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!
