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There's just no easy way to spread 200 tons of sand!

Dargo

Like a bad penny...
GOLD Site Supporter
With our lake at an all time low I figured now would be the best time to put in the "beach" area. Most of my lake has steep sides to prevent plant growth and I simply wanted a deep pond. However, next to the dock, I made the slope much more gentle so a person could stand on the bottom and climb up the ladder or walk out of the pond rather than have to climb out.

Being the water level is just over 4' low now, I figured now or never. It's been 15 years and it's never been this low. I scooped yards and yards of goo out of the gently sloped area, cutting out about 12" of the bottom that I filled with sand. It's a lot nicer walking on a sandy bottom than a mucky goo bottom.

I made a beach area on land surrounded by wooden railroad ties and then a beach area going into the lake. Having a track loader and excavator sure made the work a lot easier. I filled most of the area in with the track loader with my larger 1 yard bucket on it and then actually drove my excavator out into the lake about 8' or so past my dock. I then used the track loader to pile a HUGE mound of sand just out into the pond and then used the excavator to grab that sand and spread it over the 20' reach I had.

Well, all was well, but there was just no way to tell if I'd covered the bottom evenly by just spreading it with the excavator bucket. So, I drove the excavator out and found that with a nice sand bottom, I had no problem back blading the sand underwater with my track loader. Man, it sure would take a lot of water no problem. My feet were soaked but as long as I kept the radiator fan blade from getting in the water, all was well...until I slid off the sand onto the muck and quickly started sliding into deep water.

My wife snapped this pic with her phone before I just jammed the bucket into the bottom and reached out and pulled it back with my excavator. In hind sight, I should have worn my wet suit. That water is getting a bit brisk already. I suppose I'll go ahead and winterize my Jet Ski's tomorrow after freezing my nads off today.
 

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Cowboy

Wait for it.
GOLD Site Supporter
Close call looks like , good thing you had the escavator there to latch onto it . So wheres the rest of the pics of the beach ? :biggrin:
 

muleman

Gone But Not Forgotten
GOLD Site Supporter
Hope you don't have joystick controls on it! That tends to mess with the servo valves when they get wet.
 

XeVfTEUtaAqJHTqq

Master of Distraction
Staff member
SUPER Site Supporter
I could never let a piece of equipment like that voluntarily go that deep in water.

That's what rentals are for. ;)
 

Dargo

Like a bad penny...
GOLD Site Supporter
Hope you don't have joystick controls on it! That tends to mess with the servo valves when they get wet.

I've had 2 skid steers with the funky foot pedals and I absolutely HATE them. I'll never have another. The pilot controls are far more precise and are what you find on almost every machine now.

If you look at the picture, the machines are made where the pilot controls are high up in the front, just in front of the arm rests where they are comfortable to operate and the wires from them run to the top of the back of the engine (well out of the water), where they activate the controls. Foot controls would have been a foot under water in that picture, and I slid further in just a bit.

I've already been out this morning and have gotten everything greased, fueled and checked out for another day of work; hopefully finishing work. All nice and clean with no issues. :thumb:
 

Dargo

Like a bad penny...
GOLD Site Supporter
Okay, I feel like a wimp! After carrying and placing only 9 railroad ties and driving spikes in them to keep them in place, I'm wiped out. I mean, like seeing stars and trying not to puke wiped out. The time off with my knee and back has just killed my cardio. I feel like one of the people I tease for being out of shape. :ermm: This condition just isn't going to cut it for me!

Oh goody, it's just about time for a football game. I can sit and relax for three hours now. :wink:
 
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