Ice Out - Open Water

Gary S wrote: Pete what temp is a "warm" day?

Broke ice yesterday from ramp to main lake which was about 1-2" thick. skied and had a few beers. 65 degrees no wind made for a delightful afternoon! The channel we broke earlier floated shut and we had to break a new one to get back to ramp!

I was just wondering what our northern most Pete had for weather,I get regular updates and pictures from home as to ours. Came home our first year in the beginning April expecting buds on the trees things starting to turn green,Nope it went about another 3-4 weeks. Lesson learned,alot can still happen between now and the end of April It passed 80 around 930 this morning water temp the last time I checked was 79. Natives say it's to cold to go in

63 Skier wrote: fanofccfan wrote: Broke ice yesterday from ramp to main lake which was about 1-2" thick. skied and had a few beers. 65 degrees no wind made for a delightful afternoon! The channel we broke earlier floated shut and we had to break a new one to get back to ramp! That is awesome! What did you break the ice with? Dry suit I assume?

The ice was only on the way to the main lake probably about 200 yards and not real thick. We used a 2006 196SE of course! Yes to the drysuit as the water temp was not much above freezing. Speaking of that.....anyone have a good lead on drysuuit seals? I may start a new thread as I need to repair an ankle seal.

My wife and I paddled our kayaks through 1-2" ice.

We are officially open water for 2017 !!
Deep Lake
Lake Villa, Illinois
February 22, 2017

Earliest thaw in my 19yrs on this lake

02/21/2017

02/22/2017


Who wants to come over next weekend and help me put my piers and lifts in :)

Thawed out mostly yesterday afternoon. We are skiing today. Never had open water in February before here either as long as anyone can recall.

It was glass this morning but breezy this afternoon. We skied, it was fun and we will be going back out this weekend. The forecast still is mostly well above freezing, looks like spring is kinda here.

Drysuit oh yes.

Nothing on feet hands or head while skiing. Warm water cooler in the boat followed by boots gloves and hat.

Yes. Nothing.

Would you rather wear a wet t shirt in the cold or go bare chested?

The cooler of hot water is the hot ticket to warm up the feet - works really well!

Kev - let me know when you are skiing this weekend. I am open a little bit on Saturday but most of the day on Sunday, love to work on the back deeps, ahh, errr, or ... maybe just drive.

I'm jealous. Nobody on my lake has as much a sense of adventure as you guys.

Larry, can't believe that 1987 rope broke on you, maybe you're just too strong. Wait till you try that new rope that actually has some stretch!

This cold skiing is a new thing for me the past few years. Before skiing on the river I'd push the season on the lake a bit, but they drop the lake levels in early October and they don't come back up until the thaw, so it was limited. The river, once ice floes are gone, is a pretty good option if we get a warm day. I don't have a dry suit yet, need to take that step, needless to say it's a shock in the wet suit.

tryathlete wrote: I'm jealous. Nobody on my lake has as much a sense of adventure as you guys.

Say what??????


Larry, is that a sunken sunfish behind you standing on the pier, lol

quinner wrote: tryathlete wrote: I'm jealous. Nobody on my lake has as much a sense of adventure as you guys. Say what??????

I was wondering about that CQ. I guess Pete doesnt think you are any fun.

quinner wrote: Larry, is that a sunken sunfish behind you standing on the pier, lol

Yes, (more of my state of the art equipment) and it is giving me fits. Needless to say it leaks. Last spring, I refiberglassed a few suspect areas on the bottom, put it right side up on blocks and filled it with water. Still leaked. Tried more patches, still leaked. Used that "as seen on TV" goo that they use to make boats out of screen doors, still leaked. I think the leak is up in the centerboard slot and I cant get to it. So I got it down to a trickle. When it fills up with water, it weighs 4,000 pounds and is hard to get up on land to tip up and drain, so I cut a hole in the top, installed an inspection plate and bought a pump to drain it. Good plan. Obviously let it go a bit long for this photo. I was just about ready to cut it up, I dont use it too often but I paid only $300 for it about 25 years ago, so it certainly doesnt owe me anything. I may try to tackle the leaks again this spring. Its fun on a windy day.