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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.

Zephyr sailing

Back at the dock.

I have a friend in Santa Cruz who has more nuts history than a chocolate bar factory. Amongst his many zanies, he was stationed in the Navy in Guam, where he was a wheel in the island boat races.

One of his buddies had a vintage boat that was the first sail boat (I think that was it) from Australia to circumnavigate the globe.
My friend and him decided they wanted to get up close and personal observing a hurricane that was coming to Guam. He said they cinched his boat with several anchors and ropes near a couple of huge fuel tanks.

They waited until the storm hit, it became fierce enough to uproot all of the ropes and anchors and the boat was severely damaged and run up against things. My friend said they only survived because the large fuel tanks gave them some shelter from the winds and storm surges.

His friend couldn't afford to fix the boat, so I guess it was dry docked for many years until somebody from Australia bought it, reconditioned it and put it into a museum because of its historical value.

Cruising the Richmond Riviera, again

Heading out for a sunset cruise

Last night in New England.

Get 10 hours and 13 minutes of daylight in Panama City Beach today

Miami Beach gets 10 hours and 30 minutes ... its usually about 10 degrees warmer in Miami Beach compared to Panama City Beach from 1 December to 1 March

Montreal gets 8 hours and 45 minutes

ad says

Get 10 hours and 13 minutes of daylight in Panama City Beach today

Wish I was there. Been soooooo dark and gloomy here in IL. No snow though. January should be fun though. Fort Lauderdale and then off to the Bahamas. 3 days home and then out to Montana.

I might not tell my wife, but I'm thinking of sneaking onto her Costa Rica girls trip/flight without her knowing in February. Flight is free besides international fees/taxes. I can't work until May so might see if my mom can manage the kids. Get a lift over to Tamarindo and get the cheapest place to stay and do my own thing for a week. Been wanting to try surfing and that's the place to do it. Never technically traveled solo for fun without friends or family being there.

Probably a bad idea if I get caught, but these trip photos are giving me FOMO. If it's just me I could do Costa for under $1k no problem for a week.

ad says

Get 10 hours and 13 minutes of daylight in Panama City Beach today

Miami Beach gets 10 hours and 30 minutes ... its usually about 10 degrees warmer in Miami Beach compared to Panama City Beach from 1 December to 1 March

Montreal gets 8 hours and 45 minutes

The getting dark before 5PM fucking sucks, and will be a consideration if I move for retirement.

Booger says

The getting dark before 5PM fucking sucks, and will be a consideration if I move for retirement.

I've heard every time we change the clocks for 'savings time', we get a temporary bump in senior deaths due to the added stress.