Early ice damage
 

This piling has moved vertically almost 6 feet! What are the chances it goes back down perfectly? :)
Sorry can't rotate the photo!

very possible it is already pulled out of the ground and the ice is just holding it there in place

Slim to none.

And Slim just left town...

With a nun?

if you have a service on standby, like Watermark, I would put the call in now to get it on their schedule.

I'd be surprised if they couldn't figure out a way to tap that back into place with it still captured by the ice.

Nice thing is you won't have to hold it straight, looks pretty good from here ;)

My guess is when it was driven they likely hit ledge and couldnt get down where they wanted to. We had one like that on our dock.

Let me guess DES doesn't have permits for underwater blasting? :emb:

Is the piling attached to shore somehow so that it does not float away once ice-out occurs? This would be the time to save it from floating away in the spring if you prevent it.

What is it that makes that happen? I run bubblers because I was under impression that once iced in the rising lake level in spring would pull the pilings up with it but thats not what happened here. This is way to high for it to be the rising lake.

It seems very unusual.

Maybe the deep freeze temperatures of last week got conducted down the wood piling, freezing the existing moisture inside the wood piling which increased its' buoyancy by 10%, and at the same time the now frozen piling has less surface friction between the piling wood surface and the lake bottom causing the lake bottom to lose its' grip allowing the piling to rise up vertically, held in position by the ice surface.

Probably, some part of the piling is still sticking into the lake bottom, otherwise it would be a leaner or be tipped over, but would not be 90-degree vertical, as it is.

For the fun of it I thought I would rotate the piling upright.

Expensive Nuisance...
 

• Those are called "tie-off" pilings. I have four installed in 1982. Since then, one has been replaced several times; meanwhile, the ice has pushed-over two others—making them useless. One original piling, 11" in diameter, has been creeping upwards after breaking off at the waterline several years ago. It's expected to be resting on the bottom (with three others) next Spring—and won't be replaced. :cool:

• Neighbors have experienced the same losses of tie-off pilings. :(

• An installer told me that once the bottom was disturbed, don't expect replacement pilings to stay in place. :eek2: He also advised that the ice doesn't break them off, so pilings can be driven as deeply as desired. So far, his advice has been "on-target". :cool:

• In Spring, three years ago, one neighbor's "ice-cluster" (three secured together) drifted into my dock. He'd installed three ice-clusters in an area of many piling replacements. That Spring, two failed ice-clusters had been pulled up on his shoreline. When I advised him of my "find", he emailed, and wrote it wasn't his. :eek:

.

not sure for dock pilings but we have had two different marine contractors work on installing replacement pilings and when they hit ledge/Rock they moved the posts to spots where they could drive them down. They didn't blast.

Interesting.......this as well as the other 2 were replaced 3 years ago. It seems your right.....putting in back in roughly the same spot didn't work very well. I guess it's a good thing I have whips as well. I just like to tie off to the piers when I leave for the week.

.....so, how's about some side comments coming back on my reasons here ..... truly the greatest and most well thought out, deep freeze, cold effects deductive reasoning ever, ever, ever made ........ so's what do you think-um ...... am I correct or what?

....... of course, I am!

Walmart Fix
 

You know, if you went to Walmart and got a large number of their very fine noodles, you could rig a collar for the piling so that it remains vertical...:rolleye2:

How about, you just pat yourself on the back and we will end it at that.:D

If you can answer this easy physics question than I'll agree that you are the "greatest" thinker known to mankind:

A block of hardwood is floating easily on the surface of a lake. As a storm approaches, the density and pressure of the air above the lake begin to decrease. As a result of this decrease in air pressure and density, the block of wood

(A) moves upward slightly and floats higher in the water.

(B) continues to float just as it did before.

(C) moves downward slightly and floats lower in the water.

(D) sinks to the bottom of the lake.

(E) None of the above. Thankfully, a conscientious boater spotted the wood, safely reversed course, and removed the hazardous piece of wood, making the lake safer for all to enjoy. [emoji41]

Dave

Sent from my [device_name] using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app

The log is buoyed up by the sum of two forces, the weight of the water displaced and the weight of the air displaced. Together they equal the weight of the log. With the weight of the now lower pressure air reduced, the log sinks ever so slightly. The buoyant force of the air displaced is further reduced because the volume of air displaced is reduced by this sinking, while the buoyant force of the water is increased due to more of it being displaced. One could calculate the increase in depth if given the densities of the log, water, and air before and after the pressure change. A bigger challenge would be to determine how to measure such a tiny change in immersion.

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

Ahh. You would, Chuck.

A woodchuck would chuck as much wood as a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.

It Floats...It's Floating...Not for Long, though...
 

Logic—not your strong suit. ;)

I submit that the rings of ice suggest that the piling (which appears light in color and was likely installed last season) remained buoyant, warmed the water around it during bright, sunlit, days, and floated up a few inches every day for a week. Darkness found it frozen-in again nightly—freezing a new "ice-collar" around it every night.

This happened several days in a row—which accounts for the multiple "ice collars" that have collected around the piling.

So, don't expect this piling to be vertical in April. :eek2:

https://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums...1&d=1515642171

You know this piling or post is probably a big, 20-25' long, soft wood, pine tree which got pounded into the lake bottom by a pile driver rig with a crane lowering a big heavy weight upon it. Much like sharpening a pencil, the narrow end of the piling gets sharpened to a point by a chain saw before being pounded into the lake bottom.

The piling gets pounded into the lake bottom for maybe six feet ..... so what could make the lake bottom lose its six foot long grip on the piling ..... to allow it to float straight up while being held in position by the surface ice?

Isn't it likely that some of the piling is still stuck into the lake bottom otherwise it would either be a leaner or have toppled over. So, it seems to me, that it is being held by both the ice surface, and the lake bottom. Something caused it to float upward but not enough to be totally out of the lake bottom.

So, vas ist das something?

woodchuck could chuck a lot of wood if its dentures were any good.:laugh:

I remember seeing a spoof commercial a year or two ago of a wood chuck chucking wood. I think it was a Geico commercial.:laugh:

Could it be a big thick thistle stick?

A neighbor's dock had those piling and one year the ice came in and knocked them over but not completely. They got worse during the next few years and eventually they had to have them driven back in.

If you have the right sized whips for your boat you should be all set.... and they should work just as well, if not better then using the Tie off piling.....

If anyone is looking for dock whips for a low price, believe the ReStore Thrift Store in Plymouth, close to Walmart, open Wed-Thurs-Fri-Sat-Sun, has two strong, sturdy looking, white fiberglass dock whips with the bases ....... that are looking for a mega-million-dollar waterfront home.

Price: too low to say here ..... plus that would make this a classified ad ....which is not allowed!;)

Can you use the whips with a fancy $1.98 noodle from Walmart (multi-colored) to make some sort of flotation device? Perhaps something that can save a snowmobiler from stopping by a non-authorized/state owned parking area near Waterville Valley for a day hike? That would be super duper if it were possible. Maybe even to save the life of someone at Rand's Hardware in Plymouth from taking a cross-country ski trip down to the Senior Center located at the parking lot just below. The possibilities are endless.

Why not just grab a big but very versatile sledge hammer from your local Walmart? Its great exercise trying to bang it back into the ground you know!

https://www.walmart.com/ip/STANLEY-H...6-LBS/35361432

Or to save a few pennies to later spend at the local thrift store in Laconia you can go with the cheaper 8lb version...

Batter up! :D

..... donut you know it!
 

While this may be getting off topic here ..... just gotta say ..... the ReStore Thrift in Plymouth .....most definitely has a small room devoted to unwanted hand/power tools such as older table and radial arm power saws ...... like a 220v-12" deWalt ....and .....drum roll here..... ratta tat tat ....... sledge hammers with long/short handles....all for very short money.....probably because they do not sell too good ..... but, donut you know-it ..... sledge hammers work good as ice choppers for smashing away at the frozen lake!


..... and donuts are six/$2.50 for day old, brown sugar filled, high energy 'old fashioned's at the back of the store at Heath's.....and when you buy a quantity of SIX or more baked goods....it is totally exempt the NH 9% meals tax ..... because .... great food for chopping that lake ice to go rescue your dock from getting broken up or something by the moving lake ice.....before it's too late!

.... anytime is donut time ..... but saving your frozen dock actually justifies stuffing your face with brown sugar donuts ........ yum!

Is this FLL's brother?:laugh:

I knew it was catchy!! :eek::eek::laugh::laugh:

Nope, just an impersonator!