concrete

In "Haul Out", I showed the float assembly for my haul-out. That float has been anchored with a temporary anchor (a "killick") for too long. I wanted a heavy anchor that couldn't be easily dragged or lifted from it's final resting place. A boat anchor wouldn't do; it would be too light or too expensive, and a heavy anchor would be very difficult to get up to the cottage to install. So, I made my own anchor from stuff I had around the cottage.

I've had a busy spring and summer, working around the cottage. You can find me there most weekends, fixing something. Mom and Bob tried to keep the cottage going, but in recent years, neither had the money or the energy to do the hard things.

Last summer, I replaced a "deck" that was rotting out; Mom had stepped on a board, and wound up knee-deep in it. Not a good thing for a 79-year-old to have happen. So, I went up with a load of lumber and two bags of ready-mix concrete and replaced the deck with something a bit more stable.

I used the concrete for a footing for the stairs coming down from the deck. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough concrete to properly pour the footing, and the footing that I did pour was akilter enough to make the stairs slope visibly as well. I promised Mom that I'd replace that footing this year, so that the stairs wouldn't be "wonky" any more.