Originally Posted by esshup
Originally Posted by nehunter
I have not tried this but the last time the ice on my dock was moving around I thought it would take out the hole dock. So I was thinking ahead for the next year and bought a 40 lb. sack of salt. I would pour around posts so ice would melt there first. Small amount of salt like that would not hurt a pond. Just my 2 cents worth of advice.

Even large amounts of salt wouldn't hurt the pond.

That kind of makes for a rough time putting on hockey skates and getting onto the rink ;-). The pond hockey was epic this year apart from the stress cracks that would open up wider than a skate blade and cause some less than entertaining falls. We kept a bucket of fresh water around to deal with the cracks. There were more good skating nights this year than the past 5 years combined! The ice was pretty chewed up until we would get it resurfaced from a sunny day.

Since my water level goes up and down quite a lot in the summer, a modification to replace the end of the dock with a ramp and floater is actually something I was planning on despite the damage. I want enough area out there to put out a small tent or umbrella and chairs. so 10x10 or so.

That project going on hold for now as we are putting in a 15KW solar install. We need a surplus of capability for supplementing heat and hot water. Need to get off propane! (No NG at our house, only wood, electric, and propane). To complicate matters, the land around us is up for sale, and I may have an opportunity to append another 8 acres of swampy habitat for relatively cheap (for us). Can only choose one as a kitchen upgrade is the other.

Keeping things busy!