains of the damaged dock.
Eric takes most of the week off to go down and pull the old dock apart in preparation for the rebuild. Old lumber is stacked up by size and re-use potential. Some lumber will be firewood, some with find a reuse in the dock or ramp.
Old wood stacking upThe 28′ section that ripped away and drifted over near the neighboursFloating dock along side the stripped down dock
