So decided to make floating dock out of an old pontoon boat. We are going to attach it to our existing fixed dock. Here are the steps we used;

We had the pontoon delivered to our cabin. Because of the way our cabin is situated at the end of our road they had a heck of a time getting it on to our property.

The existing plywood deck was in pretty bad shape and had to be taken off.

Here is the first piece coming off. The plywood was held down with self-tapping sheet metal screws.

Heres the last piece coming off. 

The bare-bones pontoon is ready to be moved down to the water. So with the help of our awesome neighbors, we got it moved.

Well, it floats, so that's a good start.

So we started by placing firing strips down. We used 10 2inch x 4inch x10foot boards. We secured in place with self-tapping sheet metal screws. We evenly spaced the boards across the structure.  

For the deck surface we used 2inch x 6inch x 8foot boards. We bought 40 boards and ended up being two boards short. Forgot to calculate the fact the boards are only 5 3/4 inch wide.

So here is the nearly finished project. Still the two boards short, but we ran out of time and it started to rain.

The plan is we attach it to the existing dock, put planters and chairs on it, a couple of rod holders for me and a dog ramp so our dock diving German Shorthair Pointer can get out of the water easier.

We will post more pics as the project continues. Hope you enjoy.

Re doing the swim dock

I volunteered to re-due the small community swim dock on our lake. It took two weekends to do and I think it came out pretty good. I used Rust Oluem Restore Paint. It worked great and I would recommend it for any projects like this you may have.

As you can see the carpet was in pretty bad shape.

I was fortunate that the wood was in good shape and nothing needed to be replaced.

The first coat of paint going on. I was keeping an eye on the sky as I was hearing thunder in the distance. I called my wife, who was shopping in Houghton Lake, to ask her to check the radar (we have no signal or internet at the cabin). She told me that there was storm heading our way. Not the best news. 

I decided to finish the deck and leave the rest for later. I finished and was able to get all  my tools put away before it started raining.

I threw a tarp over the dock and waited for the rain to stop.

I tried three times to start painting again. Every time I took the tarp off it started raining again. So I decided to just keep the tarp on and finish the 1st coat of paint. I was done for the day.

The next day it rained until about 1pm and as soon as it stopped I sanded the ladder down with my Roto Zip and then painted it. 

This is the second coat drying.

The finished product.

Before we launched it I also replaced the anchor ropes with coated metal cable. It is ready for fun in the sun.

Hello to everyone, It has been a very long time since we posted anything. We have not spent a whole lot of time at the cabin over the winter. With work and the economy the way it has been and continues to be, we chose not to travel the three hours up north to enjoy our pleasant penisula as often as we have in the past.

This last week Dee's Mom and Grandma returned with the rest of the migrating snowbirds to their home in Houghton Lake. Dee went up on Wednesday to see them and I came up after work on Friday.

There is definately something awesome about being at the cabin in the spring. With everything coming back to life. As always we enjoy watching ours birds. Below are some pics of spring around the cabin.

Last fall Dee and I planted Ice Follies Daffodils. When she arrived they had come up and bloomed. We were not sure if they would because in the past the squirrels have dug up the bulbs for lunch.

A Northern Flicker rooting around for some buggy snacks. He was tossing dirt all over the place looking.

A male Rose Breasted Grosbeak and Male Northern Cardinal.

A male Grosbeck giving a little love to a feamle Grosbeck while another, jealous male looks on.

A female Cardinal eating suet that had fallen to the ground.

I made this Oriole feeder for Dee last year. I put this out this morning and within 30 minutes the Northern Orioles showed up and enjoyed the grape jelly.

There were several other birds that visited over the last few days that I was unable to get pics of. They included an Osprey, a male Mallard Duck, Canadian Geese, American Goldfinches, Pilated Woodpecker.

We also have our Tree Swallows nesting again. They are very busy building their nest.

Her Royal Highness Cleopatera basking in the warm spring sun looking over her domain.

We also went Morel Mushroom hunting which I will talk about in future post.

We plan on posting on a more frequent basis.

Take care,

Bill

Kayaking the Au Sable

Dee and I decided to kayak down the Au Sable River. We have canoed the river several times. We always enjoy driving through Michigan to look at the fall colors. We thought this would be a unique way to view the colors. Although it will be a couple of more weeks before the colors are at peak we had a great time. If you get the chance to go down the Au Sable please do so you won't be sorry. Along the way we saw a bunch of great cabins. We also saw a small variety of wildlife including a weasel, ducks, a blue heron and to top it off a bald eagle perched high atop a pine tree.

So we invite you along on our trip. Enjoy!!!

We used Campbells Canoe Livery in Roscommon. The folks are that own the livery are very nice and accommodating. I would recommend them.

The weather was mostly cloudy and in the 50's with a pretty stiff wind at times. The trip was about 4 hours long By the time we were done we were cold to the bone. We went into town and had lunch at Fred's bowling alley and restaurant. We had a great lunch, warmed up and then headed back to the cabin.

I am now thinking of a winter trip down the river. I better dress warm.

Outdoor shower

So Dee and I were talking one day and I said wouldn't it be cool to have an outdoor shower. Dee thought it was a great idea. It was from there I knew I was in trouble. So she started researching and ordering pieces and parts.



As far as the plumbing for this project it was easy. Earlier in the year I had completely re-plumbed the entire cabin with PEX pipe. If you have never used PEX don't be afraid, it is so easy to use. I tapped into the run of pipe I installed for hot and cold water outdoor faucets.

Here is the pipes coming down from the ceiling. I had to switch them around so that the hot water would be on the correct side outside. I just pulled the PEX back up into the attic and pushed them back down through the opposite holes. This pic is before I switched them.

Bottom half of the pipes leading to the outdoor faucets.


The run come from the manifolds in the attic to the faucets.

This pic is of the T I put in to go to the shower faucet.

The pipes coming outside. Also the teak floor we put in. Dee found the floor on the internet. The squares snap together, it was easy to put together.

The finished product.

Looking forward to showering in the great outdoors.

The shower parts were ordered from Signature Hardware. A simple 36" circular shower rod with center support. It requires 2 shower curtains which I simply close with clothes pins when it is windy. The shower floor is teak 12"X12" ordered from Overstock.com.

Outdoor Shower

I'll have Bill do a post about how to install an outdoor shower. But, here is a pic of the finished product. I LOVE it!

Memorial Day Weekend

Last weekend Dee and I had our neice Michelle and her friend Brittnay up to the cabin. The girls are 21 and wanted to tan, swim and do what every 21 y/o wants to do, drink. We had good time. Saturday we partied with our neighbor, Sunday we went to Dee's Uncle house for hot dogs and hamburgers. Here are some pics of the weekend.

Michelle enjoying her first margarita. It was little on the strong side.



Here the girls are enjoying the camp fire, margaritas and beer. What ever happened to smores?

Here the girls are canoing across the lake.


Wouldn't be a post if we did not have wildlife pics.

Our Canadian friends and thier 6 gooslings.

A 2 foot gardner snake. First time I have seen one at the cabin. If you look closely you will notice that he has a full belly. I am thinking that there is one less chipmunk. Brittnay did not like this at all.

A muskrat swimming away from me on the paddleboat.

As I was paddleboating I was hearing this squeeking noise. I could not figure out what it was until I saw this female Yellow Bellied Sapsucker fly to the tree to feed her young. This tree is on our property.

Here is silhouette of a humming bird

Although he will grow up to be a pest that iratates the dogs , he is just to darn cute.

All in all we all had good time with neighbors, family and wildlife. The weather was perfect and the beer was cold. Truely a great weekend.