I am happy to report that all our fall chores are officially in the bag and we can now settle in for winter!! Yee-Haw. I might just have to make something special for dinner tonight to celebrate.
The HH pulled up the dock yesterday without any problems and it only took us about 2 hours this time, so that means we were able to shave about 30 minutes off our last year’s time.
The first winter we were here we paid the “Dock Guy” $200 to pull the floating dock out of the water {and then $200 to put it back in again the following spring}.
And then my husband bought a winch {it was $550 at the time} and we tried doing it ourselves.
We’ve used the winch three times now, so basically the thing has now paid for itself. I love when that happens!!
And if that wasn’t exciting enough, the plumber will be here this morning to hook up the sink and dishwasher.
So with all the fall chores completed AND running water in the kitchen, I might just have to make something extra special for dinner tonight because for the first time in 6 weeks we’ll have a working kitchen again.
C’mon winter! I’m ready for you. 🙂
Have a great day everyone,
~Mavis
Shari Harniss says
YAY! I’m so glad all chores to prepare for winter are in the rear view mirror. If we could bottle that wonderful feeling of accomplishment, I’m thinking it would make a few bucks!!
I hope one of your goodies from the oven will be a custard- a beautiful gift to yourself.
Stacie says
Hooray for running water in the kitchen!!!
Rosemary Calhoun says
I can only imagine the relief you must be feeing! And, by now, you probably have water in your kitchen! There is light at the end of the tunnel! Woohoo!
Chris says
Every year my husband and two sons time themselves both putting in and taking out our dock. Under 50 minutes (and not dropping washers in the water) earns boasting rights!
JulieP says
Well done on finishing your fall chores and getting the dock pulled in by yourselves is quite a task. I too love it when something pays for itself. Ultimately he probably charges more now so your savings are even greater! Sadly I still have some of my raised beds to clear before outdoor chores are done, fortunately when it’s not raining (mustn’t grumble had none over summer) it’s warm enough still to be outside. The days are short though and I don’t get home from work until about 1.30pm but I can see the end is in sight and it’s a good feeling 🙂 Winter, bring it on, cosy fires, duvet days or at least afternoons and a first grandchild it’s going to be heavenly.
Norma says
We have the very same winch and have used it for a lot more things than I ever imagined over the last ten years. Not only has it saved money, it also saved our backs. Have used it to haul plywood up to put on a roof (hubby made a skid out of 2×4’s and attached the plywood to a drywall carrier; I was up on the roof operating the winch–I became known as “the wench with a winch”!); to off-load a new wood stove, using the winch to control the descent off the trailer and also down the hill into the house; re-positioning a chicken coop for our son; many other situations I’ve forgotten for the moment. It is definitely worth the money if you are a DIYer!
Your sink is wonderful! Know the feeling of having running water again!
Cathy says
I would like to have more help with these mechanics and I have also sent you an email. We need more info on the winching of the ramp onto the pier and perhaps you have something for us to review. Help!
HH says
I’m no expert at this but this is what I did. If by “pier”, you mean the two large beams you pull the float on, what we did is tie a rope on either side of the cleats on the dock to stabilize it from floating away and to get it in position to pull it up the ramp. I just made sure there were no obstructions while pulling it up and went for it. I used a battery powered winch but you could use a come-along or a winch attached to a vehicle if it’s available.
This time I also used our small tractor to pull it up as far as I could. Our dock is pretty heavy so it was quite a chore. Tie it off when you get it up as high as you need and you should be good for the winter. I learned it’s better to have too much winch than not enough. The winch I have can barely get this dock up. Also pull it up at the proper angle so you aren’t forcing it into the ramp as it’s coming up creating a bunch of unnecessary drag.
Hope this helped.
HH