patrick.net

We have arrived at my wife's family's island in Central Maine.
I have to drive the boat to shuttle family members or there would be a cold beer in front of me.

Soon!

This week's reading list:


Finished intro and in the middle of chapter one. Well written and backed with lots of facts and footnotes. COVID-19 was planned.

Without justice this banana republic will keep getting worse.

Mosquito zapper on the table next to it?

Patrick says

Mosquito zapper on the table next to it?

Ever been to Maine?

The bugs are voracious.

I just bought a thermacell. I hear they work great. Skeeters have temporarily died off due to a heatwave here though.

Onvacation says

Ever been to Maine?

Drove through it once on the way to Quebec City, but it was winter, so no bugs.

It's a bald eagle

Drone view of the island

Nice!

How does plumbing and electric work there?

Electric? Gas lanterns and battery headlamps.

Originally a hunting/fishing camp the property has been in the family for well over 100 years. Kind of like a time share for extended family. Different family groups get a scheduled time on the island each summer.

Someone started installing electric years ago but it was shut down in honor of the rustic nature of the place.

We have plumbing. We periodically run a generator to pump water to a holding tank. Gas water heaters. Indoor toilets flush to a septic tank and "leach field".

Several years ago a cell tower was built on a local mountain so we get Internet and cell service. Before that we went without. There is a phone line underwater cabled back to the mainland.

We canoe, hike, windsurf, read books, share good food and drink, and mostly just enjoy getting away to nature and hanging out with family. Tonight we have 20 people on the island. My wife and I have the nicest cabin this year because we're staying longer than anyone else.

I can hear the loons with their forlorn cries coming from the lake as I lay down to sleep.

Nice place to get away to.

Onvacation says

We periodically run a generator to pump water to a holding tank.

Is the water just straight from the lake? I suppose that's fine for the toilet and bathing, but then do you bring in drinking water by boat?

Filtration system, the lake water is pretty clean.

I'm looking to buy or build on a local lake where people pump water from. Problem is it's usually dry these days and it's about 65K to drill a well 800ft down into the aquifer.

just_passing_through says

I'm looking to buy or build on a local lake where people pump water from. Problem is it's usually dry these days and it's about 65K to drill a well 800ft down into the aquifer.

Just build a well close to shore, and below the water level it will fill up.

My family has a cabin on a lake, and it's "lake water". We used to drink straight from the well when we were kids, and one year, we found a dead rat floating in the well - ever since then, we've brought water in - but it was drinkable before that, and it didn't taste like the lake water, although it was lake water. The ground filtrates it.

RO machine will clean up any pathogens, but also test for arsenic and whatnot. You only need the RO machine for tap water, it doesn't matter for anything else, including a dish washer.

My grandparents had a cistern system, that collected rain water from the roof. You sure as hell wouldn't want to drink that, but bathing was fine, dishwasher fine, laundry fine - but if you drank it, enjoy your next several days in bed!

richwicks says

Just build a well close to shore, and below the water level it will fill up.

No it won't. It's a reservoir. An empty one. Most of the houses are 200-300ft above the empty water line. The Edwards Aquifer is about 500-600 feet below that.

That's part of the reason it doesn't hold water well. It's basically sitting on limestone that is like Swiss cheese and leaks.

Part of the reason I'm interested in property there. It's dirt cheap and nice when it fills up.

It's 5% full as of today lol: https://waterdatafortexas.org/reservoirs/individual/medina

richwicks says

RO machine

I'd probably go with RO/DI then run it back through some minerals to give it some taste. That goes for the well water too. 30 years ago I'd drink that aquifer water straight out of the ground when it flowed out then back in at certain secret spots we knew about. Limestone filters nicely. Those days are over...

just_passing_through says

No it won't. It's a reservoir. An empty one.

You don't want to be near a reservoir. You can't even swim in it.

You might think living near water is a good thing, only if you can enjoy it. You can't. Go to Wisconsin or Canada for that.

I look at homes at Tahoe, and people can't even enter the water there. What's the point? The VIEW? Lakefront property is expensive, and it's remote and generally has tremendous taxation and it sucks in winter if you are in an area where ice forms which is almost all lakes in the US. It's gorgeous and pleasant during summer but you pay for it in winter, with the wind - no obstructions.

My family has a cabin on a lake, but winter there is shit. Just unrelenting wind and cold, that's why the lake is frozen.

BUT it's wonderful in summer! As short as that is.

just_passing_through says

richwicks says

RO machine

I'd probably go with RO/DI then run it back through some minerals to give it some taste. That goes for the well water too. 30 years ago I'd drink that aquifer water straight out of the ground when it flowed out then back in at certain secret spots we knew about. Limestone filters nicely. Those days are over...

This should reduce hardness but keep minerals.
https://www.lifesourcewater.com/hard-water-system.php

richwicks says

You might think living near water is a good thing, only if you can enjoy it. You can't. Go to Wisconsin or Canada for that.

Wisconsin not so much anymore. There are still some pristine clear lakes in WI, but it's gotten worse over the last 2-3 decades. The Wisconsin River and Rock Rivers are trash. The run off from farming has spoiled the lower 2/3rds of WI. There's still some nice lakes closer to the UP.

I'd go to Castle Rock lake in WI as a kid. It was murky but mostly clear. By the end of July it's going to be green sludge now. Same with Petenwell to the North. I appreciate farmers, but whatever they're putting into the soil is running off into lakes here. There's no where else for it to go.

WookieMan says

I appreciate farmers, but whatever they're putting into the soil is running off into lakes here. There's no where else for it to go.

Seems like a farmer could irrigate with that lake water and save on fertilizer.

richwicks says

You don't want to be near a reservoir. You can't even swim in it.

I'm sure you can't someplace, like crystal springs near SF but I'm not sure where you get this idea applies to all reservoirs. Of course you can swim in them (and fish and boat).

richwicks says

I look at homes at Tahoe, and people can't even enter the water there.

Again, I have friends who live at Tahoe with ski boats.

HeadSet says

Seems like a farmer could irrigate with that lake water and save on fertilizer.

Power. Petenwell and Castle Rock are the main source of electricity for central WI which isn't super populated north of Madison or Wisconsin Dells. They're not super deep reservoirs either. 30-40' max depth by the damn. June was a minor drought here. They would have drained the lakes pumping water from them to irrigate. Army Corps of Engineers would have a shit fit if farmers started drawing water along with the owners around the lakes.

Spring fed lakes are generally better depending on surroundings. Those are mostly all smaller and for canoeing and kayaking. They're nice, but if you're into boats, water sports, they're really not the lakes for that. Northern Minnesota is better as there's less agriculture up there, shorter growing season. And Canada is the best, but I have no interest in going up there. Haven't been in decades.

I seem to have a penchant for reservoirs that dry up.

I've never been to the lakes up North. Isn't Minnesota nick named the land of 1000 lakes or something? How are the mosquitoes?

Another beautiful Maine day ending!

Onvacation says

Another beautiful Maine day ending!

Blueberry Island

Blue says

This should reduce hardness but keep minerals.
https://www.lifesourcewater.com/hard-water-system.php

OMG at first I thought that was a smallish (1-foot long) replaceable cartridge, it's HUGE! I like to make my own filtration setups for home and my salt water aquariums so I'm good but thanks!

Just lost my best friend of 15 years. Kidney failure. She was a good dog.

Onvacation says

Just lost my best friend of 15 years. Kidney failure. She was a good dog.

Sucks, I know.

You spend a lifetime protecting them and making them happy, and then you have to make that final decision. Just the worst thing I've ever done. I'll never be able to have another dog again. It was way worse than I expected.

On my way to Napa!

@Onvacation How long does that take?

I've made it from Richmond to Napa Valley Marina in 6 hours with good wind and tides. You have to get through Mare Island draw bridge and up the river on a flood tide. Beautiful sailing but the channel is a little skinny at times.

It took me 4 hours to get to Vallejo today. I've got some boat issues to sort out. I was motor sailing along at about 6 knots this morning and I looked down into the cabin to see water on the cabin floor. OH SHIT! AM I SINKING? Long story short A hose clamp came lose and was spraying water. No damage. No real danger.

On the hard.

Still Halloween in Martinez

Pablo Ignacio Martinez Plaza in front of Martinez city hall. We call it "The PIMP"

Early sunset

Onvacation says

Early sunset

Just how stressful is that? Expensive? Need to hire people?

Boat looks great btw!

Weird, I thought I quoted the "On the hard" post but I'm probably mistaken.

just_passing_through says

Onvacation says

Early sunset

Just how stressful is that? Expensive? Need to hire people?

Boat looks great btw!

You know what B.O.A.T stands for? Break Out Another Thousand.

My boat is 50 years old this year. I wanted to do some extra work to celebrate her birthday. I had to get the bottom repainted and some hull valves replaced. I also wanted to get the deck painted and my leaky ports replaced. Had an $8,000 budget to get work done while hauled out. The quote came out to around $13k. I put off replacing the ports and cut back on the extent of the deck painting and the total came out to just under $7,000.

Boats aren't cheap but divorce is more expensive.

Onvacation says

On the hard.

Onvacation says

My boat is 50 years old this year. I wanted to do some extra work to celebrate her birthday. I had to get the bottom repainted and some hull valves replaced. I also wanted to get the deck painted and my leaky ports replaced. Had an $8,000 budget to get work done while hauled out. The quote came out to around $13k. I put off replacing the ports and cut back on the extent of the deck painting and the total came out to just under $7,000.

Boats aren't cheap but divorce is more expensive.

Onvacation says

On the hard.

The yard did all the work but buffing the hull. I gladly would have paid $30 an hour for the 8 hours of polishing I did, but the yard charges $130 an hour for labor.