What's up, Dock?

I spent this past week at the cottage, continuing my construction of a new dock. There weren't many other cottagers around, and the weather was (mostly) warm and sunny, so I got a fair bit accomplished.

It rained almost all day, on the first full day, restricting me to "inside work". One of the low priority projects I have on my "to do" list is to install new styrofoam insulation in the cottage roof. Almost half of the original insulation (which also improves the cottage illumination by reflecting light) had fallen out or been removed, and the rest is covered in almost 50 years of soot and dust. I chose a section of ceiling that hadn't had insulation for several decades, cleaned it, and installed some of the styrofoam panels that I had brought with me. I ran out of adhesive before I ran out of styrofoam, so the area I covered stands out a little from the much darker background. But, now I know how much more adhesive to bring, and how to properly install the panels. And, the cottage looks just a little bit brighter and cleaner.

The other two full days were sunny and warm. I took the first day to cut an additional tree for crib posts, trim the posts to length and square them off, sharpen and clean the chainsaw, and organize the remaining materials. The chainsaw service wasn't originally part of the plan; when I tried to take down the additional tree, I found that the chainsaw's cutting chain had become dull, and this lead me to the task of cleaning and sharpening it. I had planned to get more done this first day, but the frustration of a poorly-functioning chainsaw and the (still) humid weather wore me out.

The second sunny day began with me assembling the first face of the second crib. This crib will be taller then the first one (built last year) because it has to stand in deeper water. It will also be sturdier, as it will take more punishment from the winter ice. With 6 inch "legs", it stands 5 feet wide and about 4 ¹/₂ feet tall, with an additional 18 inches of post above the last board. In the afternoon, I cut more boards and assembled a second, matching face. The next task will be to join these two faces together with two more faces and a bottom, then move the resulting box into position and load it with a lot of rocks.

Addendum - 2015-07-17

I spent another couple of days at the cottage completing the construction of the crib. On the next trip up, (with some help) I'll position the crib and start loading it with rocks. By the time I'm ready to close the cottage this year, the substructure of the dock will be installed and complete.

Addendum - 2015-08-02

My brother-in-law Serge and I spend another couple of days at the cottage, moving the second crib into place. It only took about 15 minutes to get the crib placed properly, and three hours to fill it with rocks. Now, all I have to do is build the deck and the dock will be complete.