Grith
Active member
Thanks Well that explains why I couldn’t identify where.
It just didn’t look like anywhere I could think of in UK, US or Canada and I knew it wasn’t down here in OZ.
Joys of 'own pontoons' ....
- Thread starter Refueler
- Start date
It just didn’t look like anywhere I could think of in UK, US or Canada and I knew it wasn’t down here in OZ.
Refueler
Well-known member
Thanks Well that explains why I couldn’t identify where.
57 21.89N
21 34.73E
is centre of my estate .. 3.1 acres on the River Venta, Ventspils, Latvia.
This video shows you the 'back and side' garden ...
There is another 1000 sq.m in front of the barn / tree line ... which has a large 13kw Solar array on part ..
Refueler
Well-known member
2018 before I cleaned channel ... and land next to me was still scrub ....
Refueler
Well-known member
My Photographic Drone has a 'Follow me' mode .. one day I will set it to follow my MoBo on the river .... could be interesting !
Grith
Active member
Absolutely perfect. With my limited retirement budget I had to choose between small acres and waterfrontage and my yacht and water toys won!
We have nearly half an acre with 50 metres of lake/river frontage due to our block being pie shaped with only a 9 metre street frontage. Works for us as with high garden walls, gates and the garage taking up the whole street frontage no one knows if we are in residence or off cruising/travelling.
Refueler
Well-known member
Launched ... tested .... waits new adventures...
Couple of spectators ..
Pontoons waiting for new \wood' .. and decking to match ..
Pontoons will eventually be lined up once water level rises and I can move the latter two in more ..
There's enough to allow my 4 boats to be sorted ... as I will excavate a 'holding cut' for the Soviet era speedboat on the inside of outer pontoon.
Couple of spectators ..
Pontoons waiting for new \wood' .. and decking to match ..
Pontoons will eventually be lined up once water level rises and I can move the latter two in more ..
There's enough to allow my 4 boats to be sorted ... as I will excavate a 'holding cut' for the Soviet era speedboat on the inside of outer pontoon.
Grith
Active member
All together a different kind of feel to our pontoon/jetty/boat ramp down here on a side lake of The Murray River in Wellington East South Australia. We are in a desert type Mediterranean Climate with no sub zero temperatures in Winter and just the occasional light frost.
We sit on the end of the central peninsula of three in a small 110 home/lot unknown/forgotten marina development and are somewhat exposed to the fairly regular strong sea breezes off the southern ocean. It’s only about 50 kilometres across the huge shallow (around 2 metres deep on average) freshwater Lake Alexandrina.
Our great little local riverside hotel is on the other side of the river in Wellington but whilst we sometimes boat there it’s easier to take the free 24hour car/pedestrian ferry across the river about 1klm away.
My pontoon is designed to allow my unusual trailerable cruising yacht to drive/be winched up on top but I am waiting on some extra parts to help fix issues that saw my first attempt at this fail.
The reason for attempting to get my yacht on top of my floating pontoon is the sometimes strong winds can generate some very steep short waves despite the relatively short fetch otherwise constantly throwing my high windage yacht against the pontoon.
My neighbour even tells of his father’s smaller trailerable yacht being thrown against their timber jetty ( shown in the background here) during a storm and being impaled on a jetty support post and written off.
You would never imagine what the lake looks like during high winds from these tranquil photos!
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Refueler
Well-known member
Impaled ?
When Iran was open working ... I used to to go to Bandur Mashur to oversee Fuel Oil loadings out. A ship had berthed and during loading and of course settling deeper in the water - she was 'impaled' on an old Jetty iron piling that had been left from the old jetty that was supposedly completely removed. Seriously - she suffered a hole into luckily the ballast tank about 2ft long and 1ft wide .. All loadings after that for that client had to be supervised - my team covered it and because I had connections from many years before - Iranian Cadets were often trained on British Flag ships ... I used to do a few jobs to meet up with ones I'd sailed with ... most became Pilots in Iran.
When Iran was open working ... I used to to go to Bandur Mashur to oversee Fuel Oil loadings out. A ship had berthed and during loading and of course settling deeper in the water - she was 'impaled' on an old Jetty iron piling that had been left from the old jetty that was supposedly completely removed. Seriously - she suffered a hole into luckily the ballast tank about 2ft long and 1ft wide .. All loadings after that for that client had to be supervised - my team covered it and because I had connections from many years before - Iranian Cadets were often trained on British Flag ships ... I used to do a few jobs to meet up with ones I'd sailed with ... most became Pilots in Iran.
Grith
Active member
Yes Impaled, can’t trust predictive text!!
A wave picked up his smaller trailer sailer high enough to then slam it down onto one of his jetty support posts.
We have an unusual phenomenon here that due to being just two nautical miles up the Murray River from the huge and relatively shallow Lake Alexandrina we get wind induced water level changes.
Yesterday we had consistent 20knots plus winds from the south west all day which gradually pushed the lake water up the river rising the level by half a meter. This combined with the wind waves then has your craft impacting the fixed jetties much higher. In a severe extended storm from the same direction the lake can rise even further to around a metre higher and this combined with the even steeper higher wind waves caused the issue I believe.
Obviously a floating pontoon that rises and falls with the lake level mitigates some of this problem but their low to the water profile raises the chance of your craft riding up sideways onto them with the steep wind waves.
Refueler’s being tucked in his small narrow channel obviously mitigates the wave issue.
I am hoping my solution of getting my yacht on top of the floating pontoon which has both keel rollers and now Teflon sliding strips will allow me to have my yacht parked safely up there in all weathers.
I have the fairly unique privilege of looking straight at my pontoon from our main bedroom, lounge, dining and kitchen and have a spotlight on the jetty that can be turned on from my mobile phone to view what is happening on wild nights.
I wonder with modern technology how many now have remotely phone accessed cameras on or overlooking their craft in more distant mooring or marina locations?
This photo is basically standing on the central rollers on the pontoon looking back up at our home. The newly installed higher support post is for both stabilising the long overhanging end of the floating pontoon and with its yet to be installed collar with rollers is hopefully high enough to stop the pontoon breaking its jetty attachments and floating away in a really serious flooding or storm event that might occur whilst we are off travelling.
We recently had the biggest flood 50 years and the jetty just went under water and the water topped the retaining wall onto the grass in some big storms. This was prior to the pontoons recent purchase and installation an interesting process in itself.
It is delivered in piles strapped to pallets along with a rough hand welded tool and you get an instruction video and left to it!
My daughter and I built it on the boat ramp and used its winch for hauling up the yacht to drag it down the ramp into the water.
PS Yes when delivered it was missing one piece!
Refueler
Well-known member
Yes .. we can have similar rise of water .... Baltic is basically a tideless water and all water levels are driven by : Wind direction / barometric pressure and winter melt.
At present we are going through the usual post winter melt spring when water level drops ... about 1/2m.
Then it will start to rise again .. if wind is from S to SW - it drives the water north and my channel can have +1m .... wind from N to NE .. water level can drop significantly.
Isn't Murray River famous for escaped Convicts getting lost and dieing back in the old days .... ?
At present we are going through the usual post winter melt spring when water level drops ... about 1/2m.
Then it will start to rise again .. if wind is from S to SW - it drives the water north and my channel can have +1m .... wind from N to NE .. water level can drop significantly.
Isn't Murray River famous for escaped Convicts getting lost and dieing back in the old days .... ?
The Q
Well-known member
Wow, never knew australia has mississippi paddle steamers
Is that your wife/ daughter on the sauna porch or part of the plug and play inventory
I would recomend the grp grating as the surface. 100% grip at all times, wont deteriorate or rot away..
Just off it's moorings Horning, Norfolk, UK.
Grith
Active member
I haven’t really heard the Murray River being associated with escaped convicts dying as it’s really a feast of plenty for anyone with the tiniest bit of hunting, foraging or fishing skills. With fresh water and the least bit of survival skills anyone should be able to survive here indefinitely given no extremes of cold weather, water and all the available food sources.
We catch fish, shrimp and yabbies from our pontoon jetty and I am constantly threatening the veggie patch/fruit tree marauding water birds with Clare cooking them if I catch them! (illegal as they are all protected species unfortunately).
We have set our home up to be able to be completely independent of modern society if ever required with solar and battery systems providing all our required power and with unlimited freshwater and lots of produce and catch available we could survive most societal disruptions here.
As a seventh generation Australian and part original convict stock myself I can assure you there are many tall tales about that sort of thing with actually many of those transported being relatively normal folk whose crimes would barely rate a fine or community service order these days. One of my ancestor's was a butcher and was transported for life for butchering a single sheep that someone else stole.
Refueler
Well-known member
I know many were deported for trivial crimes and cases of mothers needing to feed their kids - sent for a loaf of bread. There was a movie made about such .. cannot remember its name - but think the womans name was 'Mary' ?
I probably have the wrong river .. but I remember reading about a river and harbour that some convicts would get to - but near all died ... not only from lack of survival skills - but from natives ... such that the Authorities literally didn't bother trying to go there to find them. I'll see if I can find the reference.
I probably have the wrong river .. but I remember reading about a river and harbour that some convicts would get to - but near all died ... not only from lack of survival skills - but from natives ... such that the Authorities literally didn't bother trying to go there to find them. I'll see if I can find the reference.
Grith
Active member
Sarah Island Port Macquarie and Port Arthur both in Tasmania were particularly harsh due to the cold wet conditions and extreme isolation and prisoners died attempting to escape from these and others.
Whilst the desert heat can be fierce here in Australia most populated places are near the coast and relatively temperate and even Tasmania in the far south doesn’t experience extended snow cover except the highest mountains.
Tragically some convicts who escaped captivity died surrounded by food but of a kind so unfamiliar they didn’t recognise it.
The farmland surrounding and watered by the Murray River however supplies much of the produce in Australia and pre truck transport was a principle route much of this was moved to other areas or even transported overseas.
It’s this history of paddle steamer watercraft which has set the bridges and powerlines crossing the river high enough for us to sail around half its length with the mast up.
Sarah Island Penal Settlement in Macquarie Harbour Tasmania in summer.
The conditions mid winter were horrendous.
By contrast cruising The Murray in South Australia mid winter in company with old friends. We did actually manage to sail for nearly 50 percent of time despite the windless conditions shown here.
Whilst the desert heat can be fierce here in Australia most populated places are near the coast and relatively temperate and even Tasmania in the far south doesn’t experience extended snow cover except the highest mountains.
Tragically some convicts who escaped captivity died surrounded by food but of a kind so unfamiliar they didn’t recognise it.
The farmland surrounding and watered by the Murray River however supplies much of the produce in Australia and pre truck transport was a principle route much of this was moved to other areas or even transported overseas.
It’s this history of paddle steamer watercraft which has set the bridges and powerlines crossing the river high enough for us to sail around half its length with the mast up.
Sarah Island Penal Settlement in Macquarie Harbour Tasmania in summer.
The conditions mid winter were horrendous.
By contrast cruising The Murray in South Australia mid winter in company with old friends. We did actually manage to sail for nearly 50 percent of time despite the windless conditions shown here.
Chiara’s slave
Well-known member
I know of an Edwardian steam launch, recent restoration work, on a lake in East Sussex
nevis768
Active member
Looks great!As many know - I am very lucky that I have my own channel with pontoons / mooring capability for my 'flotilla' ... but this brings in aspects that most boaters don't have to concern themselves with.
For last year and through winter - I had my main pontoons across the wide section of my home channel ... which made it a bit awkward to turn boats. I ended up with some 'dings' in the small speedboat ....
Before that - they were alongside the deeper bank - narrowing the deep channel ..
After careful thought - it was obvious that if the pontoons could be pulled into the shallow water - then that would leave the deep channel free. River level is down at present - typical spring into summer situation. I've pulled the pontoons round until they've grounded. When river rises - I will keep pulling them further to the bank.
The intention is to destroy the old rotten deck we have at present - its where photo was taken from ... and build a new longer deck to sit alongside the pontoons. Deck will be about 1m higher than the pontoons and have steps down.
At the upper end of decking - we have a Sauna 'House' being delivered (6m x 3m) which will be placed onto an old car trailer to roll into place alongside the decking. Wood terraces / cladding will be used to create a party / bbq area that also services the boats.
Lot of work - but worth it .....
Refueler
Well-known member
Will be better once new wood etc. Thanks
Refueler
Well-known member
Pontoon works suspended for a while ... have to sort out 80 pallets of 'road bricks' for my house ... that's 760 sq.m of 'paving' at 10cm thick bricks. Doesn't sound that much ... until you start transporting !!
My accounts are doing their nut at this !!
My accounts are doing their nut at this !!
Chiara’s slave
Well-known member
Its your back I’d be more concerned about. That is 76 cubic metres of brick. Call it 300 tons to save time.
Fr J Hackett
Well-known member
Between 120 and 160 tonnes.
