Safe ice?
 

Hey all,

the mild weather makes me wonder how safe the ice will be this weekend (and the next week). I have never been to the area before and appreciate answers from someone with local expertize :)

-Geena

Less safe, but still OK
 

The lake is probably still a few weeks from becoming generally unsafe, but this year has been unusual. The early weak spots will be near the edges, near rocks and near dock bubblers. While safe, the lake is not as usable as it was a few days ago. A slush layer is forming on top of the ice, which can be several inches deep. You need good high waterproof boots to keep your feet dry. Snowmobiles may get bogged down in the slush. Test the ice before trusting it (good to do anytime of year). Scrape away the slush from a spot if you can and try to estimate how thick and if its becoming brittle. Whack it with a stick or rock. If you can still see solid ice, and if it makes a solid thump when whacking - you are OK. When the ice gets to about 6-8" thick, it will start becoming honeycombed, and brittle. That is the sign to stay off of it. Be safe. Report your findings here. It changes every day.

I plan on making an island run on Saturday in the airboat, I will report what I find. If anyone needs their house or dock checked out in the Gilford/Mark/Bear area I can drive by, I need an excuse to go out and play. :D

codeman671, I wonder if one of these is yours. I took the pix 2-24-07 in Meredith.

No, those are actually hovercraft. This is mine before it came down from Canada:

Did you say lights!
 

Codeman671 have you been out a night yet? It would really wake someone up to see those 4 spots (on the fan shroud) lit up:eek: if your were tooling down the ice or open water.

Not yet, my wife has been rather stingy allowing me time to use it lately. There is 400,000 candlepower up there, they do light up the path well.

Very Cool!!!!!

Smitty

codeman, swing by my place this weekend and we can do some major shadow puppets!

Sounds good :D ...Sunday is my day to get out I guess. It sounds like we should have a decent layer of snow to ride on so my teeth won't get rattled out. it is not a smooth ride on glare ice.

I dragged my son out on the ice last night by the Pier. It was safe and looks to be plenty thick enough under the slush/water on top, so make sure you have on good water proof boots even after tonight's snow.

We did find an actual ice hole that was completely through and big enough to get a stick into. Never seen one before, but it was fun telling my son the ice had "sprung a leak"!

Caught in the Act!
 

We saw you codeman, coming out of Minge Cove at around 11:15 AM.

We watched as you went across the lake and around the southeast tip of Rattlesnake. How was the ride?

http://www.echoshores.com/Photos/codeman_airboat.jpg

Airboat
 

Codeman671,

I'd be interested in learning a bit more about that boat. Have you taken it on the lake in the summer? how does it handle in the rough water?

Thanks,
Eric

Curious minds need to know...

Wonder if he stayed 150' from Bob's house or was he traveling at headway speed?

Looks closer than perhaps it really was... :D

Say one thing, sure is ease to spot. Now if only kayaks were as easily discernable. ;)

Overall we had a great time, but my tail bone may tell you otherwise. There was hardly anyone out which surprises me as the conditions were quite good. The faster we went the smoother the ride, although with the blowing snow today it makes it hard to see obstacles and react with enough time to tail spin to stop or turn.

We left from Glendale, headed to Mark for a bit and then went around the back side by Timber, across the witches and back to Glendale to drop of a few passengers. We then headed down toward Rattlesnake to visit a friend (who was not there) so we headed into Minge Cove to see if his car was there. I was "caught in the act" on the way out. We then went around the Broads side of Rattlesnake, and back to Mark. The last leg of our trip was over by Eagle, under the GI bridge and back to Glendale.

We did not find anything mushy, everything was crusty, hard and fast. Even around the pressure ridges it seemed very solid. There was one pressure ridge still off Ellacoya out to Welch but all others had dissipated. The crust was quite thick and made a lot of noise on the hull when under way. In powder conditions the boat is very quiet inside (all things considered having a 6' fan and 350hp strapped to your butt) but today we could have used earplugs.

I do not see any issues for snowmobilers but a few warm days coud change things quickly.

Codeman,what is the hull made out of that would withstand the thrashing it would take from ice?

It is fiberglass, reinforced hull but has a 1/2" thick polymer wrap that covers the bottom and part way up the bow and sides. Basically anything in contact with the ice/snow is hitting the polymer which is extremely tough stuff.

Yesterday was a great day out on the ice, 8"-10" of solid black ice covered by another 14"-16" of ice in varying states. I was surprised more people weren't out. If this week stays cold with a weekend warm up we should have a great day or two out on the ice coming up!

March 23-25
 

Hey Weirs guy,

How do you think the ice will look this weekend for walking after all the warm weather?

Tim

It definitely depends on where you are headed. There should be plenty of ice once you get off shore but the edges are going quickly. The Black Cat cam appears to look awful wet. Everywhere we went on Sunday was firm, but this late in the season looks can be deceiving. This would be the last weekend I would dare to be poking around on foot for sure.

Thanks for the reply Codeman! I'm hoping to leave from Y landing and head around Pine Island to Three Mile Island. The cams make it look pretty good albeit slushy!

Tim

I've gotta go out tonight or tomorrow again and check, but it does look awful slushy and lots of water on top. I'm hoping to get 1 more day of fishing in Sunday if I can get off the beach without drowning! I'll try to head down tonight and post an update from the Weirs.

OK,Codeman......somebody had to ask.......how fast can you go ?

Anyone know what happened today at Ellacoya? Lots of fire apparatus w/lights going down by the beach not too long ago...

OK, so I'm a few days late on my update, but I'm very upset to report that the open water bug has attacked my access to the ice, and my ice fishing season ended a week earlier then I'd hoped. However, if you can get on the ice it still looks plenty safe in most areas. I saw several ice fishermen and sleds out this weekend both at the Weirs and on Paugus Bay.

how thick is the ice?
 

just curious how thick it may still be and if anyone thinks with this snow that snowmobiles will be out there.

I am not there and don't know for sure, but I wouldn't be out there right now....on foot or on a sled.

If they are they are foolish. The edges are basically junk and you would have to skip to get onto the ice in most places. I am sure the ice in the middle is still thick enough to support a moving sled as it does not take much but I would not trust it.

I plan on taking the airboat up on Friday and will report back what I find.

Somebody (I have $500 on "drunk and from out of town") was out on Weirs Bay Tuesday night on a sled at about 10:00. Last weekend there were some skimmers ridding onto the beach and then back out that looked to have come from the Gov. Island direction. Good luck finding a way on though, most of the edges are gone.

ice in the channel
 

the ice has receded bcak from the channel ,heading out into paugus bay. If you know where the little Weirs beach/Laconia chamber of commerce building is ,,,that is how far the ice has left the bay as of 4:00 today.
Anyone on the ice now ,you won't be seeing them again !!:look:

I was out in the airboat yesterday and estimate 2-4 inches in most places. We were breaking through constantly unless we were at running speed. There were many spots of open water in the broads between Welch and Diamond, between Governers and Timber, in front of Ames Farm, and near Sleepers. The broads side of Rattlesnake was very thin as well, if we came to a stop we would go right through.

For the airboat it was flat, soft and smooth. You could go as fast as you want due to the conditions. I have never made the run to Alton from Gilford so quickly, even on water.

I will try to post some pictures we took later. I am beginning to think my guess of the 20th is not so far off after all...

We Saw You
 

You went right by our place near Minge Cove. Looked as though you were enjoying your ride!

http://www.echoshores.com/Photos/codeman_040607.jpg

Busted again... :laugh: I can't sneak by without getting caught on film! Thanks for the pic. We had a blast.

Here are the photos that I promised:

great pics codeman. What is the brand of air boat. I love it and would like more info.

It is a 1000 Islands, made in Canada. Awesome boat. Every time I take it out the crowds seem to line up. I had someone try to buy it on the spot last weekend.

Codeman:

If it breaks through the ice, can you get stuck? Also, what happens if it dies in the middle of the lake? Who would you call for help? I guess there must be a whole set of different things to worry about on the ice.

You cannot get stuck if you break through. You can come to a complete stop on thin ice, break through and restart and climb right out. As you give it more throttle it will slide right up on the ice and take off, if it is thin you will start to break a path until you get enough speed to get on top.

If you break down in the middle, your guess is as good as mine. Anything could happen, which is why I went with a proven, reliable package. It is a GM 350 fuel injected engine so it is quite basic and it came with a diagnostic tool to troubleshoot any issues. Granted if something serious breaks and the ice is thin all you can do is call for help...

Launching and recovering?
 

"codeman"

How do you launch and recover the airboat when there is no open water? Is it a tilt trailer and/or does the boat have reverse thrust? :confused:

Looks like a fun ride for sure!

The trailer looks like a boat trailer with bunks but actually tilts as well like a snowmobile trailer. Luckily the parking lot at Glendale has for the most part been snow covered all season so to get it off you unhitch the winch and straps, pull the tilt pin, get a running start in reverse and slam on the brakes. The trailer will tilt and it slides off the trailer and onto the ground. The boat does not have reverse thrust, actually as soon as you turn the key the fan is spinning, although not enough on ground or snow to move the boat. In the water the propulsion is enough at idle to move it along.

Recovery is similar, you pull as close to the trailer as possible, tilt it back and winch it up. The worst part of the process is the cover, getting it on and off is a bear, especially alone.

I should be heading to Glendale tomorrow morning to take it for a spin if anyone is in the area and wants to check it out or take a ride.

Thanks Codeman671
 

Codeman I have got to tell you what a fantastic time I had today I am so glad I took you up on your offer.I have posted pictures in photo post for all to see.

Sure Missed Some Fun!
 

Looks like SB did have the time of his life with CM. Maybe the tracks left on the ice will speed up the ice melt by moving the slush around.:coolsm:

Keep up the good work out there! Enjoy it too!

I would have been up there today too but I had to work.:D Someones gotta pay the bills for summer boating that I hope is gonna be soon!

Codeman I have got to tell you what a fantastic time I had today I am so glad I took you up on your offer.I have posted pictures in photo post for all to see.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for riding shotgun Bob! Great day. There is not much left out there, we broke through wherever we went. It will not be long now. Hopefully all the paths we broke in the ice/slush today will help get it moving with the upcoming winds. Enjoy Bob's pictures- he took plenty!

Video Clip
 

Loved the video clip on the Air-Boat ride. That thing looks amazing. Thanks for the pics and vid.

air boat video
 

Here are links to air boat video.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1B_cfWzh47w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KA3dJ2HfgBA

Air Boat
 

Sunset - you probably posted this before but is there a manufacturers or distributors website for the type of airboat you have?
Thanks!

It's Codemans
 

It's Codeman671's boat but I think I can help. There is a website listed on the trailer.

Awesome - thanks Sunset! I will check it out.