Whitefish Lake · Rideau Lakes
We’re working on Whitefish Lake this fall: closing a cottage and getting its docks ready for winter. If you’re on the lake and need the same, or anything else done at the cottage, send us a text.
On the lake this fall
The job on Whitefish this season is a full cottage closing: water shut off and drained, lines blown out, antifreeze in the traps and toilets, and the place buttoned up, with a photo report to the owners at the end.
The waterfront is the interesting part. The owners have a fixed dock and a floating dock. The floating dock is staying in for the winter, secured to the fixed dock, and the fixed dock has a bubbler that goes on in the spring to break up the ice before it can push the docks around. It’s a common setup on these lakes, and it works well when it’s done right.
Docks over winter
Docks rarely get hurt by the freeze itself. The damage comes at break-up, when ice sheets move with wind and current and shove anything they’ve grabbed.
Tie the floating dock to something solid, like a fixed dock or crib, with enough slack for the water to rise and fall. Too tight and it gets pulled under or torn loose.
Air rising from a line on the bottom brings warmer water up and keeps the ice from locking onto the dock. Ours on Whitefish goes on in the spring, ahead of break-up.
A bubbler needs power. A tripped breaker or a failed compressor and the ice closes in, and nobody knows until the dock is damaged. We check it and send a photo.
Safety: open water around a bubbler means thin ice nearby for anyone walking, skating or snowmobiling on the lake. Mark it with a sign facing the lake.
What we do on Whitefish Lake
Water drained or turned back on, the place buttoned up or made ready. From $200.
Docks in and out, floating docks secured for winter, bubblers set up and checked.
Trailers winterized, dump runs, brush and property work. One text for all of it.
Questions
Sometimes. It depends on the dock, how sheltered the spot is, and how it is secured. The real danger is not the freeze but the spring break-up, when ice moves and pushes. A floating dock left in should be tied to something solid with enough slack for the water level to change, and ideally protected by a bubbler or de-icer. If the spot takes heavy ice movement, pull it.
A bubbler pushes air through a line or diffuser on the bottom. The rising bubbles bring slightly warmer water from the bottom up to the surface, which keeps ice from forming or breaks it up around the dock. That stops the ice from gripping the dock and shoving it around when it starts to move.
Someone should. A bubbler needs power, and a tripped breaker or a failed compressor means the ice closes in around the dock without anyone knowing. We can check it on a schedule and after storms, and send you a photo of open water at the dock.
Yes. Water shut off and drained, lines blown out, antifreeze in the traps and toilets, the place secured, and a photo report when we are done. Closings start at $200, with docks priced separately.
On Whitefish Lake?
Tell us what you need and roughly where you are on the lake. We’ll get back to you fast with when we can be there.
Also on the lakes: Big Rideau Lake · Upper Rideau Lake · All the lakes we serve