Leaving mooring buoys in lake over winter?

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further

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Looking for some advise here. I live on a private lake and we have a small beach/swim area delineated by swim ropes and floats tied off from a floating dock/platform out about 100' from the shore. The swim ropes extend out parallel to shore from the swim dock about 50' to weights we installed (buckets filled with concrete) that have chains that the swim ropes are connected to so they stay in place. We take the ropes out for winter and leave the floating dock/platform in place and in previous years, we just take the ends of the chains that are connected to the concrete anchors for the swim ropes and connect them to additional chains back to the floating dock. Last year, the swim dock moved quite a bit, likely due to ice or whatever (we reinforced the anchors of the swim dock this spring so hopefully it won't move) and the whole setup got screwed up a bit and we lost the swim rope anchor chains and had to redo them. Trying to make it easier on the winter and summer prep and was thinking to just connect the swim rope anchor chains to mooring buoys and leave it over winter so we can find or do you think the force of any ice would move the anchors? The lake does freeze over pretty good; but there is not much movement in the ice when it thaws. Or as an alternate, I was thinking to just connect vinyl coated cable to the chain and bring it back to shore - this way the cable would lay on the lake bottom and would not be connected to the swim dock/platform in case that moved again.
Any advise or experience on what's best?
 

SeaDooSam

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I would not leave a swim dock out during the winter. I leave ours on what little beach we have. I do however leave mooring buoys out during the winter.
I simply attach buoys (bleach bottles could work) to the anchors that I have set out. To find them easily in the spring.
 

southkogs

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I like your idea of running a line to the shore so you can find your chains in the spring. We always pulled our docks and most of our neighbors always pulled their floats and platforms. There were a couple of docks that were permanent setups, but they were built REALLY stout.
 

Scott Danforth

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having witnessed the damage that ice-out brings in spring as it tears permenant docs and boat houses from shore, I wouldnt leave anything out there. check local laws, many bodies of water need to be cleared for winter (snowmobile traffic)

my best friend lives on a 960 acre lake and every fall I would help pull all the buoys and attach the chain to bleach bottles that are about 2' under the surface. Every spring Bob put on the wet suit to jump in the 40 degree water to connect the buoys I hand him to the anchors. this way they dont get caught again in the ice and moved very far. prior to the laws requiring the lake to be cleared, the association attempted to leave the buoys marking the pencil reeds in one year. all 19 buoys were moved (many to the other end of the lake) in spring by ice-out as the chunk of ice simply draged the weights. most were not useable as they were smashed from either snowmobiles and 4x4's during the winter or crushed when the ice moved them.
 

further

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Thanks for the input guys. It's a small private lake and we don't have any snowmobile traffic nor any laws regarding leaving the swim dock out, in fact the dock we have there now has been left out the past 10 or so winters and is still in great shape. Would bleach bottles be enough to hold up the chains? Our lake is not that clear so not sure how we'd find them if they were submerged even a few feet.
 

JASinIL2006

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We have a couple of weights that anchor the end of a floating dock (via some heavy chain) at our lake in Ontario. When we pull the docks on land before the cold weather sets in, we tie a rope to the heavy chains and run the rope to shore, where it's tied to a tree. We have a small mushroom anchor on the rope to keep it from floating up and getting snared in the ice at the surface. Seems to be working pretty well; we've never had a problem with any of it getting moved by ice.
 

roscoe

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If the bucket of concrete hasn't sank too deep into the mud, you should be able to pull it up and drag it to shore fairly easily.

Otherwise, best to build and attach a winter stick, (ice post) or whatever they are called in your neck of the woods.


Many people use these even on Lake Michigan. Then every 3-5 years, they pay to have their mooring weight removed, inspected, and have new chains and shackles installed if needed.


http://www.essexonlakechamplain.com/outdoors/winter-moorings/
 

gdabbicco

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I would not leave a swim dock out during the winter. I leave ours on what little beach we have. I do however leave mooring buoys out during the winter.
I simply attach buoys (bleach bottles could work) to the anchors that I have set out. To find them easily in the spring.
Does the ice grab the buoys and move the anchors at all?
 
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